I have always wondered why do progressive metal bands suffer from very non-male high pitched vocals. Symphony X, Dream Theater, Circus Maximus, Spheric Universe Experience, Angra, Ark, etc. all have similar vocals. Many times I have seen people dislike progressive metal because of the vocals. Amongst a small set of bands which do not follow the trend is Evergrey.
This Swedish progressive power metal band formed in 1996 is 8 albums old. I will review their fifth studio album The Inner Circle. This album received a very positive review by the Metal Observer and rightly so. The lyrical themes of Evergrey in general are of despair. Unlike some bands which may tend to over do the 'man in pain' ideology, Evergrey's lyrics are quite poetic well within acceptable bounds of anguish. The Inner Circle is a concept album like most other Evergrey albums dealing with child abuse, cults and religion. Though the choros now and then is shrill (the chorus has female backup vocals as well) does resemble other progressive metal bands, the lead vocals definitely has a grunge feel to it and is a welcome respite for people who love the progressive metal music without the vocals.
The music involves brilliant harmonized solos and symphonic keys. The keyboard compositions have many similarities with melodic death metal bands like norther and children of bodom. In that sense the genre of this band should actually have been melodic progressive grunge metal or the likes. The album offers something for everyone, A touch of blessing and More than ever are have stronger elements of power metal and, songs like Ambassador and The essence of conviction are more progressive while Harmless wishes and Faith restored are beautiful ballads. Throughout the album, there are many portions where words are spoken, which the front man Tom Englund says are of an actual person.
On the whole, it is a must for all progressive metal fans and a good starting point for power/grunge metal fans exploring progressive metal.
Ratings: (Lyrics - 10, Riffs - 8.5, Novelty - 9) - 9.17/10.
did u listen to amon amarth ??? It is really good ..try if u havent
ReplyDeleteI like the music but the vocals still put me off a bit. Maybe, it takes some getting used to? I think he should just scream :-P
ReplyDelete@abhinav - haha, its not upto your taste (get used to normal vocals for a change :P ).....
ReplyDelete@King - yeah i've heard to amon amarth... love their album 'with oden by my side'.