Evergrey - The Inner Circle

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.

Video: A Touch Of Blessing
Video: More Than Ever

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.

Sun Caged

Ex-Lemur Voice guitarist Marcel Coenon and drummer Dennis Leeflang got together in the spring of 1999 to form Sun Caged. This progressive metal band originates from The Netherlands. Their first self-titled studio album was released in 2003. It includes some outstanding tracks like Hollow, Closing In and 8th Day. Though like most progressive metal bands it has been influenced by the mother of modern progressive metal - Dream Theater, it has its own style which tones down the large musical interludes usually present in progressive metal to a very digestible amount. The complexity and variations is quite acceptable for someone who is new to progressive metal and the album has very melodic vocals (absolutely no growling) thus making a good album to start off with.


Rating: (Lyrics - 8, Riffs - 8.5, Overall Appeal - 8) - 8.16/10.

The band came back in 2007 with the album Artemisia. But the line up was almost completely changed except for Marcel Coenon. The album didn't live up to its expectations. Though the lyrics are quite nice, the riffs are either weak or too similar to their debut album. Hopefully the forthcoming albums are better.

Rating: (Lyrics - 9, Riffs - 6, Overall Appeal - 6) - 7/10.

Motherjane

Motherjane are a progressive rock band from Cochin, Kerala. Now before your eyes go up in surprise, let me assure you that these guys are a real class act: They've been labeled Asia's No.1 Rock Act in 2009, both albums have been rated No.1 by Rolling Stones Magazine, Rock Street Journal and Unwind Center Live Awards. And after listening to them, Ive got to agree with the accolades heaped on them. Think of Dream Theater meeting Indian Classical/ Carnatic music, with Opeth harmonics thrown in for garnishing, and you've got Motherjane.

The band has released 2 albums, Insane Biography (2001) and Maktub (2008). Now I didnt get to listen to Insane Biography, but Maktub, quite literally, blew me away. These guys are quite unique; there's elements of all your progressive metal favourites, but their harmonics, time scales and riffs most closely resemble Opeth. Solos and Leads are played in a very veena like style, which is a hitherto unknown concept in the field of rock and metal, and definitely a good thing. And the vocalist, Suraj Mani is undoubtedly one of the most technically proficient vocalists I've heard. The influences of carnatic music vocals are clearly there.

Songs to look out for are Fields of Sound (Wonderful instrumental, and vocals to match), Broken (This song could give any Opeth song a run for its money, in terms of a bleak, dark and sorrowful theme) and Chasing the Sun. The band has quoted Opeth as an influence, and did open for Opeth at Saarang, IIT-C earlier this year. And even after listening to them repeatedly, these songs refuse to leave my head, let alone get old.

Rating: 9.1/10 - A definite must hear. Indian metal just got a whole new meaning.

Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

Dream Theater is an American Progressive Metal band formed in 1985. Originally named as Majesty the band now comprises of James Labrie, John Myung, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess. The technical proficiency, interesting time scales, long musical interludes and albums woven around stories have made them one of the best progressive metal bands.

Black Clouds & Silver Linings is their 10th studio album which comes as a regular as well as 3 CD edition. Unlike the previous album Systematic Chaos, this album is more balanced. They have reverted to the more balad like music as in the case of Octavarium. But, unlike Octavarium or Systematic Chaos, this has the best blend of both. A rite of Passage and A Nightmare to Remember are predominantly heavy while The Best of Times and Count of Tuscany are beautiful balads. The music is very 'DT like' filled with long interludes. The Shattered Fortress (Restraint, Receive, Responsible) is an impressive song which completes the twelve step suite:
* I. "Reflection"
* II. "Restoration"
* III. "Revelation"
* IV. "Reflections of Reality (Revisited)"
* V. "Release"
* VI. "Ready"
* VII. "Remove"
* VIII. "Regret"
* IX. "Restitution"
* X. "Restraint"
* XI. "Receive"
* XII. "Responsible"
Written by Portnoy to describe his fight with alcoholism, this definitely finishes off one of the best progressive pieces of music spanning five songs from five seperate albums. It is a feat that would leave anyone in awe.
Like most of Dream Theater albums, this one is also not easily digestible for people who have never listened to Progressive Metal. But given enough time, its an album which everyone would love. Though it is well balanced in many aspects, it does not match up to some of the earlier Dream Theater work mostly because of increased heavy metal influence in their songs. At times Rudess plays second guitar instead of a piano like in all albums post 2000.

Rating: (Lyrics - 8, Riffs - 9, Overall Appeal - 8) - 8.33/10.

In the 3 CD edition the 2nd CD has covers of famous bands like Rainbow, Queen, King Crimson, Iron Maiden etc. As usual, Dream Theater have done a great job with them. The 3rd CD contains the instrumental versions of Black Clouds & Silver Linings. For those who find Labrie's voice painful, the 3rd CD is what you want.

Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

Opeth is a swedish metal band which is can be best described as a wholesome union between Dream Theater's progressive style and Arch Enemy's heavy, harmonic riffs. Formed in 1990, My Arms, Your Hearse is their 3rd studio album.

Now if you're listening to this album, you've either heard songs from previous albums, or you've not. If you've heard the previous albums, what will strike you first is the lack of dual harmonic guitars, which made Orchid and Morningrise hauntingly beautiful, yet powerful death metal albums. Opeth decided to go with more progressive and heavy riffs, and Åkerfeldt (lead guitarist and vocalist) has taken his screaming vocals to a whole new level, while maintaing his clean and whispered vocals. All this meant that it took me a while to get used to the new style the band was playing in this album (read: listening to it start to front about 3 times), but its wonderful to listen to once you get over the fact that this album is not as melancholy as the previous albums, but definitely more eerie in its themes, scales, chords and timing. Its one of the many paradigm shifts the band has undergone during its life.

One way or the other, this is arguably Opeth's heaviest and most progressive album to date. I started listening to Opeth only after hearing Ghost Reveries, which was progressive, yet had death metal influences in it. My Arms... is twice as heavy, twice as complex, twice as fast... Pretty much twice as much in everything. Its an outstanding piece of music, and considering this was made in 1996, I can't help but appreciate the musical genius of Åkerfeldt, because this album is still good and fresh, 13 years down the line.

Oh and lest I forget, most songs in this album are less than 10 mins long, which is short, by Opeth's standards; Most of the bands songs are in the 9 - 16 min bracket. Fluid, elegant, yet hard hitting compositions.

Overall Ratuing: 8.7 /10
PS - You'll agree with the rating if you allow the music to sink in over a period of time; this stuff most probably wont endear itself to you immediately.