By Monk
If there’s one thing that can be said about the ongoing COVID pan(dem)ic it is that it most definitely has shifted every aspect of the world’s focus, and in particular the way we live our everyday lives. Everything has become much more insular, with millions of people locked behind closed doors, unable to undertake many of the “normal” activities which we previously took for granted, such as meeting up with family and friends – or even being able to say a simple “goodbye” when such a tragic circumstance arises. As far as the music business is concerned, the C-19 era certainly has been a time of almost cataclysmic change, with everyone in the industry forced to re-evaluate even the simplest tasks, such as how to be creative and continue doing what they love to do…
Swedish progressive metallers Evergrey actually began the task of crafting this, their 12th studio album, even before their last opus, ‘The Atlantic’, had hit the shelves, physical and virtual, back at the beginning of 2019. Then along came lockdown – something which, ironically, came with an advantage, as it enabled the band to cast aside all other distractions and concentrate on the task in hand, with the result that they have produced perhaps the most focussed and concise album of their career.
In many ways, as its title suggests ‘Escape…’ represents a fresh start for Evergrey. Their previous three albums – ‘Hymns For The Broken’, ‘The Storm Within’ and the aforementioned ‘The Atlantic’ – were a conceptual trilogy, with a contiguous story arc. For the first time in seven years, chief songwriter and band progenitor Tom S Englund found himself able to break free from, and step outside, the confines of such a concept and back into the mind frame of reflecting on himself and his place in his world, as well as what was going on around him. In the process, he has breathed both new fire and life into the Evergrey brand, presenting an album that is possessed of a dark energy that energises as much as it illuminates the darkest elements from which it was born.
‘Escape Of The Phoenix’ is one of those albums that, despite the apparent complexity hinted at by its “progressive” tag, grabs you immediately, thanks in no small part to the richness of its sound and the honesty of its delivery. It’s also a very simple and direct album, in that its appeal is just that immediate. Yes, there is plenty of “proggy” complexity going on in the background, and repeated listens no doubt will allow fans to explore these in more depth, but the sense of urgency and raw emotion which oozes from the speakers is the main selling point, especially for someone who is not a massive fan of the “progressive metal” tag and all of the inevitable widdly-diddly wankery that seems to be de rigeur for this particular genre. Instead, what Evergrey have done, like all great bands, is produce a great heavy metal album which will most definitely appeal to fans of most of the aspects of the genre that we know and love…
- ‘Escape Of The Phoenix’ is released today (Friday 26 February). You can get your copy HERE.
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