Evergrey
A Heartless Portrait (The Orphéan Testament)

Evergrey are a guarantee, we know that by now. However, their last work showed some signs of fatigue, something like "okay, but next time better change it up." This thirteenth work is not a revolution but it certainly has a bit more freshness—not a lot, but just enough to feel the difference. Very little changes, but that little seems to make a difference.

To start with, they have smoothed the guitars a bit, after they had recently become quite sharp (especially in "The Atlantic"), with the aggressiveness becoming slightly more moderated, almost suggesting a return to the origins that nonetheless does not fully materialize. They have also avoided certain electronic exaggerations or overly pronounced synths, which were undoubtedly a brilliant and modern idea to refresh their sound in the past decade's works but were beginning to feel old; this time they focus more on brighter, vibrant, and clean sounds, almost suggesting an '80s flavor without actually reviving the sound of that period; the clearest parts are featured in tracks such as "Midwinter Calls," "Call out the Dark," and "Heartless."

In addition to the vibrant parts, there are also some more delicate and mysterious ones, consisting of few notes, small glimmers of light hidden among the guitar schemes; these do partly evoke the gothic atmospheres of the past but do so in an altogether different guise, as happens in tracks like "Save Us," "The Orphean Testament," and "The Great Unwashed."

Among the other tracks, "Blindfolded" is perhaps the one closest to the more recent productions, "Ominous" is the weak point, the one that doesn't know where it's going. An honorable mention for "Reawakening," where the keyboard work is the best on the record, a track that blends everything well, suspended between gothic metal, autumnal atmospheres, '80s and modern sounds, for me the best track of the album. What to say then about the beautiful concluding ballad "Wildfires," which truly isn't the usual ballad with thousands of copies: regular and soft guitar strums, some electric piano, and that soft and velvety bass with an almost jazz flavor at the end.

This album probably won't open a new chapter but tries at least to diversify with an album well balanced between recent and old Evergrey. For a real renewal, more is needed but for now, we can be satisfied. 50 minutes of solid and convincing melodic metal in which any metal lover can feel at ease.