Evergrey
Escape of the Phoenix

After the sharp yet varied “The Atlantic,” Evergrey doesn't waste much time and releases their twelfth album, “Escape of the Phoenix,” two years later. The Swedes have become a guarantee of quality, and once again, they display their compositional prowess.

The offering doesn't change much compared to the previous three releases, essentially continuing the current artistic phase, which is presented harder than before but without exaggeration. It intelligently uses modern synths and has little to do with the past symphonic-power-prog from their early period or the more extreme sound of the “Torn” period. With the last album, they pushed the guitars a bit more, but here there's more moderation, a sharp sound with restraints. The work on keyboards and synths, however, continues to make a difference, varying significantly from track to track, giving each piece its own identity. Each part surprises the listener and ends up being what allows us to speak of a varied album, even though it remains confined to a single genre and style. Without their contribution, perhaps we'd be talking about a regular metal album, classy but nothing that makes you jump out of your seat. The brightest use is in tracks like “Where August Mourns,” “A Dandelion Cipher,” and “The Beholder” (a duet with James LaBrie from Dream Theater). Also noteworthy are the more gothic atmospheres, reminiscent of earlier times, in tracks like the title track or “Leaden Saints.” In “Run,” the synth is more radiant and an old-style organ makes an appearance. The slower tracks, “Stories,” “In the Absence of Sun” (with dark arpeggios still reminiscent of their early period) and “You from You” are also very inspired, not labelable as ballads as they retain a rough sound. “Forever Outsider” and “Eternal Nocturnal” appear more direct and essential, with sharp guitars without too many frills and keyboards more distinctly in the background, not surprisingly chosen as the launch tracks.

However, something seems to be missing; I expected that extra touch, something different and superior to emerge from the surface. “Escape of the Phoenix” seems a bit too much like a repetition of what was done in the previous three albums and doesn't really add anything new. There is no distinctive feature of note, which was present in “The Atlantic.” But this is just my personal nitpicking; I always expect change after three or four albums. In fact, even within the same phase, I expect small distinctive elements between one record and the next. I see the fourth in the phase as the transitional one, the linking ring. But you know, I grew up listening to Rush, so I'd say it's normal. More than anything, I'm afraid that even Evergrey might interrupt their evolution by settling into the warmth of the comfort zone. However, I expect change in the next work; indeed, the Swedish band is very inspired and just a few months after this release, they're already back working on the thirteenth album... hoping it truly opens a new phase.