•
Rating: There are moments in life when everything is gray: for those who are fortunate, or simply too foolish, these moments are few and brief; for some, they can last a lifetime. What is certain is that we all know these moments, when nostalgia and sadness take over, when a disappointment has shaken us to the point that we cannot cry, when in the evening we are alone, silent, filled with anger, and we dissolve like ghosts in the rain, when we can't understand how others can still smile, when we are afraid.
Don't get me wrong, don't be scared: I'm not saying that 'The Inner Circle' makes you feel that way. What I mean is quite the opposite, that this album, this music, is born from those moments, and bears with it an immense emotional charge, a dark, angry energy, through which Evergrey communicates their messages with unsuspected grit and power.
Nothing is accidental: every piece, every note of this Swedish band exudes emotion. You may have thought that "Evergrey" means "always gray," you've drawn your conclusions, and I will tell you yes, here everything is always gray, but incredibly varied, nuanced, rhythmic: the powerful guitars and the drums mix giving rise to a very fast, strong, and aggressive prog metal, which then gives way to subtle keyboard notes and acoustic arpeggios creating a completely different atmosphere, particular, gothic and dark, where the singer's hoarse and violent voice suddenly becomes light, introspective. All the songs are like outbursts for something that went wrong: a betrayal, a lie, a lost love, or whatever else can trigger such a calm yet scratchy cry of pain.
The result is something exceptional: I like to think of this album as an unnatural, almost demonic container of emotions, of sensations; a screaming showcase of all the inner evils that afflict the human soul, which slowly hovers in the air when you press play on the stereo, and goes on to pervade the environment and stir something inside you, something cold yet lively, as if a cold flame lit within your heart. In the end, everything closes with a prayer recited in "When The Walls Go Down". The fear and bewilderment of the words in this piece lead the listener to a cryptic and anguished ending: you can almost feel the cold breath extinguishing the flame in your heart and insinuating the suffering of the words into your mind. "Lord, if you don't help me I can't get through this...", "...Little by little you're losing me..." ...a call for help? Another resentful outburst?
The fear and bewilderment that pour from the stereo are almost tangible, and for a few seconds, they also become yours. You feel them inside for a little while longer, after the end of the album. In a moment, however, everything disappears, like when you have a very strange dream at night, that you want to talk about in the morning, but you are surprised to realize you no longer remember.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 A Touch of Blessing (05:50)
Climbing walls of an endless circle
Walking paths you never heard of
Struggling in an endless battle
Searching far for a higher purpose
Drowning in betrayals river
The freezing cold will make you shiver
Join the world of greater learning
Crown me king and be my servants
Mislead by beauty
One you rarely find
So loving and friendly
It's one of a kind
Their arms wide open
Willing to take me in
No doubts in choosing
A world free from sin
All the dreams I had
All my future wishes
Put aside for a greater journey
All the things I planned
Left my friends so coldly
Put aside for a
Higher ...
Mislead by beauty
One you rarely find
So loving and friendly
It's one of a kind
A single army
A united 'one"
A touch of blessing
Which cannot be undone
Drowning in betrayals river
The freezing cold will make you shiver
Join the world of greater learning
Crown me king and be my servants
All the dreams I had
All my fulure wishes
Put aside for a greater journey
All the things I planned
Left my friends so coldly
Put aside for a higher purpose
solo: Englund
All the dreams I had ...
02 Ambassador (04:29)
Show your soul for birth of freedom
Leave the cold to share our vision
Will you follow me
Will you walk with me
We'll hold your heart if it bleeds
Let me be your hand of guidance
No more solitude No more independence
If God weeps he weeps through me
And if God hurts it hurts in me
I am
Light to cast away shadows
The Spirit, Holy Ghost and even Jesus
God walking earth
Ambassador
Scattering all dark thoughts wandering
I shatter all doubts surfacing
This is my rescue and salvation
Undivided and blessed vision
I am Light to cast away shadows
The Spirit, Holy Ghost and even Jesus
God walking earth Ambassador
solo: Englund / Danhage
I am...
04 Harmless Wishes (04:18)
Relentless I'm speechless
Im fooled by my inner weakness
Enticing Inspiring
Your words were so convincing
Delightful but soulless
Claimed harmless wishes seems less
Exciting
Just frightening
No more dawning days
Only whispers of darkened ways
Forever falling tears
Forever falling
No more screams in vain
No more dreams put to shame
It's only me
Only me
Defenseless and smiling
Her innocence is shining
His own flesh and own blood
His words were so convincing
Delightful so beautiful
Can't stop what he's been told
She's three years old
No more dawning days
Only whispers of darkened ways
Forever falling tears
Forever falling
No more screams in vain
No more dreams put to shame
It's only me who's forever
Falling, sleepwalking, desperate, calling
No more dawning days
Only whispers of darkened ways
Forever falling tears
Lands in the hands of somber fate
solo: Danhage
No more dawning days
No more screams in vain
No more feeling pain
Forever...
Forever...
05 Waking Up Blind (04:22)
Leave the lie you got to find a way
Ask yourself why and give yourself a reason to stay
Leave the lie am I begging in vain
We're all left to fight with why
You're not the same.
solo: Danhage
Left behind we are stranded not free
In silence I cry what went wrong was it me
Led to believe in a truth that was false
Truth built on greed and the faith of the weak
Waking up blind and blind you must be
So stupid of me to believe in your hypocrisy
Gave it all up for life in a dream
So foolish of me to not stop your infidelity
Unfaithful
Unfaithful to life
solo: Englund
06 More Than Ever (04:13)
[Music: Danhage, Lyrics: Englund]
Time for a breather let it all sink in
A pause from the deceiver and to reach deep within
I close my eyes if only for a second
To let my courage rise
All I need is one more reason
To fail you as you failed me
Waiting for the waves to break
Hoping for the tide to change
Embracing the awaiting aim
Believing more than ever
Believing more than ever
I've tried too many times to leave you
Just as many times as I've cried to see you
Every road has its end and my end's here
And so does my faith
07 The Essence of Conviction (06:06)
Her gentle hand in his
Revelation serves as bliss
They walk away from sunshine
Led to believe the lie
His lust for untouched youth
A well kept secret sealed
His every night confession
Reveals the most profane obsession
Their trust is won and fate is conquered
The essence of conviction
Why me ?
I did no wrong
I did not know
You lied to me
I meant no harm
And I am blaming me
Hand in hand down the altar aisle
Her father's presence brings her to a smile
A grand welcome from the assembled crowd
Greeted as the' circles' first child
Undressed to nothing and held to the sky
Her smile is gone and she starts to cry
Desperately seeking her father's eyes
But he sees nothing
He's blind...
Why me ?
I did no wrong
I did not know
You lied to me
I meant no harm
And I am blaming me
Why me ?
You lied to me...
You lied to me ......
solo: Danhage
You lied to me ...
You lied to me ...
09 Faith Restored (03:53)
In a moment of clarity
It all became crystal
And now I try to find someone to heal me
I'm broken
Through the mist in a dream where I show you
Through the rain and the dark that holds you
Heal me
I'm broken
Time to discover what lies hidden in the sand
Time for renewal and to be cleansed by the hand
To heal me relieve me
Heal me
Release me while I'm still breathing
And when it all came to clarity
There was no perfection
Dreams were shattered
Hopes washed away
Through the mist in a dream where I show you
Through the rain and the dark that holds you
Heal me
I'm broken
(If you're one of those people who believe that
You cannot be free from the bondage of sin...
I'm not talking about perfection...
But do not believe that you can ever be free...
That there will always be bondage in your life...
I have nothing more to say to you.
This message from now on will mean nothing to you...)
Time to start over
I'm given a new chance
And time to discover
There were no treasures in the sand
To heal me relieve me
Heal me
Release me while I'm still breathing
10 When the Walls Go Down (05:42)
Lord if you don't help I can't get through this
I can't
Lord I'm too old for games
Foolish games
And I'm tired of rhetoric
Meaningless rhetoric
That never changes things
Lord just help me
Help me
I was feeling God's pain
And I've never had anything
That's been any worth to God
In my 50 years
That wasn't born in agony
Never never
Dead...empty...
And I know that sermons won't do it
I know that Revelation won't do it
Covenant won't do it
I know now
Oh my God
Do I know it
Until I hit agony
Until I have been anguished over it
I'm preaching sermons
Oh God
I broke down
And I wept
And I mourned
Does it matter to you at all
I can't handle this
I can barely make it as it is
Little by little
You're losing it
The lamb of God
The love of Christ
People I know that were my friends
And I see them go one by one
Some of my closest friends
You're changing
You know what you were
You're changing
Little by little
Something's happening to you
Will it bring you to your knees
That's all the Devil wants to do
Is get the fight out of you
And kill it
So you won't labor in prayer anymore
You won't weep before God anymore
Go to Hell
No weeping
Not a word of prayer
It's all ruined
No laughing
This is life and death
When the walls go down
And ruin sets in
Where are the tears
Where's the mourning
Where's the confessing
Love of Christ
The agony
Of God's heart
We have sinned...
Loading comments slowly
