Year: 2021
Total Time: 58:21
Label: AFM Records
“Escape of the Phoenix” is the twelfth full length album of the Swedish band EVERGREY, coming up straight after “The Atlantic” of 2019, an album that hasn’t been well enough to age yet. After all, the band from Gothenburg has proven itself to be quite productive, consistently releasing albums every two to three years, overall maintaining a very good quality, while building up at the same time its strong musical identity.
I’ve been following EVERGREY closely for many years, being synchronized with them by their monumental debut album “A Dark Discovery”. Of course, a lot has changed since then, with the band evolving and leaving a legacy to atmospheric Heavy / Progressive Metal, releasing great albums, such as “In Search Of Truth”, “Recreation Day” and “Hymns For The Broken”.
In “Escape Of The Phoenix” EVERGREY continue steadily in a similar direction to the musical style that we are used to from the “Hymns For the Broken” era onwards, at the time when two main members, Jonas Ekdahl and Henrik Danhage, returned back to the band. The new album starts with the single “Forever Outsider”, and Swedes show from the very beginning their intentions with a rhythmic and quite “concert friendly” track, which, among other good moments, highlights Tom Englund’s wonderful voice and related performance. EVERGREY continue with my favorite “Where August Mourn”, a diamond of their modern era, with the main melody blended by the beautiful modern parts of the keyboards, leading to atmospheric verses and dynamic bridges.
They speed down on “Stories,” a dynamic ballad, one of those EVERGREY songs that look so easy to produce in every album. This song is written in Englund’s vocal frame, with a distinctive atmospheric and emotional voice driving the musical scenery, surrounded by beautiful melodic guitars and keyboard lines.
Moving forward, it is worth highlighting two more wonderful songs out of “Escape Of The Phoenix”. “The Beholder” stands out with the first listen, due to the participation in it of the frontman of DREAM THEATER James LaBrie, who gives a special dynamic and proportional extent to this track, taking over the lead in vocals in the second half of it. The collaboration of the two singers and the result of the alternation of voices are in my opinion among the top moments of the album. Simply wonderful.
“Sun where’s the sun? Why is it hiding for some? The lack of light is my abstinence and my sense of safety’s undone. Got lost in winds when I was young, tore to sea unnoticed, but forever present in my essence”. The next song “In The Absence Of Sun” is an exceptional lyrical moment, emotionally driven, characterized both lyrically and interpretively, by intense theatricality. It begins with a beautiful melody on the piano, while the baton is taken by Englund, who leads us to a dark scenery, where melancholy and despair prevail. The ballad culminates in the chorus, with the band releasing its dynamism, taking the track to another level in solo and epic closing, closing this way six wonderful minutes.
In addition to the above, “Escape Of The Phoenix” and “You From You” are quite good moments as well, adding points and strengthening the homogeneity of the album. Apart from that, the other four tracks (“Dandelion Cipher”, “Eternal Nocturnal”, “Leaden Saint” and “Run”) contain moments that we have already experienced from the Swedes, and do not have enough additional elements – apart from specific themes perhaps – that keep the interest high enough. It is no coincidence in my opinion that all four of these songs are quite heavy. They sound a little bit flat, losing in creativity. They have the element of repetition and they cannot stand at the very high level of the rest. I would be quite strict though if I named them “fillers”, on the other hand it is obvious that they reach the ceiling of the creativity of EVERGREY.
On the positive side of the album, the great artwork definitely stands out. It has been produced by Giannis Nakos and it is definitely improved compared to that of “The Atlantic”. The production, under the responsibility by Jakob Hansen, is of great quality, so the 11 tracks sound mature and quite close together.
In conclusion, “Escape Of The Phoenix” is a remarkable album. I would not include it in the top five of EVERGREY, but it is probably their highest quality attempt since “Hymns For The Broken” of 2014. It is obvious that the band fans and friends of the genre will check them out, the album deserves their attention!
Rating: 7.5/10
Editor: Kostas Kafritsas
Related Link: EVERGREY – Facebook page
