Evergrey – A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)
Evergrey – A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)
Napalm Records
Release Date: 20/05/2022
Running Time: 50:00
Review by Rory Bentley
9/10
Elegant, classy, tasteful, swoon-inducing. All adjectives that I’ve never had fired my way and not necessarily the first things that come to mind when anybody brings up Metal, but Evergrey have every one of those qualities dripping from every pore. Stockholm has produced an enviable number of top tier Rock and Metal artists, but Evergrey are a band who should have got their flowers a long time ago.
Propelled by deceptively technical riffs, gorgeous lead guitar and one of the greatest singers Metal has ever produced in Tom S. Englund, the band have been playing their sophisticated brand of melodic, melancholic Metal for 25 years now and on the evidence of their latest release they show no signs of stopping.
While I enjoyed preceding albums “The Atlantic” and “Escape of the Phoenix”, I did feel that certain songs were a little interchangeable, often rescued from obscurity by Englund’s immaculate, soulful crooning. There is no such issue with “A Heartless Portrait”, with every song oozing with character and heavenly melodic textures.
‘Save Us’ gets things started with some truly titanic riffs and some strikingly savage gang vocals that have a much harder edge than the band have shown in recent releases. As the characteristically soaring chorus erupts from molten slabs of guitar, it is clear the band have come back with a renewed sense of fire. Thankfully this momentum carries over for the entire record!
The militaristic guitars of ‘Midwinter Call’s’ intro keep things in the high energy territory with stomping verses, eerie choral vocals and another wonderful chorus bursting out in glorious technicolour every time Tom opens that honey-dipped throat of his. It also features one of many of the record’s glorious guitar solos, which are always technically flawless without ever feeling indulgent and every bit as soulful as the vocals.
‘Ominous’ lives up to its name with a sinister yet graceful electronic soundscape underpinning spine tingling falsetto vocals and if you think I’ve spent too long praising old Golden Lungs already I’m here to tell you that you’re in for a long ride with this review. I’ll shift focus for a moment to what an incredible guitar player he is instead for a bit, along with his tag team partner Henrik Danhage. On this particular song their duelling leads are like having your ears kissed by angels and highlight the band’s ability to be super progressive sounding whilst always feeling like they’re serving a cohesive song.
Special mention must also go to Rikard Zander on keys who makes excellent tonal choices that lend tons of atmosphere to every song, particularly the delicate closing bars of ‘Call Out The Dark’. I can count the number of keyboardists in European Metal bands that don’t veer into cheese territory and detract from my enjoyment of a song on one hand. And I don’t need all my fingers either.
I’m scratching my head to find a weak spot on this album but every moment feels essential, there’s a greater sonic variety than on recent releases and the band sound so full of life. Beautiful closing track ‘Wildfires’ nearly made me full on ugly-cry on public transport today for Odin’s sake!
Against the run of play Evergrey have produced one of the strongest outings in their immaculate catalogue, dazzling us with their strongest elements while still adding nuances and approaches hitherto unheard. It is absolutely criminal that a band this consistently excellent with one of the best vocalists walking the planet, is not playing the same venues and hitting the same chart numbers as some of their peers. “A Heartless Portrait” is a stirring , anthemic Metal classic delivered with passion, precision and panache. It’s time to give these masterful veterans the long-overdue glory they deserve. Did I mention Tom’s good at singing?
‘Save Us’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Save Us
02. Midwinter Calls
03. Ominous
04. Call out the Dark
05. The Orphean Testament
06. Reawakening
07. The Great Unwashed
08. Heartless
09. Blindfolded
10. Wildfires
LINE-UP:
Tom S. Englund – vocals, guitars
Henrik Danhage – guitars
Rikard Zander – keys
Jonas Ekdahl – drums
Johan Niemann – bass
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
