A new Evergrey album is always something special for me. Since Solitude – Dominance – Tragedy, released in 1999 and thus a quarter of a century ago, I have carried the band in my heart. With Theories Of Emptiness, the Swedes bring us their fourteenth – yes, fourteenth! – album since their debut, The Dark Discovery, saw the light of day in 1998. Although not every release may have been equally strong, it’s undeniable that the band consistently delivers quality and emotion, in recent years particularly with their standout albums, The Atlantic en A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament). And damn it, dear readers, I don’t know how they do it, but Evergrey just keeps going strong.
Evergrey has always been a band of darkness and light (I wrote this before realizing it’s literally the meaning of the band’s name, truly a facepalm moment!), and this is especially true on this album. More ambiguous than ever, in my opinion, both musically with a very diverse sound palette and lyrically. The title immediately catapults me back to the aforementioned Solitude – Dominance – Tragedy and the subsequent period where themes such as fear, depression/sadness and loneliness were more prominent than in recent albums, which focused more on energetic, hopeful catchy songs with a warm touch of melancholy. Yet, Theories Of Emptiness is not a return to more desolate themes. The concept of ’emptiness’ is explored from various angles, both positively and negatively, allowing you to determine your own stance. What is preferable: the safety of emptiness (which can be very welcome after emotional turmoil) or opening yourself up to love and trust with the associated risks? Thus, the serenely concluding A Theory Of Emptiness with its longer spoken passage textually contrasts the message of One Heart. The speaker of that conclusion could be invited by the protagonist of The Night Within to abandon the emptiness, leaning towards the spirit of the Dutch-Flemish classic Break The Silence.
But of course, it’s the music itself Evergrey always enters the heart with. Falling From The Sun continues the tradition of a pounding opener, catchier than ever. The guitars sound heavy, Henrik shows that he weaves technicality with emotion like no other, the keyboards elevate the music nicely, and all this is perfectly complemented by Jonas’ creative drumming. Even though the song is enormously catchy, that opening riff is as typically progressive Evergrey as it gets. The choppy guitar, not 100% predictable with its well-known, slight delay in rhythm, feels like coming home. The short Misfortune (clocking in at just three minutes and twenty seconds) follows with wide, dragging chords and goes entirely into anthem mode: I can already hear the audience singing and shouting along during the chorus. On first listen, I did ask myself for a moment whether the band wasn’t becoming very radio-friendly…
But then there is To Become Someone Else. After an atypical, calm beginning, it follows with a sweet but successful bridge (with nicely incorporated Hammond organ) to a solid, mid-tempo, counter-riff with more aggressive vocals. The singable but heartfelt chorus completes it. The atmospheric interlude after the first heavy chorus builds almost symphonically with a repeated piano note indicating the rhythm and crescendos with a Nightwish touch. After a solid minute, a nice heavy bass riff drops, with a beautiful, long transition to the closing chorus. Say combines this light progressiveness with a hefty dose of groove, all with an angular riff – yet it works wonderfully. The melancholic chorus, sung with feeling and enriched with delicate keys, is further driven by unconventional guitar parts.
Ghost Of My Hero is the ballad of Theories Of Emptiness. To me, it’s a simpler song than the ballads on previous albums, but it has the same impact. Verses are carried by keyboards and a slow electronic beat, choruses break open with simple chords and Tom’s beautiful, intimate but poignant vocals and lyrics. After this quiet point, We Are The North comes in like a bomb: heavily marching with those typical Evergrey chugs, dark keys, and much stronger vocals.
In what is yet another incredibly strong album, I cannot help but explicitly name Cold Dreams as one of the highlights. Vocally assisted by Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) with even a few grunts and Tom’s daughter Salina providing beautiful backing vocals, this track structurally deviates from the rest of the album with several tempo and mood changes. Threatening, aggressive, angry but also contemplative and sad. The guitar solo is downright otherworldly.
When asked if Theories Of Emptiness is better than its predecessor, I can’t give a direct answer. On the one hand, I feel the singalong factor has never been so high on an Evergrey album. Yet, it’s not about simple songs: there’s too much happening in the tracks. This perhaps best demonstrates the band’s immense talent in blending their complex interplay into such an accessible whole. Falling From The Sun, One Heart, and Our Way Through Silence find the perfect balance here. On the other hand, the more complex songs speak to me (even) more, such as the aforementioned To Become Someone Else, Say, and Cold Dreams. It’s bizarre how an album full of strong tracks and beautiful music can still leave me in doubt.
Anyway: what an amazing album! More amazing than The Atlantic or A Heartless Portrait? That knot might be untangled by the time Evergrey comes out with their next album. The Swedes certainly keep the bar set exceptionally high.
Score:
90/100
Label:
Napalm Records, 2024
Tracklisting:
- Falling From The Sun
- Misfortune
- To Become Someone Else
- Say
- Ghost Of My Hero
- We Are The North
- One Heart
- The Night Within
- Cold Dreams (feat. Jonas Renkse & Salina Englund)
- Our Way Through Silence
- A Theory Of Emptiness
Line-up:
- Tom S. Englund – Vocals, guitar
- Henrik Danhage – Guitar
- Rikard Zander – Keyboards
- Jonas Ekdahl – Drums
- Johan Niemann – Bass guitar
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