Evergrey is definitely in my good books, but after seeing them open for Iced Earth in 2004, I realized I’d much rather experience then live than listen to their albums; in a live setting, there is a completely different energy about them. So of course, I was ecstatic when “A Night to Remember,” Evergrey’s first live album, materialized in my mailbox. It is consistently thrilling throughout; after hearing “A Night to Remember,” Evergrey has scored even higher with me (Like Evergrey gives a shit about how they 'score' with me, but nevermind).

This two-disc masterpiece, recorded October ninth ’04 in Gothenburg, is not only a brilliant live album, but also serves as a best-of as it contains twenty of their most powerful and loved pieces. “A Night to Remember” is also being released as a DVD (scheduled for summer 2005), which I am vastly looking forward to; I think the added visual aid might help the recording score a perfect ten.

“A Night to Remember” has a good sound—no instruments, soundclips or vocals are lost in the mix. The atmospheric keyboards (Rickard Zander) are heard perfectly, while Thomas Englund’s distinctive voice comes across as intensely as ever. The audience is a tad faint at times, but you’re still aware of them.

My biggest problem with Evergrey’s studio albums is that they just aren’t heavy enough, so that the vague pop-feeling is not only due to the compositions and vocal style, but the production as well. As I discovered upon seeing them live, in concert they are considerably heavier. In this respect, “A Night to Remember” gives a more ‘Metal’ sound to Evergrey and makes the most out of songs like “Solitude Within” or “The Masterplan,” where you really need that weight.

I also find that Evergrey is generally more emotional live—particularly in the case of the album in question. That melancholy desperation which seems to come naturally from the Ever-gang is even more present here. The soundclips, particularly on “When the Walls go Down” and “Essence of Creation” (two of my personal favorites) also contributes to the high emotional content. I guess some groups are just meant to be ‘live bands.’

Evergrey themselves put forth a flawless performance, with not a note out of place or tune. And the entire thing was augmented by two bunches of guest musicians—a trio of backup singers as well as a string quartet from the Gothenburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Everything—audience, guests and band—come across as a sheer wall of energy and emotion. “A Night to Remember” made me realize how dense and layered Evergrey’s music actually is (or can be)—something I hadn’t really registered with their studio albums. Amazing.

On the whole there isn’t a huge amount of audience interaction, though it may have been edited out for length. Englund says something, the crowd cheers or claps along, but until we near the end of the second disc that’s pretty much it. It might have bee nice to have gaps where we hear the audience sing the refrain or what-have-you. I always love the moment on a live album when the audience learns they are to be the backdrop for the recording. In the case of “A Night to Remember,” it’s sort of funny—Englund says something in Swedish, then switching to English, explains, “When I speak in English, it’s because we’re recording this for the world!”… to which the audience responds enthusiastically, of course.

There are no miserable or poor performances on “A Night to Remember.” Some pieces interest me more than others evidently, but everyone will have a different idea of the ‘perfect’ setlist. On the other hand, “A Night to Remember” let me enjoy some songs that had previously done nothing for me.

Highlights for me personally include (from disc one) “End of your Days,” “She Speaks to the Dead” and “Blackened Dawn.” I also love the ballad “As I Lie here Bleeding;" it makes one wonder how many lighters were being waved about. Damn, that performance is a real gem. It’s followed by “Mislead,” which was a perfect choice. Often, when a ballad as delicate as “As I Lie here Bleeding” is followed by a faster piece, the transition seems jarring—“As I Lie here Bleeding” and “Mislead” made a perfect, moving duo. Also, the 'bleeding' reference in both songs further tied them together.

As for disc two, top picks include “Nosferatu,” “When the Walls go Down” and “Essence of Creation.” “A Touch of Blessing” was a good one, too, while “The Masterplan” was a great choice for a closing number. It was also virtually the only case of audience interaction, which was a delight to hear, but only made me wish there had been more of it during the other 19 tracks…

“A Night to Remember” is the perfect addition to any fan’s Evergrey collection, but I’d also recommend it to anyone who could never fully get into the band. Somehow it makes a lot more sense out of their music. Quite honestly, “A Night to Remember” is one of the best albums, live or otherwise, that I’ve heard in a while. * Clare B.*

This fifth record from Sweden’s Melodic Proggers Evergrey is most likely a love / hate thing. I love it. The sound isn’t really divergent from previous efforts, and hopefully the Ever-fans will find as much in it as I did.

“The Inner Circle” is a concept album, and though historically I’m not one for those sorts of things, the record features a remarkable topic. Tom S. Englund (vocals / guitar) does a better job of explaining it than I would:

“It is a conceptual album about being caught up within a religious cult, viewing how you deal with itand how others around you deal with it. It is told form everyone’s point of view, and shows how you fall deeper and deeper into a state of apathy, losing more and more control and power over yourself and dreams; eventually giving yourself over to the cult. It is about fanatics, not specific to a religious group; it can relate to Christians, Muslins, Satanists, Jews, it doesn’t matter.”

I’m sure we’re all glad that the specifics of the cult / religion aren’t dealt with. Besides that, though the articulate and moving lyrics evidently correlate to the above concept, “The Inner Circle” generally is vague enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways. Most of us can find something we can relate to on the album—though not all of us have been wrapped up in some religion or cult, much of “The Inner Circle” has a very lost or torn feeling to it. And I know we’ve all felt that.

The music and lyrics really belong to each other on this record, more so than usual— meaning that, though the music is brilliantly composed and arranged, it has the same questioning, desperate and solemn tone as the lyrics do. Since Evergrey leans more on the Progressive direction, the clever and often non-linear pieces are a perfect expression of the album’s theme.

The reason I said you’d either love it or hate the album (no 'grey' area, har har ), is because it’s generally low-key. Well, Evergrey isn’t exactly known for creating overly aggressive music; “The Inner Circle” only emphasizes this. There are, of course, lots of heavy and up-tempo moments, but for the most part “The Inner Circle” exists in a more reflective state. The album relies heavily on emotion and atmosphere (thanks to soft time changes, Rikard Zander’s keys and a string quartet courtesy of the Gettysburg Symphonic Orchestra). Englund’s emotional vocals, as usual, induce shivers. He’s joined, as he has been on all previous albums, by his wife Carina.

Yet another source of raw, honest emotion is the use of sound clips. Not sound effects, but creepy distorted speeches, a tool Evergrey is no stranger to. A couple times it’s a preacher of some sort going off on some tangent. Perhaps the most effective tactic is on the concluding “When the Walls go Down,” when this fellow is confessing everything in the most grave, intense manor. Again, the listener is able to empathize with this young man in some way, though not necessarily because of his religious circumstances. I never fail to be impressed that Evergrey manages to pull off these monologues—I find that tactic sort of hit or mess, but Evergrey did it without making the speeches, or even the whole concept, feel trite or cheesy.

I haven’t yet listened to “The Inner Circle” enough times to really know all the songs that well, but oddly enough it doesn’t bother me. I’m sure I’ll get better acquainted with it in time and also I’m somehow content with the sentiment that “The Inner Circle” is really one, long entity. The songs that I do know well and love, are the opening “A Touch of Blessing” and concluding “When the Walls Go Down.” These two are my definite favorites—some songs in the middle that stick out are the aggressive “In the Wake of the Weary,” “Where all Good Sleep” and “Faith Restored.”

I really admire Evergrey’s style—all my friends know I’m usually so hot on Progressive Metal, but Evergrey not only incorporates numerous other genres, but also strays away from being morbidly technical or masturbatory; instead, they focus on making smart but easy-to-listen-to music. Their “pop-structure,” as Englund put it, is enjoyable and really doesn’t seem cheesy at all. They don’t try too hard—well, they try hard—but anyway, not in the sense that the music is contrived in some direction. Evergrey seems to simply be able write, and whatever comes out is an honest representation of themselves or concept.

Woah, sorry. This is turning into some sort of essay. Before I get totally carried away, do check out “The Inner Circle.” And if you get the chance to see them live, they’re REALLY good, and a lot heavier. Anyhow, good stuff, Evergrey. Very nice.

* Clare B.*

Evergrey was a name I had always heard associated with both excellence and Progressive Metal. Simply because Sweden's Evergrey was pigeonholed as 'Prog,' I had avoided the band-but when the promo of "Recreation Day" landed in my CD player, I was pleasantly surprised... Prog, in my mind, means cold, calculated and ultimately unlistenable. However Evergrey is melodic, warm and emotional. The music is evidently complicated and very layered as Prog should be-but it has heart. The immense time and effort that went into creating this 12-songed compendium of power really shows.

There's a very Heavy Metal feel to it-crunchy guitars, awesome solos, double kick and plenty of multi-faced keyboards lace the complex music. Another perk is the gruff and expressive voice of Tom S. Englund. The heaviness is interspersed with softer moments, plus acoustic, symphonic and piano bits. As delightful as the music itself are the thoughtful and sincere lyrics. The words are poetic, articulate and fit the feel of the music. There are few dry moments within the walls of these brilliant compositions.

The album kicks off with the hard-hitting "The Great Deceiver," which is one of my personal favorites. The ensuing "End of Your Days" is also excellent-what really makes the song for me is the guitar solo near the end. Amazing. The title track starts off hard and heavy, but switches, becoming a creeping, atmospheric mid-pacer. That's another plus about Evergrey-their time changes are incredibly natural and add a lot of emotional twists and turns. Yet another piece that stood out to me was number six, "I'm Sorry." It's actually a cover of a Swedish pop ballad (originally by Dilba). It's unlikely that many of us over here in North America have heard the original, but in Sweden "I'm Sorry" was a huge radio hit about eleven years ago. Unsurprisingly, given my obsession with anything Scandinavian, I do know the original and can say this: Evergrey has taken this beautiful little song into their hands, making someone else's creation their own while still retaining the haunting quality of the original. Englund claimed that for a long time, he had wanted to do a cover of this song, and now finally did it.

"Blinded" is another cool song... somehow, it really reminds me of something German Power Metallers Brainstorm would write, only with different keyboards. The album ends with "Trilogy of the Damned," which had previously appeared as a Japanese bonus on the "In Search of Truth" album (2001). It was a wise addition, as most fans probably couldn't shell out the cash for the import.

After hearing "Recreation Day," I'm sold! Excuse me... I think I have some Evergrey records to purchase... * Clare B.*