EVERGREY "TORN" -- THOUGHTS?

PurpleCrayonWriter

PurpleCrayonWriter

Just a Kid at Heart
Feb 16, 2006
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Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.purplecrayondirect.com
I picked up the new Evergrey album last night.

At first spin, I find myself...underwhelmed. And I'm not even sure why.

The lyrics. The lyrics are typical for Evergrey -- plenty of denial, betrayal, loss, fear, anger, regret and despair to go around. No real surprises there.

The vocals. Tom spits out words like bullets from a machine gun. But his singing seems to compete with the music, rather than soar above it or dynamically complement it as it does on my favorite Evergrey albums (In Search of Truth, Recreation Day and The Inner Circle). On the title track he sounds rougher around the edges than usual. Raspier. Maybe he was going for that sound in his voice to match the direness of the lyrics. I like Carina Englund's vocals on "Broken Wings" and "These Scars." They're a refreshing change of pace, a nice counterpoint to Tom's trademark style, especially on "These Scars."

The music. Ah, the music. The overall sound, especially the guitar riffs and tones, are as polished as on Monday Morning Apocalypse. So if you didn't like that offering, you probably won't like this.

The bonus track. "Caught in a Lie," the bonus track, is an okay song. It features a welcome piano break about 3/4 into it. That's the Evergrey sound I know and love! Mix things up a little. Add a plaintive-sounding piano here and there. Slow the music down before ramping it back up.

The cover art. Normally, I think Mattias Noren is a god. But the cover art for Torn doesn't seem to fit with the music inside. It looks more fitting for a sword & sorcery novel or folk-metal album. The photography inside the booklet is stunning. Fantastic pictures that capture the essence of the songs. But the cover art...? I'm not sure brown is the color I would have chosen. I don't get the feeling of mystery or wistfulness or exploring the depths of my mind from brown. And certainly not from that wood nymph-like creature that graces the cover.

Don't get me wrong. This is still Evergrey -- one of the coolest bands in the world. But I'm finding that their music of late seems, well, for want of a better word, safe. It doesn't seem as raw or edgy or risky or...?

Or what? What's missing?

Maybe nothing. Maybe it's just me on first listen. Early in the morning. Before I've had my Starbucks venti Americano. In time, Torn will probably grow on me.

What are your thoughts?

Bill
 
I think it's a better album than MMA, but I found myself a bit underwhelmed also. It didn't reach out and grab me like Recreation Day did, y'know? I love the cover art, but I agree that it doesn't necessarily fit. Then again, I didn't really think the cover of MMA fit either so hmm....
 
Since first hearing this a month or two ago, I've completely forgotten about it. The trailers sounded great and I was expecting a lot more. Perhaps worth revisiting down the road during a new music dry-spell but for now there's just too much other great stuff coming out.
 
I bought the disc yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to listen to much of it yet. So far, it strikes me as typical Evergrey, which is a good thing. With that said, I wish the choruses were a little more catchy like on past releases. That's a minor gripe, but I'll listen to more of it today.

~Brian~
 
You have very similar thoughts to me.
Agree on the cover - not really feeling it when I hear the CD.

You bring up a good point about Tom's vox - it's so unique/powerful/emotional that it's almost an instrument unto itself. Thus it can compete with music. And it seems his vox are bit up in the mix this time around.

I don't necessarily think their music has become safe - to me sounds simpler. MMA was a song oriented record, where previous albums have been "stories". Torn to me is still a song based album, more complex than MMA, but not to the level of RD, ISOT or TIC. They've simply changed as a band, but IMHO they still have their USP (unique selling proposition, to use a marketing term)

But all in all, I like the album a lot. It's a return to somewhat of their standard path, after the departure known as MMA (which I also liked in a different kind of way). Not their best effort, but I like it a lot and still gets plenty of rotation
 
I like the songs a lot but the mix is not on par with TIC, RD, or ISOT. That disappoints me as I am really digging the songs but as big of a production freak as I am the mix on TORN detracts from the listening experience. The guitar is just to muddy at times and not distinct enough...
 
I preordered my copy so it should get here today. After reading the reading the reviews, I do have a question, between Nostradamus and Torn, which is the better one to listen to?

After hearing Nostradamus, I get the feeling that when you have overly high expectations from a cd you get let down. So now my stance is I like the band so I have to accept what they put out deal with it or not. I look at it now like I hope new cds are better than the last product that came out. I still am looking forward to the tour though:loco:

I am looking forward to the new AC/DC and Amon Amaarth.
 
mloanna said:
I preordered my copy so it should get here today. After reading the reading the reviews, I do have a question, between Nostradamus and Torn, which is the better one to listen to?

After hearing Nostradamus, I get the feeling that when you have overly high expectations from a cd you get let down. So now my stance is I like the band so I have to accept what they put out deal with it or not. I look at it now like I hope new cds are better than the last product that came out. I still am looking forward to the tour though:loco:

I am looking forward to the new AC/DC and Amon Amaarth.
Click to expand...


Great question/comparison!

Hands down...

Torn.

Nostradamus was pretty darn lame. Too much fluff. Evergrey is still Evergrey. Even over-produced, they're still Evergrey. And that says a lot right there.

I'd love to see these songs performed live. I know they'd be much punchier on stage than on the CD.

Bill
 
I too feel the same way as many on the borad here. I like it better than MMA, but it doesn't touch Recreation Day or their earlier releases. I too am bothered by the production and the mix. It's not the guitars to me, it's the drums. You can barely hear them most of the time. His drum sound is good, it is just to far back in the mix.
 
PurpleCrayonWriter said:
Great question/comparison!

Hands down...

Torn.

Nostradamus was pretty darn lame. Too much fluff. Evergrey is still Evergrey. Even over-produced, they're still Evergrey. And that says a lot right there.

I'd love to see these songs performed live. I know they'd be much punchier on stage than on the CD.

Bill
Click to expand...

Agreed...TORN hands down...no questions asked!
 
O.k. got my copy late yesterday through the mail. I must say that I love it. I see it as an evolution of Evergrey. The first song did have me questioning the vocals and I did notice that the sound, while hard was a little more..crisp or bright compared to past Evergrey but after getting use to the sound, the cd did not disappoint.

By the forth song everything fell right into place. The lyrics, vocals, the overall darkness and power which is what Evergrey is, is still there. Now bring on the tour!!!:headbang:
 
I finally picked this up yesterday, and sweet jeebus......what a monster!!! The only way that I can see not liking this is if I had lost interest in Evergrey or somehow outgrew them. To me, this is the same intelligent, emotional, punch-you-in-the-gut, heavy-ass metal I've grown to love from this band. Awesome.
BTW- I also LOVE Nostradamus. To hell with the nay-sayers!!!!
 
I've had time to really digest this release and I'm really feelin' it. I don't have any complaints with the exception of one. It sounds like the background vocals aren't as prevalent as previous releases. :erk: That's an aspect of this band that I really enjoy and I find it adds more depth to their music. Otherwise, I'm liking this release.

~Brian~
 
After having lived with this for a month now I absolutely love it... still wish it has the razor sharp guitar sound of THE INNER CIRCLE or RECREATION DAY as opposed to the MMA sound but the songs are fabulous... "Caught in a Lie" is awesome and the moody transition halfway through is my favorite musical piece on the CD...I wish they would do mmore of that!
 
Azrael LenGraden said:
After having lived with this for a month now I absolutely love it... still wish it has the razor sharp guitar sound of THE INNER CIRCLE or RECREATION DAY as opposed to the MMA sound but the songs are fabulous... "Caught in a Lie" is awesome and the moody transition halfway through is my favorite musical piece on the CD...I wish they would do mmore of that!
Click to expand...

I'd like to see these guys on a headlining tour, so hopefully they'll play close to me this time around.

~Brian~
 
While I like a few of Evergrey's songs, I'm not the world's biggest fan. Although I like the lyrics from their latest single, I can't say I like the singing style. The song I thought was very "off" in tone and I would have to hear more of the album before I can think of picking the album up.

While I love the song Monday Morning Apocalypse I still was unable to purchase any Evergrey.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that as much as I've tried to get into Everygrey, I just can't.

-Metal
 
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