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Evergrey: Torn (Digipack) Power Metal, Progressive Metal SPV/Steamhammer Records September 23rd, 2008
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Review
Considered one of the worst releases by Evergrey, Torn marks the band's seventh studio full length, as well as their first release not through InsideOut Records, and finds a slight return to the glory days of Evergrey as far as the feel of the music goes. While that does mean a lot to fans of the band since the start, that doesn't mean that this is a true return to form album from the band, as it does still have some aspects that will dishearten the loyal listeners. But, let's face it, this is still one solid release from the band, and perhaps the best that has been released in years. Torn finds the band working with the darker sound again, which is great as the lyrics on this release would not work with a more upbeat sound, and are definitely better crafted then they have been on recent offerings. Many of the tracks on here are superb and very reminiscent of the band's early career, such as the openning three tracks to the release that really grab you with how dark and heavy they are, keeping you in place through the somewhat let down track "When Kingdoms Fall". At first listen, "Fail" will probably come across as it's title sounds, but this is perhaps the most solid piece on the album with it's great guitar work, excellent vocals, as well as all around heaviness of the track that just keeps coming at you from start to finish before the odd track "Numb" which sounds more like an alternative rock song with a touch of Evergrey. While "Nunb" does work to continue the flow of the album, it just seems out of place and is not really that great a song due to how generic it is, except for the guitar solo. This is where the album meets with some rather depressing issues. Not only does "Numb" sound rather bland, the song cuts out at the very end while it does an extremely quick fade out duringt he last two seconds, and "Torn" just crashes in with the cymbols to abruptly end the song, and it just sounds absolutely terrible, not to mention that "Torn" isn't even that great a song to begin with to completely cut off another song. "Still Walk Alone" is another track that sounds heavy but just doesn't seem to fit in due to a rather bland chorus and keyboards that sound a bit too much for the simple music being played by the guitarists, which is often drowned out in the background by them as well. Sadly the album keeps up this pace and doesn't really pick up for the end of the release. Digipack Version: The digipack version of the release only features a bonus track: "Caught In A Lie", which isn't that bad, but really isn't anything stand out. It sounds a lot like the closing tracks off the album, as if this bonus track were just an omitted track off the original edition so that more profits would be made on this version of the release. About two thirds of the way through the track, it starts to get a bit repetative and just starts to feel really drawn out due to the extended bridge prior to the solo with Englund and a female background vocalist singing one word over and over with a decent amount of space between each attempt, but holding it for a rather extended amount of time. Torn is far from the worst Evergrey album released, but at the same time it's far from their best. The album features some great songs at the start, but as it progresses there seem to be too many production errors and bland/mediocre tracks to really have your attention held for much longer. That's saddening because this release really had the potential to put the band's name back on the Progressive map. Still, it's worth checking out, if not from a purchase but at least a listen once through.
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