lukretion After two good but somewhat uneven albums, Evergrey strike gold with their third record, In Search of Truth. Released in 2001 on Inside Out, this is one of those rare albums where everything just falls in the right place, the songwriting, the performances, even the X-Files-inspired story of alien abduction. Nearly every single song on this album is a little masterpiece of dark prog/power metal, making In Search of Truth the still unequalled magnum opus of Evergrey’s discography and indeed one of the best albums of the whole genre.

One of the reasons why this albums works so well still today, twenty years after its release, is that it masterfully combines technical progressive songwriting with great atmosphere and emotional impact. Prog metal is a genre where it is rare to find albums that can connect with the listener at both a technical and emotional level. When this happens, the outcome is usually a masterpiece that stands the test of time to become one of the classics of the genre, like in the case of In Search of Truth. The songwriting on this album is rich and inventive, much more prog-oriented than Evergrey’s previous two records, while at the same time retaining the band’s trademark gothic and classic heavy metal influences. Each song brims with great instrumentation, from technical but melodic guitar riffs and leads, to sophisticated keyboard arrangements, to clever drum fills – this album has it all. The mini-revolution in the lineup (three-fifths of the band are new on this album) was certainly beneficial for Evergrey. The contribution of new keyboardist Sven Karlsson (who will soon join Soilwork) is particularly remarkable, especially if compared with the tentative performances of the band’s previous keyboard players. New guitarist Henrik Danhage also proves more effective than Evergrey’s former guitar player Dan Bronell (and in fact his residency with the band still continues today). Overall, the band’s technical level has noticeably increased relative to the two previous albums, and this is partly what makes In Search of Truth a far more interesting and compelling release.

The higher level of technical proficiency allowed Evergrey to write songs that are more complex than before. Most of the tracks exceed the 5-minute mark and feature frequent instrumental intermezzos steering the music in multiple different directions. Yet, this complexity does not come at all at the expense of cohesiveness or accessibility. There is a strong sense of purpose and direction in each song that makes them very easy to follow and engage with. This is another sign of a great piece of music. Writing complex songs is (relatively) easy. Writing complex songs that are still catchy and easy to assimilate, and that involve the listener on both an emotional and intellectual level, requires much more skill. One of the reasons why Evergrey succeed in this is the extraordinary performance of their leader, Tom S. Englund. Englund is the glue that holds the music of this album together. He is a gifted singer, with a distinctive timbre and phrasing that make him instantly recognizable. His voice is dark and gritty, yet melodious at the same time. He possesses the rare talent of being able to credibly convey raw emotions through his voice, especially dark feelings of melancholia and desperation. This suits perfectly the spooky theme of the album, an eerie story of alien abduction and experimentation. Englund plays perfectly the part of the distressed abductee frantically trying to piece together the fragments of his memory to figure out what is happening to him. It is frankly hard to remain emotionally unaffected by his howls on “State of Paralysis” or by the desperate chorus of “Different Worlds”.

The album is nearly faultless. The quality of the songwriting is high throughout its nine songs, which is a rare achievement for Evergrey (most of their albums contain at least a few fillers). Yet, a few tracks stand out as absolute masterpieces. “Rulers of the Mind” is a progressive tour-de-force that twists and turns through a myriad of parts before opening up in an amazing chorus. The interconnected pair of songs in the middle of the album, “State of Paralysis” / “The Encounter”, is where the album achieves its incredible emotional peak. The former track is a short piano-driven prelude, drenched with Englund’s emotional singing. “The Encounter” is instead a progressive beast that is sustained by some of the most muscular riffs that you’ll find on the album. The two songs share a beautifully desperate chorus (“They’re coming… They’re coming here to stay…”) that never fails to get me, every single time. “Mark of the Triangle” is another great track, featuring strong dynamics and another masterful performance by Englund. “Different Worlds” is perhaps the best track of the album, dark and gothic and with a chorus that is nearly impossible to get out of one’s mind.

If I were to find a fault with the record is that it closes somewhat weakly, with the unspectacular “Misled” – probably the least remarkable song here. It is a pity, as this is not the way to close such a fantastic album. The production is also perhaps slightly weaker than one would have hoped for. Do not get me wrong, it is a massive improvement over the very shaky productions of Evergrey’ previous two albums. However, I cannot help but feel that producer Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) has not yet been able to figure out what this band need to sound great. On previous albums he had overemphasized the bass tones, resulting in a sound that was too boomy and murky. Here LaRocque almost errs on the opposite side. The album sounds somewhat too clean and airy, while I wish for more power and grit. I do not know if it’s a coincidence, but this will be the last Evergrey album with LaRocque in charge of production and mixing, which is probably for the best.

But these are minor grievances: In Search of Truth is a progressive metal masterpiece. It has everything one can wish for in such a genre: complex songwriting, sophisticated arrangements, strong dynamics, catchy (yet not cheesy) melodic lines, powerful and emotional performances, and a captivating concept. It is hard to find albums that are superior to this one, both in Evergrey’s discography and in the scene as a whole. Honestly, if you are a progressive metal fan, you simply have to give this album a spin (or twenty)!

[Also published on https://www.metal-archives.com]

voila_la_scorie Everygrey’s “In Search of Truth” caught my attention after their latest release “Hymns for the Broken” started getting good reviews on ProgArchives. I decided to get their best rated album which, aside from the great ratings of “Hymns”, was this album. It is based on the book “Communion” by Whitley Strieber, recounting through lyrics and spoken sections the allegedly factual account of Strieber’s repeated abduction by aliens.

Though I’m no expert in this field of metal, I would say the album is mostly symphonic metal with possibly some power metal similarities in a few parts and the odd bit of thrash, though actually all these components may make this out to be exactly symphonic metal. Or is it prog-metal? The guitar sound is wonderfully brain-mulching and heavy but there is also a very strong and up-front piano presence and lots of synthesizer. One thing I really love about the album is how well it uses piano in tandem with the heavy metal band sound. There’s also a bit of electronic effects here and there, a choir sounding totally boss in “Dark Waters”, and a beautiful acoustic guitar / piano duo in “Different Worlds”. Of course there is your double bass drum beats in places and lots of symphonic metal guitar shredding in spots, too. I find the music very satisfying and full of enough variety in both metal and otherwise. The songs can be at times really dark and heavy and other times sad and beautiful.

Special mention must go to Tom S. Englund who does a great job of affecting emotion in his singing. He is not only singing the lyrics to this story of self-doubting and the loneliness and destitution of this incredible experience but he also speaks some parts as the story teller is recording his thoughts into a tape recorded. He starts out pretty bold but near the end, in “Different Worlds” he is whimpering like a child as he sobs, “Oh, god, it’s happening again. They’re here… Please don’t touch me. I don’t wanna be here. I wanna go home.” His vocal performance is very convincing, and the 12-year-old boy in me wonders how he could keep a straight face saying those lines. But with the beautiful minor key piano it’s easy to conjure up an image of a man scared and alone as the mysterious extraterrestrials come silently for him yet again.

Though I think this is an excellent concept album and I can really enjoy listening to it for all the riches of metal sounds and symphonic metal parts and the vocal performance as well, there is still this lingering aftertaste of the entire album being very much the same thing. There’s another piano intro. There’s another thrashy, heavy part. So I can’t smack this baby with a full five-star rating. But a very solid four stars is easily deserved.

siLLy puPPy An interesting concept album about a man who thinks he's being kidnapped by aliens and all the misery, confusion and paranoia that go along with it. This is yet another great sounding band hailing from Sweden. This is the first album i've heard by this band and it sounds really good. Not just Dream Theater wannabes here.

They do seem like a band that is disguised as a “normal” sounding prog metal band of the DT/Symphony X sort but they have a subtle way of keeping it original and interesting with cool riffing, subdued drumming and haunting female vocals. They know how to rev it up when necessary and tame it way down for contrast.

I swear that I hear the keyboards spending a majority of their time doing variations insprired by the theme music for the 90s tv series the X-Files.

Great concept that is well done, great musical performances and although not earth-shattering originality on display here, this is definately a keeper.

Warthur Evergrey play progressive metal with the "metal" side of the equation drawing a little from power metal, which is a combination which in other hands could lend itself to cheesiness, but I was pleasantly surprised by In Search of Truth. It's a concept album that overtly presents a story about alien abduction, but focuses more on the emotional ordeal of the experience (as depicted in Whitley Strieber's Communion), and as a result has more widely applicable emotional themes than you might expect from the concept. In fact, overall Evergrey display a subtle touch, engaging less in bombast or technical flashiness than many prog and power metal competitors and concentrating instead on really solid compositions and moods.

Sinkadotentree For me this is the best EVERGREY album by far.This band is from Sweden and this particular record is a concept album about a man who thinks he is being abducted by aliens. It's a dark and emotional recording as our subject's thoughts are laid out for us to hear. Friends and family don't believe him as he tries to account for whole periods of time being lost. He's very paranoid, always looking over his shoulder and he doesn't feel safe even in his own home. At one point he's crying "Please don't touch me, i want to go home" as he repeates it over and over. He always keeps a tape recorder with him and feels like he's always being watched. As for the music it's fantastic as we get this dark and heavy sound with excellent vocals. In my opinion every Prog-Metal fan needs this in their collection.

bonnek At their best this band is pure gold. At least if you like dark gothic power metal (quite a mouthful) that is fronted with one of the most affecting singers in the field, that doesn't shy away from big epic proportions, and that features lots of virtuosic riffing, soloing and excellent songwriting.

"In Search of Truth" is by far their masterpiece for quite a few reasons. The first thing to notice is the excellent production. While the two previous releases sounded a bit too 'reverby' and muddy, this one is powerful, clean, sharp and warm. Now that wouldn't mean much without good songs and luckily this very same album has not one weaker track for its entire duration. Even at its most 'operatic' moments this album still stands as a rock. That is what songwriting skills and an exceptional singer can do for you. With "Dark Waters" and "Watching the Skies" this even features some of my favorite tracks for this type of melodious thrashy metal.

If we declare there is something like a 'darkly gothic progressive power prog opera metal' genre (I still need to come up with a more catch tag…), then this album is sure the essential album in it.