EVERGREY — Hymns for the Broken (review)

EVERGREY — Hymns for the Broken album cover

Album · 2014 · Progressive Metal

3.5/5 · 2015-05-13
UMUR

"Hymns for the Broken" is the 9th full-length studio album by Swedish heavy/power metal act Evergrey. The album was released through AFM Records in September 2014. It´s the successor to "Glorious Collision" from 2011. The last five years have been very troubled for Evergrey, who has seen quite a few lineup changes (and a near split-up), and again on "Hymns for the Broken" there have been a couple of changes to the lineup compared to the lineup who recorded "Glorious Collision (2011)". Drummer Hannes Van Dahl has left to join Sabaton and is replaced here by Jonas Ekdahl, and guitarist Marcus Jidell has also left to be replaced by Henrik Danhage. Both "new" members left Evergrey in 2010 during the first round of lineup turmoil, and had both been part of the band for a longer period before the breakup. So in that respect "Hymns for the Broken" is sort of a reunion album.

Stylistically the music on "Hymns for the Broken" is Evergrey like we know them. Dark/melancholic, epic, and heavy power metal with Tom S. Englund´s characteristic sounding voice and vocal delivery in front. Keyboards/piano share an equally important role in the music as guitars, bass, and drums. The music isn´t build around riffs or focused on instrumental performances though (although Henrik Danhage as usual plays some great melodic solos), but rather around the vocal melodies, which means that there aren´t that many killer riffs on the album (or at least not riffs that are out of the ordinary for the style), but instead some pretty intricate arrangements.

The material on the 12 track, 61:13 minutes long album is well written and relatively memorable, but a bit more variation in atmosphere and pace could have elevated the album to a higher level. As it is now it´s a bit one-dimensionally heavy and mid-paced, with some relatively generic soft/heavy dynamics, and a couple of faster paced or maybe more progressive oriented tunes would have made wonders for the overall flow of the album. The two closing tracks "The Grand Collapse" and "The Aftermath" are actually quite progressive in sound, but it´s a bit too little too late. On the plus side the music is skillfully played/sung and the album is also very well produced, featuring a clear, and powerful sound production, which is a perfect match for the music. So despite a few issues in the variation department "Hymns for the Broken" is still a quality release on most parameters and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

They are not a band I tend to listen to that often. I did check this out and gave it a 4.5 star draft rating but I'm not sure what my rating will end up as, maybe lower as it never drew me back after the initial listen. I expect I'd rate even the albums of theirs I've reviewed a bit different if I used my current system. Glorious Collision, for example, I have never listened to a single song from after finishing my review and I gave it 4 stars at the time, so that rating doesn't feel particularly valid to me now. I don't even remember a thing about it, which is the opposite situation to Torn, which I don't think I've listened to in just as long.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I think Sharon hit the nail pretty well with the albums worth listening too (including the two I mentioned), if you want recommendations.

Nightfly wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Not a band I've listened to much but I've heard this recently and really enjoyed it.

666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Recreation Day is excellent too, at least in my opinion. Since then they've seemed to be routinely hit and miss. I enjoy The Inner Circle, Torn, and this one quite a bit but I'm not much of a fan of either Monday Morning Apocalypse or Glorious Collision.

This one is their best in quite a while but I agree it's not a patch on the earlier work.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

:-)

Colt wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Damn you, no bloody taste! :~

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I too Wonder what the big fuzz is about. Sure it´s better than the last couple of albums, but it doesn´t reach the heights of their 2nd and 3rd studio albums, which I think were their best.

powermetal2000 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Nice review. Most fans seem to be wetting themselves over this but I agree with your sentiment. Good but not mind-blowing. I've never been a massive fan of Evergrey though so maybe that explains it.