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Evergrey - Torn review



Reviewer:
N/A

293 users:
7.71
Band: Evergrey
Album: Torn
Release date: September 2008


01. Broken Wings
02. Soaked
03. Fear
04. When Kingdoms Fall
05. In Confidence
06. Fail
07. Numb
08. Torn
09. Nothing Is Erased
10. Still Walk Alone
11. These Scars
12. Caught In A Lie [Limited edition bonus]

The seventh album of Swedish masters Evergrey has arrived, and it diverges very little from the road taken by its predecessor Monday Morning Apocalypse. While this new album Torn is not as straightforward as their early works, it has the potential to grow on some listeners quickly and it packs some seriously good moments here and there. Overall though, it will come across as another disappointment for most of you who are not into their music. The comments on this review already promise to be interesting to read.

I could bluntly tell you that Evergrey have gone in my opinion a little more pop than usual. The way choruses are performed makes me think of more mainstream rock music continuing the trend first displayed with Monday Morning Apocalypse. The formula is even dangerously getting close to a nu-metal approach to songwriting, and that is far from reassuring. The slower tempo throughout the album with heavy riffs can be downright scary to some. The vocals are not helping either as they are mostly stripped of emotions in most places while the scarce female vocals are limit annoying. In short, it is pretty much the usual lot for an Evergrey album. I wish they could just snap out of this happy songwriting haze and at the same time bring out some enraged vocals [Call Mikael Stanne or Peter Tägtgren for session vocals if you need to].

On the plus side their trademark dark progressive sound is found occasionally. And after a few listens, Torn is way superior to Monday Morning Apocalypse and strangely enough it even does more for me than The Inner Circle at times. All the elements are gathered once more, smooth guitar solos, heavy drums and groovy bass lines [courtesy of Jari Kainulainen of Stratovarius fame]. The dark atmospheres may be less prominent but songs like 'When Kingdoms Fall' and 'Nothing is Erased' inject enough of that to momentarily please the die-hard Evergrey fan. The production is once again flawless. But honestly, you can take any album they released prior to 2006 and it blows Torn out of the water.

In the end it will come down to personal tastes, whether you can enjoy Torn more than their previous albums or not even close. For me, this new album is a somewhat good listen, however I doubt it will have a lasting effect on me. And I am oblivious to most flaws present in their music since I am a long-time fan of the band [vocals & lyrics anyone?]. It is a "love it or hate it" kind of album and there is no way I can even rate this album. Some will brand it as one of 2008 bests while other would barely consider this a decent album. If you are into Monday Morning Apocalypse, this is undeniably for you, otherwise I doubt you will find anything here to talk about.





Written on 04.10.2008 by Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as:

"A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?"

I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math.

Guest review by
georgor
Rating:
8.0
Evergreys' last album is already out a few months before my decision to write this review has been made. I really respect their music because in addition to many bands of metal nowadays, they can express dark feelings and make dark atmosphere without making albums containing any mainstream usual gothic or black metal material. I do like gothic and black metal, but these genres are "overcrowded" and many bands do it because it is today's trends. This results in many releases without quality in songwriting and emotion. Evergrey invented and maintained their own style no matter how diverse or good their discography becomes.

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published 02.05.2009 | Comments (3)


Comments

Comments: 16   Visited by: 283 users
04.10.2008 - 00:43
Rating: 7
K✞ulu
Seeker of Truth
I was really waiting for this one, and guess what... another disappointment. I haven't given this album a really proper listen putting it on while going to bed and falling asleep with it on, but man, from what I remember it's boring and uninspired... kinda boring typical Evergrey rhythms and riffs...

And I agree with it embracing pop sound.
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Savor what you feel and what you see
Things that may not seem important now
But may be tomorrow

R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner

Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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04.10.2008 - 09:43
Rating: 8
BloodTears
ANA-thema
Well, this review scares me. I haven't listened to the album and I didn't like MMA at all. I'm a follower of this band, I'm beginning to think that their peak was already reached and they can't come back there.

I hope I'm wrong and I hope my opinion changes when I listen to this album.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.


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04.10.2008 - 10:02
marillionfan
Account deleted
I enjoyed this album, it's better than MMA indeed, a lot bettter; I found the album interesting, the musicianship is more than ok, creativity is OK, vocals were alright. My point of view - I really enjoyed what I listened to, that's all.
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04.10.2008 - 18:14
Rating: 7
Dark Blood
The Avenger
Well.. I've only heard the album once or twice, so I can't make a concrete judgement. What I can say for sure, is that the album is far superior than MMA. But... well, I'm a massive fan of Solitude Dominance Tragedy and In Search of Truth.. so I think there's no change this album is getting into me.
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It is humanity who must pay homage to the greatness of the Universe... not the Universe to the human narcissism.
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04.10.2008 - 20:53
Rating: 9
juanopereira

Everytime I listen to this album, the more I like it!! Excellent album, I already have it
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04.10.2008 - 22:42
Gigginova
Account deleted
I heard some songs, "Fail" has some good musicianship.
But errhm I dunno, something about it just doesn't make me love it......I think I may have to listen to it again sometime, it was sort of the same way for me with the new Amon Amarth.
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05.10.2008 - 03:11
Rating: 8
WorpeX
Made of Metal
Don't agree with the review at all, love this album.
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05.10.2008 - 08:25
Rating: 9
Eddie Misery

Firstly, I'm also a long-time Evergrey fan. I am proud to have all their albums and I enjoy them all thoroughly. That said, I will agree that MMA was indeed a bit different. Okay, in some ways it was a lot different. But it was still a worthy listen and worthy still to own in my opinion. But to say that Torn diverges so little from it's predecessor -- I simply disagree. For one thing, the presence of Jari on the bass offers much more than "groovy bass lines"; in fact, if you listen closely (and if you're familiar with his playing ability to begin with), he down right shreds some nice little bits throughout the album. The albums is dark, progressive, melodic, it shreds, it's full of emotion, and long-time fan or not, it's plain to see the strides Evergrey has made as musicians. And it's clear that the essential elements of Evergrey are all very present, and not just found "occasionally" as a moderately redeeming factor. If you want to narrow it down to formula, and whether or not they've become too "simplistic" or "dangerously getting close to a nu-metal approach", it might be time to take a closer look at the formulas of their older albums.

Let's take "Blinded", for example. Pretty much a crowd favorite and a good "middle-ground", if you will, for any Evergrey fan. The layout for this song is not particularly hard. Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, with a quick keyboard break and right back into another verse. 68 Measures into the song it ventures into a bridge, then once again pre-chorus, and chorus. Breaking once again into the first riff as an interlude, we're then introduced to some fantastic guitar work during the lead section, before passing yet again to the chorus and finishing the song with the intro riff. Wordy to type that out, but if you just map it out in your head it's not really that much. Anyway, you could take that formula and compare to just about any Evergrey song, and they're roughly similar. Little differences, sure, but all in all, it's a pretty good map for the way Evergrey composes their songs. I just don't see formulas as a valid point for determining that they've "changed" and that they're "dangerously close" to a nu-metal approach of any kind.

I could probably go on all night -- and it would probably look like a fan "nitpicking" a review that they just didn't like. Certainly there are some valid points, and regardless we all have our opinions and that's that. I just don't feel this review does the album justice at all. I think any truly musically-oriented person (i.e. you play an instrument) could find much to appreciate here, provided you have an ear for fine detail. The guitar work in particular is outstanding.

In any case -- don't let reviews or people's replies to reviews sway your decision in any fasion. Listen for yourself.
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05.10.2008 - 09:19
Rating: 8
Dream Taster
The Enemy Within
I actually agree Eddie, listen for yourself. Reviews are always somebody's two cents. If I had written this review two weeks prior, this review would have been a lot more positive, but the more I listened to it, the more it let me down.
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05.10.2008 - 11:28
Rating: 8
Enissa

Written by Eddie Misery on 05.10.2008 at 08:25


I could probably go on all night -- and it would probably look like a fan "nitpicking" a review that they just didn't like. Certainly there are some valid points, and regardless we all have our opinions and that's that. I just don't feel this review does the album justice at all. I think any truly musically-oriented person (i.e. you play an instrument) could find much to appreciate here, provided you have an ear for fine detail. The guitar work in particular is outstanding.

In any case -- don't let reviews or people's replies to reviews sway your decision in any fasion. Listen for yourself.


Im not a fan of Evergrey, In fact I didnt listen to any of their songs
But I saw that there is a new album for them (and I like the cover art), and my friend told me about them, so I got very curious about them
I read the review and your comment, and I like the comments like these ones (If u know what I mean)
and couldnt agree more on the last sentence Listen For Yourself
Anyway, Do you recommend me on buying this album, and maybe, All Evergrey albums???
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05.10.2008 - 20:54
Rating: 9
Eddie Misery

Written by Enissa on 05.10.2008 at 11:28

Written by Eddie Misery on 05.10.2008 at 08:25


I could probably go on all night -- and it would probably look like a fan "nitpicking" a review that they just didn't like. Certainly there are some valid points, and regardless we all have our opinions and that's that. I just don't feel this review does the album justice at all. I think any truly musically-oriented person (i.e. you play an instrument) could find much to appreciate here, provided you have an ear for fine detail. The guitar work in particular is outstanding.

In any case -- don't let reviews or people's replies to reviews sway your decision in any fasion. Listen for yourself.


Im not a fan of Evergrey, In fact I didnt listen to any of their songs
But I saw that there is a new album for them (and I like the cover art), and my friend told me about them, so I got very curious about them
I read the review and your comment, and I like the comments like these ones (If u know what I mean)
and couldnt agree more on the last sentence Listen For Yourself
Anyway, Do you recommend me on buying this album, and maybe, All Evergrey albums???


I would absolutely recommend any of their albums, as I enjoy them all. Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy is a great album to start with. But they're all very good.
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06.10.2008 - 00:02
Rating: 9
=maD.Doc:.
Melodeath Master
I can see what you mean with this review, but I am in another opinion though, it's a fair review, but for me this is like they've gone back in time, actually more in the vein of In Search of Truth and Recreation Day (this is only what I think). I did a review of this album for Sound of Metal (www.soundofmetal.se), and really love it! It's way superior to MMA, even if I find MMA really enjoyable too, but not as all the other records. But this is a come back to the older material for me, and still an evolution. I actually find Tom's vocals very emotional and fits the music perfectly. The lyrics is so deep, and if I start to think of the meaning (the meaning for me that is) in them I almost start to cry, and with Tom's vocals it's even better. A big applause for Tom & C:O!
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06.10.2008 - 02:16
Rating: 4
enumaelis

As fan of Evergrey I found it rather boring, even trying several times to listen to it
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06.10.2008 - 21:20
Rating: 6
Mort

Well, i found MMA to be a very good one. The guys told they were going to record straightforward, rather simple album for Evergrey with mainstream production. And they did it great, IMO, although the four previous works did more for me. Still nothing to complain of, great songs and some different side of the band.

This time they told us to await for their "back to the roots" one, but too much of MMA sound and approach lingers here that I didn't wish to be repeated. Every time I listen to it I find more and more of this magic they can deliver, but in general, Torn is not in the vein of their landmark albums, but in the vein of their "mainstream/experimental" way.
Many will enjoy it, many will be disappointed for sure and I still don't know what I'll think of Torn later. Have to listen to it again:)
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16.05.2009 - 19:30
Rating: 8
BloodTears
ANA-thema
I was more impressed than I thought I would be, especially with "In confidence", "fail" and "torn". But this album needs a lot of listenings before I can clearly point out why I like it. One thing's for sure: this is better than MMA.

I think the album has potential and I will explore that. My initial reaction changed from negative to positive.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.


My Instagram
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26.08.2016 - 21:16
Rating: 8
BlankFile

With time and some spins, it becomes enjoyable.
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