Tom Englund and Jonas Ekdahl of the Swedish metal band Evergrey were recently here in the Netherlands to surprise a Dutch fan with a short meet and greet. Check out the video below.
Evergrey‘s new album, “The Storm Within” will be released on September 9 via AFM Records. The first single/video ‘Distance’ is released late last month. The clip was directed by Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with Dimmu Borgir, Lacuna Coil, In Flames, Sonic Syndicate and Kamelot, among others. The video can be watched below.
While this may come off as music industry lip service in honor of the quintet, anyone who has followed Evergrey will find it impossible not to become completely enthralled by the music on “The Storm Within” within the space of the first listen. The band’s trademark progressive, dark and melancholic elements are as strong as ever, the album ranks as one of the most progressive record they’ve created in terms of performance, but Evergrey managed to put it in a package that is more accessible and direct compared to any of their nine previous outings. Frontman/founder Tom S. Englund credits Evergrey‘s learning-by-doing over the past two decades for the feel of “The Storm Within”, in particular their all-important “Hymns For The Broken” record from 2014, which saw a revitalized Evergrey lineup return with a new energy.
“We went from having no intention of making an album at all to having all the inspiration in the world on ‘Hymns For The Broken’,” says Englund. “Honestly, we’ve never felt better. ‘The Storm Within’ is a massive album. There are no fillers on it and we’ve never been about that. I think the inspiration speaks for itself.”
Evergrey‘s lyrics have always matched the depth and intensity of their music, and the concept behind “The Storm Within” is no exception. Englund considers the storyline behind the lyrics to be one of the biggest concepts Evergrey has ever tackled, based on something that everyone can relate to; having someone, losing them, and having to pick yourself up and move on. He goes so far as to call it the band’s first “love” album, but it’s not a subject that should be taken lightly in the Evergrey universe.
“As usual, the lyrics are based on someone or some event in my life,” says Englund. “When we were making this album a lot of these relationship issues were going on around me; people losing a partner or a loved one and grieving. ‘The Storm Within’ is about a search for identity, trying to make yourself full when you feel half empty, and I placed that storyline in an interstellar world.”
Musically, “The Storm Within” plays to Evergrey‘s trademark prog metal attack but it’s loaded with double-take moments. Lead-off track “Distance” is a surprise lead single (and first video), the melodically and lyrically stunning “Passing Through” is destined to become a fan favourite, “My Allied Ocean” is one of Evergrey‘s most aggressive songs to date, and the epic title track makes for the perfect album closer in the tradition of Devin Townsend or Rush. The addition of Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen on ‘In Orbit’ is the icing on an already filling cake.
“That was actually my wife (Carina Englund) thinking for me,” Englund says of Jansen‘s involvement. “Floor is a personal friend and major Evergrey fan, so it was over a glass of wine between her and my wife, who asked her if she wanted to do the song. ‘In Orbit’ is a powerhouse of a song and it would be easy to make it the first single, but it’s not the first impression we want to make. That said, it would be stupid not to release it as a single, and if we could get Floor to do the video, that would be a home run.”
Speaking of Englund‘s better half Carina, she reprises her ongoing role as Evergrey‘s secret weapon on every album since they began, contributing vocals this time out to the song ‘The Paradox Of The Flame’. In addition, Evergrey renewed their partnership with critically acclaimed video director Patric Ullaeus for ‘The Storm Within’, fulfilling the band’s vision of creating the most cinematic album in their catalogue. Three stellar clips were shot and, in a huge promotional push, are slated to hit the internet leading up to the official album release.
Englund is proud to have “The Storm Within” represent Evergrey‘s all-important 20th anniversary, although he freely admits he didn’t take note of the landmark occasion until the album was well underway.
“I had a goal when I started Evergrey; I wanted to make 10 albums and that would fulfill my life plan. That’s not something I ever thought I would accomplish. It’s quite an amazing thing to be a band for 20 years and release albums that aren’t sub-par. When I realized we’d done 10 albums in 20 years, it was mind-boggling. I’m proud to say that out of all the albums we’ve released over the last 20 years, we’ve never released one that we didn’t feel was the best we could do at that time. That goes for every song, every note, everything. That’s why we don’t do anything half-assed.”
“The Storm Within” will be available as CD, Digipak, ltd. colored Vinyl, ltd. Picture Vinyl and ltd. Box Set.
Track listing:
01. Distance
02. Passing Through
03. Someday
04. Astray
05. The Impossible
06. My Allied Ocean
07. In Orbit (Feat. Floor Jansen)
08. The Lonely Monarch
09. The Paradox Of The Flame (Feat. Carina Englund)
10. Disconnect (Feat. Floor Jansen)
11. The Storm Within
Upcoming Shows:
Aug 27 Falkhallens Blackbox, Falkenberg, Sweden
Sep 24 STENA LINE Oslo, Norway
Oct 14 Essigfabrik Cologne, Germany
Oct 15 Im Wizemann Stuttgart, Germany
Oct 16 Gruenspan Hamburg, Germany
Oct 17 Pumpehuset Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 19 Columbia-Theater, Berlin, Germany
Oct 20 Kwadrat, Kraków, Poland
Oct 21 Progresja Music Zone Warsaw, Poland
Oct 22 Masters Of Rock Club Zlin, Czech Republic
Oct 23 Barba Negra Track Budapest, Hungary
Oct 25 Majestic Music Club Bratislava, Slovakia
Oct 27 Szene Wien, Austria
Oct 28 Backstage Munich, Germany
Oct 29 Colos-Saal Aschaffenburg, Germany
Oct 30 Z7 Konzertfabrik Pratteln, Switzerland
Oct 31 Ninkasi Kao Lyon, France
Nov 02 Arena Madrid, Spain
Nov 03 Le Metronum Toulouse, France
Nov 04 ELYSEE MONTMARTRE Paris, France
Nov 05 Le Splendid Lille, France
Nov 06 Trix Antwerpen, Belgium
Nov 08 Institute Birmingham, United Kingdom
Nov 09 The Classic Grand Glasgow, United Kingdom
Nov 11 Te Button Factory Dublin, Ireland
Nov 12 O2 Ritz Manchester, United Kingdom
Nov 13 Koko London, United Kingdom
Nov 15 Norwich Waterfront Norwich, United Kingdom
Nov 16 Engine Rooms Southampton, United Kingdom
Nov 17 Tramshed Cardiff, United Kingdom
Band members:
Tom S. Englund – vocals, guitar
Henrik Danhage – guitar, backing vocals
Rikard Zander – keyboard, backing vocals
Jonas Ekdahl – drums
Johan Niemann – bass, backing vocals
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Video below: ‘Distance’