Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
Today is Evergrey mainman Tom Englund’s birthday and the mood is celebratory. In truth, the band have a lot to be happy about as their most recent album ‘Theories of Emptiness’ continues to gather critical and public acclaim and with newly installed drummer Simen Sandnes having brought some Norwegian freshness to the outfit they’re full of cocksure energy.
The music itself backs this up as the dense yet intricate heaviness of their studio work is changed into something much more visceral in the live setting and after a triumphant battle against adversity following their Bloodstock headlining set earlier this year, this was a very welcome return for the quintet to a country that’s taken them to their hearts.
The Dome hasn’t the biggest of stages but the band cover every inch and to see their obvious chemistry and commitment to each other and the audience is something to warm even the most glacial of hearts. There was no resistance tonight though, every person in the place was determined to get utterly lost in the music and lose themselves to its crushing heaviness and emotional lift.
There can be few, if any, bands on the planet who manage this balance with such skill and finesse as Evergrey, the guitars a snarling punch in the face whilst Englund’s vocals soar and reach down into hearts. Quite how this balance between dark and light is created is something only they fully understand but from the opening thrill of the riff of ‘Falling from the Sun’ onwards it was impossible to resist as Englund and fellow six stringer Henrick Danhage took turns to tear out their solos.
Leaning heavily on the new album with five of its ten tracks played tonight, the set ran the gamut from older fan favourites and deeper cuts through to the fresh material as strong as the blistering ‘Say’ and a triumphant ‘Misfortune’ truly earning their place.
Getting the crowd singing, the titanic ‘Distance’ cast its spell as it displays the dynamic heft the band are so adept at, the urgency of Englund’s vocals and the huge hook of the chorus tapping into the primal whilst Sandnes and bass player Johan Niemann drive everything with a locomotive punch.
In a recent interview the frontman expressed his desire to be as big as Iron Maiden, the ambition a lofty one but if all was right and fair in the world this would be something they’d have already attained.
Whilst they already have a sense of grand, sweeping landscapes and a grasp of the cinematic, the contribution of the shimmering and stabbing keys of Rikard Zander also remains another key factor to the overwhelming sonic and emotional barrage.
This is certainly a band who both dream and plan big, the delivery of every number done with a passion that goes beyond the cliched theatrics of a standard rock ‘n roll and whilst always surprisingly soulful, it’s never overtly and cloyingly earnest.
As befits their home country, there are dark and brutally stark themes explored lyrically but this is a steel fist inside of the velvet glove of their soaring hymns to the power of the human spirit and of heavy metal itself.
For the next ninety-five minutes we want you to just try to forget whatever else is going on in your lives if you can and just lose yourselves with us in the music” says Englund near the beginning of the set and for that blissful time we all do.
As the beautiful and uplifting chaos of ‘Our Way Through Silence’ closes the night with a fist pumping and jubilant cry all that’s left is for the souls united in this high decibel communion to go out into the cold night air, their spirits lifted a little higher. Evergrey are magnificent.
Photography by Jon Theobald for MPM
