Evergrey - The Storm Within

Evergrey's back for the attack - and kicking ass as always with their latest effort.As satisfying as 2014's Hymns For The Broken was, Evergrey (having undergone a sizeable lineup change) has returned with an impressive followup, The Storm Within, for a greedy fanbase. I'm happy to say that Tom Englund and company - including the returning Henrik Danhage (guitar) and Jonas Ekdahl (drums) - have turned out another great album. This time, it's a concept album based on the classic problem of grieving over lost love and the process of trying to move on. Wonder where that comes from?

Where some may level a complaint that this album sounds like a rehash of their previous release, I counter that with what I think is simply a consistent flow a great songwriting; saying "this is more of the same" about Evergrey's brand of metal is akin to saying that about your meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Sure, there are some parallels in the sound, but like a really good steak pretty much always tastes like a really good steak from place to place, Englund and company manage to craft metal songs with heart that also rock as hard as any band out there. Englund's voice is the heart of the melodies, at once powerful and soulful, and the rhythym section is freakin' bedrock. Bonus: there's an interesting bit of keyboard background patches that add a little old-school dimension without sounding cheesy.

The Bottom Line: More great metal from Tom Englund's Evergrey is always a good thing. If you're on the mood for something new and groundbreaking, skip this album. But if you just want to rock even more after hearing Hymns For The Broken, well you're in luck my friend...

- Genghis dreams of eating at Sukiyabashi Jiro some day...