For almost three decades Evergrey have epitomized the European spirit when it comes to heavy music.
Despite not reaching the heights that many feel they deserve, the band has continued on their own path in the music industry, churning out quality albums that resonate deep in the souls of those fortunate enough to listen.
Following hot on the heels - not even twelve months to be exact – from their highly successful album Escape Of The Phoenix, Evergrey are back with A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Treatment), which is due out on May 20.
For this album, Evergrey have invited their fans further into their personal realm than ever before, inviting listeners to record their own vocals for use in the track Save Us and also including crowd noises from the recording of Mid Winter Calls.
These things only further accentuate the bond between Evergrey and their fans and makes the faithful more than bystanders to the bands body of work.
Guitarist/singer Tom Englund sat down with HEAVY to talk about the album.
"For me it's quite difficult to separate it from the last one since that was 11 months ago,” he began. “It's like I have been caught up in the same writing process. The day after Escape Of The Phoenix came out we had a big meeting with the band and we came to the conclusion we should keep on writing during the pandemic seeing we weren't able to play for a good while - and we were right. So we just kept on writing all new material. It feels like ten or eleven steady, solid tracks. People seem to love them and it's done great so far. We switched labels also between these albums. This is the first album on Napalm Records and so far the reception is nothing short of amazing."
In the full interview, Tom talks about following up a successful album, the title and what it alludes to, involving their fans and where the idea came from, the early days of Evergrey, how they have changed musically over the years, future plans and more.