After releasing one of their best albums earlier this year with Glorious Collision, the Swedish outfit Evergrey has introduced us to a new two-disc collection featuring many of their greatest hits. While a slew of lineup changes occurred late last year, the gang is still led by singer/guitarist Tom Englund.
Two of the first three songs on disc number one are “The Masterplan” and “Rulers Of The Wind.” Taken off of 2001’s In Search Of Truth, these tunes are extremely melodic, primarily because of Englund’s striking riffs and keys from former member Sven Karlsson. Sandwiched between these two is an extraordinary live performance of “Blackened Dawn,” a track from their debut release, The Dark Discovery. “Blinded” is a heavy, rifftastic jam that is arguably their finest number. The drums are pounding, the keys from current keyboard player Rikard Zander are stellar, and basically everything else about this track is superb. Other songs worth mentioning from disc one are “Faith Restored,” “Broken Wings” and a live performance of “For Every Tear That Falls.”
The second CD starts out exploding with “The Great Deceiver” and “Monday Morning Apocalypse” before calming down a bit with “Wrong.” Fiery and passionate, the lyrics and guitars on both “Solitude Within” and “Recreation Day” are top notch. Another live song, you can feel the energy erupting from the crowd on “When The Walls Go Down.”
Each disc ends with amazing live acoustic renditions of “Wrong” and “Frozen.” Off of Glorious Collision, these previously unreleased versions are simply astonishing as you can really hear just how amazing Englund’s voice is when toned-down. Do yourself a favor and pick up this collection if you’re open to being blown away by hits from each Evergrey release.
In A Word: Stunning
