I was really waiting for this one, and guess what... another disappointment. I haven't given this album a really proper listen putting it on while going to bed and falling asleep with it on, but man, from what I remember it's boring and uninspired... kinda boring typical Evergrey rhythms and riffs...

And I agree with it embracing pop sound.

Well, this review scares me. I haven't listened to the album and I didn't like MMA at all. I'm a follower of this band, I'm beginning to think that their peak was already reached and they can't come back there.

I hope I'm wrong and I hope my opinion changes when I listen to this album.

I enjoyed this album, it's better than MMA indeed, a lot bettter; I found the album interesting, the musicianship is more than ok, creativity is OK, vocals were alright. My point of view - I really enjoyed what I listened to, that's all.

Well.. I've only heard the album once or twice, so I can't make a concrete judgement. What I can say for sure, is that the album is far superior than MMA. But... well, I'm a massive fan of Solitude Dominance Tragedy and In Search of Truth.. so I think there's no change this album is getting into me.

Everytime I listen to this album, the more I like it!! Excellent album, I already have it

I heard some songs, "Fail" has some good musicianship.
But errhm I dunno, something about it just doesn't make me love it......I think I may have to listen to it again sometime, it was sort of the same way for me with the new Amon Amarth.

Don't agree with the review at all, love this album.

Firstly, I'm also a long-time Evergrey fan. I am proud to have all their albums and I enjoy them all thoroughly. That said, I will agree that MMA was indeed a bit different. Okay, in some ways it was a lot different. But it was still a worthy listen and worthy still to own in my opinion. But to say that Torn diverges so little from it's predecessor -- I simply disagree. For one thing, the presence of Jari on the bass offers much more than "groovy bass lines"; in fact, if you listen closely (and if you're familiar with his playing ability to begin with), he down right shreds some nice little bits throughout the album. The albums is dark, progressive, melodic, it shreds, it's full of emotion, and long-time fan or not, it's plain to see the strides Evergrey has made as musicians. And it's clear that the essential elements of Evergrey are all very present, and not just found "occasionally" as a moderately redeeming factor. If you want to narrow it down to formula, and whether or not they've become too "simplistic" or "dangerously getting close to a nu-metal approach", it might be time to take a closer look at the formulas of their older albums.

Let's take "Blinded", for example. Pretty much a crowd favorite and a good "middle-ground", if you will, for any Evergrey fan. The layout for this song is not particularly hard. Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, with a quick keyboard break and right back into another verse. 68 Measures into the song it ventures into a bridge, then once again pre-chorus, and chorus. Breaking once again into the first riff as an interlude, we're then introduced to some fantastic guitar work during the lead section, before passing yet again to the chorus and finishing the song with the intro riff. Wordy to type that out, but if you just map it out in your head it's not really that much. Anyway, you could take that formula and compare to just about any Evergrey song, and they're roughly similar. Little differences, sure, but all in all, it's a pretty good map for the way Evergrey composes their songs. I just don't see formulas as a valid point for determining that they've "changed" and that they're "dangerously close" to a nu-metal approach of any kind.

I could probably go on all night -- and it would probably look like a fan "nitpicking" a review that they just didn't like. Certainly there are some valid points, and regardless we all have our opinions and that's that. I just don't feel this review does the album justice at all. I think any truly musically-oriented person (i.e. you play an instrument) could find much to appreciate here, provided you have an ear for fine detail. The guitar work in particular is outstanding.

In any case -- don't let reviews or people's replies to reviews sway your decision in any fasion. Listen for yourself.

I actually agree Eddie, listen for yourself. Reviews are always somebody's two cents. If I had written this review two weeks prior, this review would have been a lot more positive, but the more I listened to it, the more it let me down.

Written by Eddie Misery on 05.10.2008 at 08:25


I could probably go on all night -- and it would probably look like a fan "nitpicking" a review that they just didn't like. Certainly there are some valid points, and regardless we all have our opinions and that's that. I just don't feel this review does the album justice at all. I think any truly musically-oriented person (i.e. you play an instrument) could find much to appreciate here, provided you have an ear for fine detail. The guitar work in particular is outstanding.

In any case -- don't let reviews or people's replies to reviews sway your decision in any fasion. Listen for yourself.

Im not a fan of Evergrey, In fact I didnt listen to any of their songs
But I saw that there is a new album for them (and I like the cover art), and my friend told me about them, so I got very curious about them
I read the review and your comment, and I like the comments like these ones (If u know what I mean)
and couldnt agree more on the last sentence Listen For Yourself
Anyway, Do you recommend me on buying this album, and maybe, All Evergrey albums???

Written by Enissa on 05.10.2008 at 11:28

Written by Eddie Misery on 05.10.2008 at 08:25


I could probably go on all night -- and it would probably look like a fan "nitpicking" a review that they just didn't like. Certainly there are some valid points, and regardless we all have our opinions and that's that. I just don't feel this review does the album justice at all. I think any truly musically-oriented person (i.e. you play an instrument) could find much to appreciate here, provided you have an ear for fine detail. The guitar work in particular is outstanding.

In any case -- don't let reviews or people's replies to reviews sway your decision in any fasion. Listen for yourself.

Im not a fan of Evergrey, In fact I didnt listen to any of their songs
But I saw that there is a new album for them (and I like the cover art), and my friend told me about them, so I got very curious about them
I read the review and your comment, and I like the comments like these ones (If u know what I mean)
and couldnt agree more on the last sentence Listen For Yourself
Anyway, Do you recommend me on buying this album, and maybe, All Evergrey albums???

I would absolutely recommend any of their albums, as I enjoy them all. Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy is a great album to start with. But they're all very good.

I can see what you mean with this review, but I am in another opinion though, it's a fair review, but for me this is like they've gone back in time, actually more in the vein of In Search of Truth and Recreation Day (this is only what I think). I did a review of this album for Sound of Metal (www.soundofmetal.se), and really love it! It's way superior to MMA, even if I find MMA really enjoyable too, but not as all the other records. But this is a come back to the older material for me, and still an evolution. I actually find Tom's vocals very emotional and fits the music perfectly. The lyrics is so deep, and if I start to think of the meaning (the meaning for me that is) in them I almost start to cry, and with Tom's vocals it's even better. A big applause for Tom & C:O!

As fan of Evergrey I found it rather boring, even trying several times to listen to it

Well, i found MMA to be a very good one. The guys told they were going to record straightforward, rather simple album for Evergrey with mainstream production. And they did it great, IMO, although the four previous works did more for me. Still nothing to complain of, great songs and some different side of the band.

This time they told us to await for their "back to the roots" one, but too much of MMA sound and approach lingers here that I didn't wish to be repeated. Every time I listen to it I find more and more of this magic they can deliver, but in general, Torn is not in the vein of their landmark albums, but in the vein of their "mainstream/experimental" way.
Many will enjoy it, many will be disappointed for sure and I still don't know what I'll think of Torn later. Have to listen to it again:)

I was more impressed than I thought I would be, especially with "In confidence", "fail" and "torn". But this album needs a lot of listenings before I can clearly point out why I like it. One thing's for sure: this is better than MMA.

I think the album has potential and I will explore that. My initial reaction changed from negative to positive.

With time and some spins, it becomes enjoyable.