''The Inner Circle'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

band

Evergrey Evergrey is a Swedish progressive metal band from Gothenburg. History Evergrey was formed in 1995 in Gothenburg, Sweden as a progressive power metal band, in contrast to the melodic death metal that Gothenburg is known for. Since then, the ban ...

, released in 2004. The album is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...

that deals with the themes of religion,

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

s, and child abuse. According to an interview with frontman

Tom S. Englund Tom S. Englund (born 14 December 1973) is a Swedish musician best known for being the vocalist and guitarist of Evergrey, of which he is also a founding member, as well as the vocalist of Redemption. Discography with Evergrey * ''The Dark Disco ...

, the

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...

parts in the album are of an actual person. The last track on the album, "When the Walls Go Down" samples excerpts from

David Wilkerson David Ray Wilkerson (May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011) was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book ''The Cross and the Switchblade''. He was the founder of the addiction recovery program Teen Challenge, and founding pastor of th ...

's speech "A Call to Anguish".

Track listing

Personnel

Band

– vocals and guitar *Henrik Danhage – guitar *Michael Håkansson – bass *Rikard Zander – keyboards *Jonas Ekdahl – drums

Other

*Carina Englund – vocals * Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra –

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inner Circle, The Evergrey albums 2004 albums Concept albums Inside Out Music albums