Evergrey is a Swedish

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

band from

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

History

Evergrey was formed in 1993 in Gothenburg by guitarist/vocalist Tom S. Englund as a progressive power metal band, in contrast to the melodic death metal that Gothenburg is known for. Since then, the band's lyrics have always been of the darker sort, and the same can be said of the band's imagery. After finding a stable lineup, ''The Dark Discovery'' was recorded in 1996 and released in 1998, and '' Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy'' was recorded and released in 1999. While those two albums dealt with a variety of ideas, '' In Search of Truth'' (2001) and '' Recreation Day'' (2003) are

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. Som ...

s, the latter album dealing with issues such as contemplating

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

("As I Lie Here Bleeding"), mourners after a funeral ("I'm Sorry", a cover of Dilba Demirbag's hit), and dying people looking back on their "unforgivable"

sins In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considere ...

("Unforgivable"). "Unforgivable" also acted as a catalyst for the next album, '' The Inner Circle'' (2004), which expanded on the issues described in the song:

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

s, religion and child abuse. On 4 April 2006, Evergrey released their sixth studio album, '' Monday Morning Apocalypse''. It debuted at No. 6 in Sweden. Later that year, Evergrey played at many festivals throughout Europe: among others,

Sweden Rock Festival Sweden Rock Festival is a rock festival outside the town of Sölvesborg in Blekinge in southern Sweden. The festival offers the best possible mix of classic rock, hard rock, metal, blues and related genres. The first version of the festival, k ...

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

, Arvika Festival, Masters of Rock, Storsjöyran and Sziget Festival. From 5 to 30 May, the band toured the United States with

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal, Swedish death metal scene. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Frid ...

Nevermore Nevermore is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1992. The band was formed after three of its members — vocalist Warrel Dane, bassist Jim Sheppard and guitarist Jeff Loomis — ended their prev ...

and Throwdown. On 15 September, they headlined Prog Power VII in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. On 24 October 2006, Evergrey started a new European tour. They were supported by fellow Swedish

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band Avatar, and they visited Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden. Evergrey released their seventh studio album, '' Torn'', in September 2008, continuing with their trademark lyrical themes of desperation and despair.

Jari Kainulainen Jari "Jartsi" Kainulainen (born 29 April 1970) is a Finnish bass guitarist. He is best known as the former bassist of the power metal band Stratovarius from 1993 to 2005. He is currently the bassist of Masterplan, having joined 2012. After hi ...

permanently filled the role on 6 August 2007, who also played bass on Torn. On 8 May 2008, Evergrey announced that they had signed a deal with Steamhammer/SPV. This included the release of their new album and the entire back catalogue. It also was announced that the new album, '' Torn'', would be released early in September 2008. As the deal includes the band's entire back catalog, there is the possibility of re-releases of previous Evergrey albums with the inclusion of added bonus material. In July 2008, Swedish/Danish band Amaranthe announced that keyboardist Rikard Zander, along with In Flames bassist Peter Iwers, would make a guest appearance on their upcoming album. In May 2010, it was announced that Jonas Ekdahl, Henrik Danhage and

have all left Evergrey by mutual decision because of problems with the band members interacting with each other. They called it quits as to not ruin the friendship they all have with each other. An article posted on 13 November 2010 on Evergrey's blog contained dates for upcoming concerts as well as the confirmation of a new album titled ''Glorious Collision'' on 28 February 2011. Via

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posts in November 2013, while writing the next Evergrey album due for release in 2014, the band first confirmed that drummer Hannes Van Dahl would be leaving the band to join

Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

full-time, and then due to "problems working together" guitarist Marcus Jidell would also be leaving. In August 2014, the release of the music video for "King of Errors" from the forthcoming '' Hymns for the Broken'' revealed that Henrik Danhage and Jonas Ekdahl had returned to the band. ''Hymns for the Broken'' was released in September 2014. The band released two more albums after that, '' The Storm Within'' in 2016 and ''The Atlantic'' in 2019. Those three albums were mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen and form a conceptual trilogy. Evergrey's twelfth studio album, ''Escape of the Phoenix'', was released on 26 February 2021. It was elected by ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' as the 10th best progressive metal album of 2021. On 26 August 2021 Evergrey announced they signed a new deal with Napalm Records and are already working on a new album. On 24 February 2022 Evergrey announced the release of their thirteenth studio album, ''A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)'', which was released on Napalm Records on 20 May 2022. On 23 October 2023 Evergrey announced the release of ''From Dark Discoveries To Heartless Portraits'', a compilation album to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band's formation, released on 15 December 2023. On 12 April 2024 the band released a new single, "Falling from the Sun", coinciding with the announcement of their newest album ''Theories of Emptiness'', which released on 7 June 2024. On 15 May it was announced that drummer Jonas Ekdahl would be stepping down as drummer for the band due to having more interest in production and mixing than drumming. Simen Sandnes joined as drummer.

Personnel

Current lineup * Tom S. Englund – vocals, guitar (1993–present) * Henrik Danhage – guitar, backing vocals (2000–2010, 2014–present) * Rikard Zander – keyboards, backing vocals (2002–present) * Johan Niemann – bass, backing vocals (2010–present) * Simen Sandnes — drums (2024—present) Guest musician * Carina Kjellberg-Englund – female vocals (1996–present) Live musicians *Christian Krull Grönlund – bass (2007) Former members * Patrick Carlsson – drums (1996–2003) * Dan Bronell – guitar (1996–2000) * Daniel Nöjd – bass, vocals (1996–1999) * Will Chandra – keyboards (1996–1998) * Sven Karlsson – keyboards (1998–2001) * Michael Håkansson – bass (1999–2006) * Christian Rehn – keyboards (2001–2002) * Fredrik Larsson – bass (2007) *

– bass (2007–2010) * Marcus Jidell – guitar, backing vocals (2010–2013) * Hannes Van Dahl – drums (2010–2013) * Jonas Ekdahl – drums (2003–2010, 2014–2024) File:Evergrey Rockharz 2018 01.jpg, Tom S. Englund File:Evergrey Rockharz 2018 11.jpg, Henrik Danhage File:Evergrey Rockharz 2018 03.jpg, Johan Niemann File:Evergrey Rockharz 2018 04.jpg, Jonas Ekdahl File:Evergrey Rockharz 2018 13.jpg, Rikard Zander

Timeline

Discography

* ''The Dark Discovery'' (1998) * '' Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy'' (1999) * '' In Search of Truth'' (2001) * '' Recreation Day'' (2003) * '' The Inner Circle'' (2004) * ''Monday Morning Apocalypse'' (2006) * ''Torn'' (2008) * ''Glorious Collision'' (2011) * ''Hymns for the Broken'' (2014) * ''The Storm Within'' (2016) * ''The Atlantic'' (2019) * ''Escape of the Phoenix'' (2021) * ''A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)'' (2022) * ''Theories of Emptiness'' (2024)

References

External links

Official website
*
Interview With Tom Englund
{{Authority control Musical groups from Gothenburg Swedish progressive metal musical groups Swedish power metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1995 AFM Records artists Inside Out Music artists