Evergrey's 'A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament)' - Album Review

There have been quite a few bands that turned the COVID-19 pandemic into a reason to be creative, and the Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey are one of them. Having wrapped up a loose trilogy of albums in 2019 with the release of the excellent and heavy The Atlantic (which I reviewed here), the band got back to business following a year of touring to create 2021's Escape of the Phoenix (which I reviewed here) - an album which saw the band look to the past as well building on the success of their recent work. Following a brief hiatus, plus the return of guitarist Henrik Danhage and drummer Jonas Ekdahl in 2014, Evergrey have been in rude form. The loose trilogy that culminated in The Atlantic was kicked off in with Hymns for the Broken (which I reviewed here) - with 2016's The Storm Within (which I reviewed here) then proving to be the meat in the sandwich. Starting with Hymns for the Broken, which is probably my favourite Evergrey album to date, the band modernised their sound somewhat. The dark-sounding, atmospheric heavy metal upon which the band made their name was still present - but the band took their sound in a more modern direction. Some of the riffs on The Atlantic in particular could have been written by Gojira, so heavy and mechanical-sounding they were, but Evergrey made the transition work whilst maintaining the key elements of their core sound. I think that many would agree that these three albums contain some of the band's best work to date - and the band clearly agree, as songs from the trilogy have dominated their setlists in recent years. Despite this, though, it seems that the band wanted to return to their older sound somewhat with Escape of the Phoenix. Evergrey have often had a fairly organic sound, particularly thanks to Rikard Zander's approach to keyboard playing and frontman Tom Englund's warm, deep voice, and Escape of the Phoenix emphasised this again. It was less driving and mechanical than the preceding three albums - but the overall production style and general heaviness were similar. This meant that the album sounded like a natural continuation of the trilogy, whilst also allowing the band's history to shine - which ensured that Escape of the Phoenix was another excellent addition to the band's canon. Escape of the Phoenix was released last February, and back in May Evergrey released the follow-up as a result of the COVID-19 downtime, with A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) being something of a surprise. What is not surprising, though, is the quality that is found throughout the band's thirteenth studio album. It very much carries on where Escape of the Phoenix left off, but A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) is possibly even more old-school sounding than its predecessor. Englund and co. certainly seem to have been very inspired by their earlier work of late, but perhaps the most inspired throughout the album is Zander - who's keyboard work is once again excellent.

The album opens up with its lead single Save Us, which kicks in in a big way with little to no fanfare. There is no gradual build-up or atmospheric scene-setter here, instead the song opens with a mid-paced riff - backed up by Ekdahl's groovy double bass drum rolls. Whilst there are lots of hooks throughout the track, it is perhaps this groove that makes it really stand out. The rhythm never lets up throughout, and the song just sits back on Ekdahl's footwork - with long-time bassist Johan Niemann adding plenty of weight thanks to his thick bass sound. The verses are quite abrasive-sounding, recalling some of the band's recent heavier work, with occasional gang vocal-led hooks accentuating the groove. Gang vocals are not typically a big part of Evergrey's sound, but they work really well here, and these punchy sections help to draw the lister in before the big chorus arrives - which is much more atmospheric thanks to Zander's keyboards and Englund's trademark emotional vocal delivery. The song is an instant favourite for me, and it kicks the album off in fine fashion. Midwinter Calls is another song that opens with a strong groove, with Niemann and Ekdahl laying down a stop-start rumble with lots more double bass drum work, but the song is instantly more melodic from the off thanks to Zander's synth lead. Keyboards are a big part of the song, and it is much more atmospheric overall than Save Us. The guitar riffs are generally much more rhythmic this time, with the synth melodies providing the main hooks, whilst slower sections focus on some subtle piano playing - with Englund's smoky voice benefitting from the overall approach. There is still plenty of heaviness throughout, as well as lots of depth thanks to the subtle use of choral vocals to bulk things out. As such, the song is a great representation of Evergrey's core sound, and it strikes a good balance between the band's trademark atmosphere and heavy grooves. The chorus is gothic-tinged earworm, too, and a two-part melodic guitar solo featuring both England and Danhage pulls everything together. After two pummelling groove-based tracks, the album then takes a turn towards more of a gothic/doom sound with Ominous. Whilst never sounding like Swallow the Sun, Evergrey have occasionally gone for a slower sound that mixes heaviness, atmosphere, and slow gothic drama together - and Ominous is their latest product from that forge. The riffing is generally less prominent, at least early on, and the song focuses on atmosphere and keyboard textures more significantly. Some of Englund's vocal lines early on are probably some of the album's best, due to how exposed they are and how much emotion they convey, and even when the song opens out somewhat and becomes heavier there is still a strong gothic vibe throughout. England, who is known for his deeper voice, even hits a couple of quite impressive high notes throughout - which only push the emotion in his delivery further and make the song a stand-out cut from a vocal perspective.

Despite the mix of heaviness and emotion, the album's opening three songs are quite dense arrangement-wise - which helps the relatively simple Call Out the Dark to stand out. It is a very hook-focused piece, and is probably about as poppy as Evergrey can get. The song is very much true to the band's core sound, but it is not as all-enveloping as usual - with a big chorus that sticks in the brain after only a couple of listens and a hooky keyboard refrain that showcases Zander's talents. This keyboard melody opens the song, in piano form, and it later becomes the main chorus hook - which Englund then sings around, his melodic vocal lines taking the song to the next level. A lengthy and knotty guitar solo, again featuring both Englund and Danhage, adds some of the band's technical prowess to the song - but on the whole this is a simpler cut that prioritises huge hooks and melodies over everything else. The Orphean Testament ups the heaviness again, and somewhat returns to the groove-based sound of the album's opening numbers. The song mixes heavy grooves, which tend to dominate the verses, with a soaring chorus that sounds like it could have come from one of the band's earlier albums. The contrast between the driving, dry-sounding riffing and Ekdahl's double bass drumming with the chorus is one that makes the song stand out - and Englund's soaring guitar solo perfectly builds on the chorus melodies. It is one of the album's least complex solos, but it has a great emotional pull that perfectly compliments the melodies of the chorus. There is a much busier instrumental section later in the song, though, which features an excellent 1970s-esque Zander keyboard solo sandwiched between two guitar solos. Reawakening, despite opening with some heavy riffing, is another track that leans quite heavily on the band's more atmospheric side. I have already praised Englund's vocal performances quite a lot throughout this piece, but on Reawakening he takes things to another level. There are heavy sections which see him singing in his trademark driving, slightly gruff manner, but when the keyboards really kick in and the chorus starts he takes flight. The vocal melodies he has conjured up here are excellent, and there is definitely a big progressive rock influence throughout the track - both in this vocal approach and the keyboards of Zander. The chorus is one of the album's best, thanks to the vocals, whilst Zander also shines thanks to a great mix of floaty soundscapes and old-school synth leads. The Great Unwashed goes for another groove-based approach, but in more of a 1970s hard rock way than the heavier, double bass-led grooves of the early parts of the album. The song is a mid-paced rocker, with something of an organic sound thanks some screaming Jimmy Page-esque guitar leads that inject some looseness to the track - as well as plenty of old-school organ from Zander that give some of the riffs a bit of a Deep Purple edge. Evergrey's trademark dense and atmosphere sound is still present, but the focus on more of a classic rock strut works nicely. Ekdahl's drumming is still very groovy, but he tends to stay away from his double bass pedals here, and the chorus has a smoothness thanks to Zander's keyboards and Englund's smooth vocal delivery.

Heartless feels like a real throwback to Evergrey's past, and throws off some of the band's melancholic shackles to emerge as a fast-paced and hard-hitting slab of progressive power metal. The chorus floats and relies on atmosphere in the band's traditional way, but the opening Zander keyboard riff sounds like it could have come from the 1980s - whilst the hard driving verses have a strong US power metal sound with fast-paced NWOBHM-inspired riffs and a gritty vocal performance from Englund that is more pure power than emotion. Evergrey have not really sounded like this since their first handful of albums, and it is great to see them operating at such metallic speeds again. Few of Evergrey's recent songs are genuinely fast-paced, but this is one of them - and Danhage's solo is a great blur of shredded notes as a result. There are some more classic Evergrey moments, however, with the bridge section before the solo kicks in seeing England singing atop Zander's piano melodies in a very Anathema-esque manner. Blindfolded returns to the album's core sound, though, with the groove-based approach from the first few songs making another appearance. It is a song which remains pretty heavy throughout, with some dry-sounding tech metal riffs sitting nicely on a bed of double bass drumming from Ekdahl. Some of Evergrey's recent songs have gone for a somewhat mechanical sound, and this is another one - although the soaring vocal melodies that the band are known for are still present. That being said, though, Englund takes a slightly different vocal approach during the song's chorus, and sings in a less dramatic way with some strange effects on his voice. It works well in the context of the mechanical song, though, and the verses are still very much sung in the typical Evergrey way. Despite the slight change in tone, then, the song still contains enough of Evergrey's core sound to allow it to feel at home on the album. It is the last heavy statement here, too, as the album's closing track Wildfires is very much a quiet affair with Englund singing alone atop some gentle acoustic guitar melodies and a big Zander soundscape. Shorter, more acoustic pieces are not commonly found on Evergrey's albums, but for me Wildfires works well as an album closer. The album has generally been pretty heavy up to this point, despite a strong focus on atmosphere and melody, and the more reflective Wildfires allows for a moment of calm before things come to a close. Zander's keyboard work is particularly impressive here, and is a great bed for Englund's vocals - which are as heartfelt as ever. It is a great end to the album, which overall is another excellent entry into Evergrey's catalogue. For me the album has a different feel to both the recent trilogy and Escape of the Phoenix, but it is still very much an Evergrey album that channels the band's unique core sound perfectly - showing that the band do not seem to want to slow down anytime soon.

The album was released on 20th May 2022 via Napalm Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Save Us.