ALBUM REVIEW: Theories Of Emptiness – Evergrey

EVERGREY had a fire lit under them just before the pandemic hit and it’s showing no sign of burning out. Theories Of Emptiness is their fourth full-length in six years and 14th overall. Arriving hot on the heels of the excellent A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament), it finds the veteran Swedes in fine form and delivering another high-quality album in record time. This is arguably better than its predecessor and a welcome addition to their late-career resurgence.

Built around the overall theme of ‘emptiness’ and how that relates to the human experience, it feels like a natural extension and development of their previous work. A Heartless Portrait was one of their heavier projects and while this isn’t quite as aggressive, it is still energetic and comes across as more upbeat. That might seem odd given the subject matter, but Theories Of Emptiness is a lively listen. Tracks like Falling From The Sun and We Are The North are punchy, riff-laden anthems, but it’s most noticeable on One Heart. Written as a deliberate attempt to make a call and response live favourite, it has a lively and surprisingly macho vibe. It’s a proper, belt-out-the-chorus number and while it’s unusual to hear EVERGREY in a good mood, it’s very welcome.

That being said, there’s still plenty of their established melancholy in here too. There’s a wealth of haunting keyboard melodies and singer Tom S. Englund has all of his usual tortured charisma, so EVERGREY certainly haven’t lightened up. However, even the presence of KATATONIA’s Jonas Renkse isn’t as downbeat as you might think. His duet with Englund on Cold Dreams is an engaging seven-minute mini-epic, alternating between Gothic tunefulness and gravel-throated death metal. It’s affecting and will tug at your emotional centre, but it’s also not the tear-drenched melodrama you’d expect from two of Sweden’s more sombre metal personalities. There are still lonely, anguished souls sitting in the mist with ravens circling overhead, but they’ve all got subscriptions to Men’s Health magazine.

In short, Theories Of Emptiness is another impressive outing from one of power metal’s more reliable underdogs. EVERGREY have been on a consistently inspiring run of late, and while they might never escape the shadow cast by their 2001 classic In Search Of Truth, there is plenty to enjoy in their later work. Theories Of Emptiness is no exception; this is riff-driven, energetic power metal with a progressive edge, and despite all the talk of emptiness and grief, it’s fun too. They’re probably too morose to ever sell out an arena, but if you like melodic sad boi tunes that aren’t afraid to get heavy, look no further.

Rating: 8/10

Theories Of Emptiness is set for release on June 7th via Napalm Records.

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