Longevity in music is tough to obtain these fast trying days in the digital age of fast downloads, social media and the ever changing and diverse audiences that get to hear and touch your music. Is hard to find bands that stand the test of times, even for such a niche genre as Progressive Metal. Evergrey, the Gothenburg veterans I think have managed to do this
I have listened to this album about 20 times in the past few days, not only for the purpose of reviewing but quite simply because its immensely addictive, a mind blowing combination of poignant, powerful vocals and intense, versatile guitar playing.
To call Todd a drummer who sings a little is akin to the moment in ‘Waynes World’ when Garth sits behind the drumkit and when asked, admits that he plays “a little”.
It’s becoming more and more common for a band to release a compilation album packaged with bits of new or previously unreleased material to keep longtime fans enticed. Usually, I’m not too interested in standard compilation albums, because I can easily just throw on any of a band’s previous releases if I want to hear a particular favorite, but this type of release holds extra interest, by offering up material that may be hard or impossible to find anywhere else, while still serving as a great introduction for new fans, by bringing a bunch of classic material together in one package.
The overall vibe of classic rock n roll can be heard throughout all tracks of the album, especially with 7th addition “Fighting Heart” – with riffs and progressions that just make the heart ache for one to be standing front and centre for Ricky and his comrades to be blasting these tunes live, for now we can make do with enjoying this stellar album in the car or with a beer at home!
The album features an impressive 11 songs and signs off with title track ‘We Will Ride’, a fantastic, hard hitting tune which will only leave listeners thirsty for the next instalment…
After listening to the album several times, the insight arises that Accept has not lost any of their strength on this album. There are no real innovations, but all songs on ‘Too mean to Die’ are 100% Accept anthems with all the unique features the band has established over decades. This album fulfills all expectations. Not more but certainly not less.
“Leviathan” is the first part in the planned Leviathan trilogy, its sequels Leviathan II and Leviathan III are scheduled for 2022 and 2023 respectively. This new studio project is a skillfully crafted collection of charming melodies, interesting orchestrations and entertaining songs.
Angell’s voice feels like it was born through a deal with the Devil but the distorted guitar work on “The Value of Zero” , the thunderous drums and Benjamin Anderson keyboards create a fog of sound surrounding the band that bring to mind a darker dystopian version of the Doors.