A Heartless Portrait (The Orphéan Testament) Evergrey

• 1 Save Us 04:45
• 2 Midwinter Calls 05:06
• 3 Ominous 06:10
• 4 Call out the Dark 04:23
• 5 The Orphean Testament 06:30
• 6 Reawakening 04:15
• 7 The Great Unwashed 06:03
• 8 Heartless 05:09
• 9 Blindfolded 04:13
• 10 Wildfires 03:40
• Total Runtime 50:14

Info for A Heartless Portrait (The Orphéan Testament)

Gothenburg’s finest export of darkness, EVERGREY, enters an astonishing new chapter in the band’s history with their thirteenth studio album and Napalm Records debut, A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament), to be released on May 20, 2022. This overwhelming journey through progressive heaviness and searing emotionality is repeatedly accented by sonic melancholy and gripping lyrics – leaving the listener speechless and re-cementing the Swedish five-piece at the top of the scene without a shadow of a doubt!

Celebrating over 25 years of metal mastery, EVERGREY, led by founder, singer and guitarist Tom S. Englund, are known for wandering the realms of progressive and heavy melodic metal and painting sonic renderings with their twelve studio records released as of today. Now, the follow-up to the unit’s highly successful 2021 full-length, Escape of the Phoenix (which landed at numerous chart positions worldwide), reveals a 10 track mélange of which every note, every riff and every word seeps pure poetry – creating a ceaseless intensity that mesmerizes from the very first second.

A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) impresses with flawless, meticulous production that deftly depicts both heartfelt honesty and scorching metallic intensity, while its instrumental force of furious, technically driven riffs, skyrocketing solos and dramatic synths merges with the expert, brooding vocal performance of Englund – one of the most distinctive vocalists in metal. He skillfully balances harsh and heavy tones with an inarguably soulful approach, all topped by melancholic, thought-provoking lyricism that digs deeper with every spin, leaving a long-lasting impact. Pounding opener “Save Us” reflects everything the album stands for, as it kicks in immediately with stunning guitar work and unveils a chorus sure to top the annals of EVERGREY history!

To spice things up even more, EVERGREY invited their fans to join them on this special track and recorded hundreds of voices that ended up on the final result. Songs like “Midwinter Calls”, which also contains fan participation with atmospheric audience recordings from the band’s latest tour through Sweden, and “The Great Unwashed” draw the listener in with grooving, glistering instrumentation, flowing between boisterous dynamics and a next level vocal performance, while emotive “Wildfires” turns the volume down as a goosebump-worthy ballad that hurts and heals all at once. “Call Out The Dark” begins atmospherically with accented keys, suddenly evolving into an intense opus of symphonic and power metal attributes in the blink of an eye, whereas the record’s longest track, “The Orphean Testament”, impresses by revealing its heaviest facet. A sensitive introduction lures the listener into “Heartless”, and offers one of the album’s most engaging verses, followed by a hauntingly beautiful chorus and variety in pace to create a magnificent listening experience.

A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) is a striking testament to the fact that while the Swedish five-piece doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone at this phase, they still impressively showcase that, after over 25 years of existence, their creativity sees no bounds – dropping yet another sensation within their impressive catalog!

EVERGREY

EVERGREY
For decades, Sweden has continued to produce the top names in heavy metal, regardless of sub-genre. Although debuting back in ’98, this Gothenburg outfit is only now receiving the international acclaim due them. Molding the various pedigrees of their countrymen into one distinctive sound: supreme musicianship prized by perfectionists, yet intense enough to win the blackened hearts of those more primordial, EVERGREY offer fans something truly different.

In these days of paint-by-numbers releases, where everyone mimics the elite purveyors of a particular style, EVERGREY’s music is something unique. Reviewers, and fans alike, typically use other bands as a reference point when discussing music. They sound like X, is a common refrain. Not so, EVERGREY. Built on a solid foundation of progressive metal, the multi-dimension voice of guitarist Tom S. Englund is what separates these Swedes. The lanky frontman possesses both a coarse, rasp and silky voice, equally suited for the band’s diverse repertoire. Regardless of which set of vocal chords he employed, Englund delivers an emotional performance, from pained, heart wrenching agony to bitter aggression. All of which can be heard on the dark new concept album, The Inner Circle.

“On the last album, we did Unforgivable, and that thought stayed with me, says Englund, about people abusing children, then hiding behind their religion, or whatever, to get away from the law. It´s despicable. It makes me so mad, like I could kill someone. Seriously. We actually thought about doing this concept for the last record, but there was too little time, to really get into the subject. We don´t want to accuse someone, without knowing what we´re talking about. This isn´t about bashing Christianity, it´s about bashing fanatics, people who try to convince others to their way of thinking. Society today wants someone to tell them how/what to think. Our (concert) t-shirts are going to say, I am my own God, God walking.’

As with the success of their previous release, Recreation Day, Englund and guitar partner Henrik Danhage, have again taken on producing duties for The Inner Circle. The results are stellar, the best sounding EVERGREY disc to date. This new opus also features the recording debut of the young new drummer Jonas Ekdahl. Ekdahl was Evergrey’s drum tech and was quick to jump behind the kit when Patrick Carlsson decided to leave the band last year.

This album contains no booklet.