The lyrics of Mournbraid (the third album) by Swedish power metal band Evermore deal with the challenges and struggles that people face. After the instrumental, classically oriented opening, the metal kicks in. Johan Haraldsson has a fairly high pitch, allowing him to perform several long vocal outbursts. His voice is less heavy than that of many other metal singers, which means that his powerful voice sometimes tends towards screaming.
Some tracks have surprising tempo and/or volume changes. A couple of other rousing songs are more predictable. This makes the meaning of the lyrics less ‘impactful’, but the choruses invite you to sing along.
Instrumentally, it’s well put together, with the dynamic drumming and cool guitar playing standing out in particular. The (bass)guitar are regularly played with a pleasant heaviness, and there are also some acoustic guitar sounds. At times, the tempo in the vocals and/or music is quite high. The music and the (layered) vocals sound less warm than hoped for. The contrasts between high/low and quiet/loud are also quite small. Furthermore, the layers in vocals and music are well distributed across the headset.
(6/10) (Scarlet Records)
Tracklist:
01 – The Void – 1:09
02 – Underdark – 4:57
03 – Nightstar Odyssey – 6:34
04 – Titans – 4:36
05 – Oath Of Apathy – 7:04
06 – The Illusionist (Raise The Curtain) – 4:26
07 – Armored Will – 5:25
08 – Ravens At The Gates – 4:58
09 – Mournbraid – 4:43
10 – Old Man’s Tale – (bonus track)
Line up:
Johan Haraldsson – vocals
Johan Karlsson – guitar, bass, piano, orchestrations
Andreas Viklands – drums