{"id":8005,"date":"2021-06-02T20:34:33","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T18:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=8005"},"modified":"2021-06-02T20:34:34","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T18:34:34","slug":"evership-the-uncrowned-king-act-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/evership-the-uncrowned-king-act-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Evership \u2013 The Uncrowned King – Act 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Als je deze recensie liever in het Nederlands leest, kun je hier klikken<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Prog is where my heart is”, is a quote from American multi-instrumentalist Shane Atkinson, also the founder of Evership. Their third prog album ‘The Uncrowned King – Act 1′, has just been released. This rockopera is inspired by Harold Bell Wright’s 1910 book. A pilgrim goes in search of the Truth. During his journey, he arrives at the Temple of Truth, where he wants to ask questions about his journey. The Temple Keeper takes him to the Quiet Room which overlooks the Beautiful Sea. In response to his questions, he is visited by the Four Voices of Life, each voice telling him a piece of the story of “The Uncrowned King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various sounds create an elaborate, mysterious opening. You are immediately taken by the music. Through piano playing, this builds up to delicious prog in a cool way. Then Beau West joins in. With a high voice he sings about the truth that we cannot see, hear, think, feel or speak. In the quiet instrumental piece you hear the sound of string instruments and compelling guitar play. This culminates in acoustic guitar playing. The traveler has arrived at “The Temple of Truth. I\u2019m touched by Beau’s beautiful voice and the solid combination with the music. All the twists and turns flow well and there is a fine division between the vocal and instrumental parts. The “choir singing” is a wonderful addition and is an excellent blend with the minimalist, light classical music. You can already hear during this opening track that this is a conceptalbum. Still, you may have trouble becoming one with the story, especially if you are not familiar with the book. Multiple vocalists for the different “characters” would have increased the feel of rockopera. Sometimes you lose the difference between fiction and reality, but that suits the book. The surreal atmosphere in ‘The Voice of the Waves’ ties in nicely with the opening track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Crownshine\/Allthetime’ is a track with unusual twists and fine details. The number of layers in the music varies, yet everything remains in balance. The electronic sound of the keys can be heard in abundance, but there is also organ playing. Sometimes they alternate, at other times they sound simultaneously. This track dies away nicely. The lyrics of \u2018The Tower\u2019 are quite long. Beau sings his way through the story, with beautiful vocal outbursts. To follow the story, you do need the lyric booklet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ‘The Voice of the Evening Wind’ you hear, among other things, the sound of a wind chime, along with minimalist, mysterious music. Poem Atkinson’s voice, and her way of singing, fits seamlessly with this. Yettocome\/Itmightbe is a beautiful epic, in which you hear both light screaming guitar play and quiet (acoustic) guitar sounds. Whether or not complemented by the sound of strings and\/or piano. You can hear from the way of singing and from the music that the story is about to end. There seems to be a kind of peace in the search, but whether answers have come\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Wait’ is (contrary to the previous songs) easier to sing along with. Yet the lyrics are less accessible than they seem. For the protagonist looks back with self-reflection, and even briefly ahead. The words are sung with inspiration, the music of this last song compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the rather complicated concept, you don’t sing along with the lyrics easily. The whole thing is not easy to fathom. Just like on the previous albums, the way of singing and the music form a constant unity. The balance between complexity and accessibility is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(80\/100) (Atkinsong Productions<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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