Evergrey: Architects of a New Weave

Swedish band Evergrey are one of my favourites. They’ve had a long and influential career carving out a niche for themselves with their dark, melancholic, melodic/progressive metal. Their latest album Architects of a New Weave is their 15th studio album. Not all bands can continue to churn out albums late in their career without ‘watering down’ their catalogue, which is why the back end of Evergrey’s discography is so notable: Contrary to the norm, Evergrey have been arguably enhancing their legacy over the last decade or so.

It would be fair to say that frontman Tom Englund is, and always has been, the lynchpin of the Evergrey sound. His smooth and emotive vocals are the bands hallmark, alongside their melodic riffing and head turning lead guitars. Englund’s importance to the band is arguably even more in focus than usual on this album, as they’ve managed to pull out another great album despite the departure of drummer Jonas Ekdahl and guitarist Henrik Danhage - both key parts of the band over the journey. Drummer Simen Sandnes and guitarist Stephen Platt have joined the band, and whilst they both put in commanding, polished, and notable studio performances, their relatively recent announcements as band members leads me to believe that the majority of the album was written by Englund with assistance from Zander and Niemann.

The albums gets underway with the eerie spoken word of "Welcome to the Pattern". I hear shades of the start of the "Hymns for the Broken" album in the way that this track segues "into The Shadow Self", which is an absolute belter of a track. Heavy riffing, ear-worm vocals, and enough compositional nuance to build tension and keep you on your toes. Next up is "Architects of the New Weave", which was a prerelease single and another strong track. It has a bit of a modern "Rainbow in the Dark" feel to it due to the prominent keyboard in the main riff. The album rolls on with another strong pre-release single "The World Is on Fire". Despite being 12 tracks long, the album is able to maintain the high bar it sets for itself through out. I don’t feel compelled to do a track by track synopsis because I’d be repeating myself - great riffing, great production, incredible vocals, strong playing across all lines. It’s just a quality and enjoyable album. I love the mid-tempo "Longing", with its melodic guitar solo and uplifting bridge section. "A Burning Flame" (feat. Mikael Stanne) is probably worthy of a specific mention too. I had hoped to hear his Dark Tranquillity style harsh vocals on here, but instead we get a clean vocal duet. It’s a really nice track with an up-tempo vibe and great chorus. Other standouts towards the end of the album are "Call Off Your Lions" and the epic closer "The Prophecy". Like almost every track on this album, these two have some really strong and uplifting chorus melodies, with the ‘oooooo-ooooo-oooooo’s’ at the end of "Call Off Your Lions" being destined for the live setting for years to come. Overall, and in terms of the Evergrey sound, I do find this album to be a little different to their typical approach - perhaps it’s a little more downturned and ‘djenty’ in parts than some of their other albums. I actually get shades of the Australian Prog metal Voyager in some of the instrumentation, which could be why I’m referencing djent.

Evergrey have delivered anther remarkably strong album in Architects of a New Weave. I assume this band is closer to the twilight of their career than they are to the beginning, but if they continue to put out such enjoyable music I can see these guys continuing on for decades! Fantastic album, from a great band. Highly recommended

Line-up:
Tom S. Englund - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Stephen Platt - Guitar
Rikard Zander - Keyboards
Johan Niemann - Bass Guitar
Simen Sandnes - Drums

Tracklisting
01. Welcome to the Pattern
02. The Shadow Self
03. Architects of the New Weave
04. The World Is on Fire
05. Heaven
06. The Script
07. Leaving the Emptiness
08. Longing
09. A Burning Flame (feat. Mikael Stanne)
10. Call Off Your Lions
11. Chains of Shame
12. The Prophecy

Added: June 20th 2026
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Evergrey online
Hits: 652
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]