The band was … Read Full Bio ↴Evergrey is a melodic metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden.
The band was founded in 1996 and released its debut album The Dark Discovery in 1998.
Evergrey's lyrics have always been of the darker sort. While The Dark Discovery dealt with a variety of ideas, later albums have been concept albums, dealing with issues like self-reformation (Recreation Day), paranoia, alien abduction (In Search of Truth), child abuse, and religion (The Inner Circle).
Recreation Day is an album that covers many issues, ranging from death and mourning to general fear and sorrow, all of which contribute to a greater concept of re-creation of oneself. These ideas are explored from many different points of view, such as someone contemplating suicide ("As I Lie Here Bleeding"), mourners after a funeral ("I'm Sorry," a cover of Dilba Demirbag's hit) and dying priests looking back on their "unforgivable" sins (molestation) ("Unforgivable"). "Unforgivable" also acted as a catalyst for the next album, (The Inner Circle), which dealt with the same two issues described in the song: religion and child abuse.
All releases so far:
* The Dark Discovery (1998)
* Solitude • Dominance • Tragedy (1999)
* In Search of Truth (2001)
* I'm Sorry (rare single, 2003)
* Recreation Day (2003)
* The Inner Circle (2004)
* A Night To Remember (live CD/DVD, 2005)
* Monday Morning Apocalypse (both single and album, 2006)
* Torn (2008)
* Glorious Collision (2011)
* Hymns for the Broken (2014)
* The Storm Within (2016)
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.
On July 25th, 2006, Michael Håkansson has decided to part ways with Evergrey. The new bass player will be the band's long-time friend Fredrik Larsson (Hammerfall). Michael left on good terms with the band stating that he wanted to do his own thing musically.
In June of 2007, Fredrik Larsson decided to leave Evergrey to rejoin Hammerfall.
The new bass player is Jari Kainulainen (ex-Stratovarius).
The band has decided that it is the time for some changes. As they wrote at their official webpage:
"Thomas and Rikard have together with Henrik and Jonas made the mutual decision that it was best for all that they leave Evergrey. They wanted to and the rest wanted them to. The last tours, recordings and just hanging with each other has not been as fun and giving as earlier AND before it would go too far, resulting in a collision in between friends, which could ruin everything we have built up during the years, they decided to call it quits"
Actually, Tom Englund (voice,guitar) & Rikard Zander (keyboards) stay in the band as a core members.
New members:
Marcus Jidell (Royal Hunt) on Guitars
Johan Niemann (ex-Therion, Mind’s Eye) on Bass
Hannes Van Dahl on Drums
Occasionally a musician has to take a step back into the past to develop artistically. Tom Englund, guitarist and vocalist with Swedish rock group Evergrey, took this risk and reorganised his artistic environment. “The most recent Evergrey line-up had reached a point where we no longer had fun as a group,” he confesses, adding: “So we went our separate ways to save our friendship. There were no angry words, and we’re still friends privately.”
Naturally, the decision to break up wasn’t easy for these long-standing friends, especially for Englund and his remaining keyboardist, Rikard Zander, for whom a continuation ofEvergrey was never called into question. Yet they both had to face a new challenge: “In the beginning, we weren’t sure whether we’d be able to write a new album without the wealth of experience that the previous line-up brought in. But after Rikard and I had composed a full three numbers during the first week, we felt that was a real coup.”
Listeners will feel this positive energy throughout Glorious Collision, the band’s eighth studio album, which is due for release on 28 February 2011 (Germany: 25 February 2011; USA/Canada: 22 February 2011) on Steamhammer/SPV. A dynamic goody bag featuring the most diverse material ever released on an Evergrey album. “This may sound like a contradiction in view of our personnel situation, but Rikard and I have allowed more influences on Glorious Collision than ever before. Some elements on Glorious Collisionare classic rock, based on a metal format, sometimes the tracks are quiet and haunting, sometimes wild, demanding and gripping.”
This diversity is also expressed in the instrumentation of this extremely dynamic studio production which presents the new band members Marcus Jidell (guitar), Hannes Van Dahl (drums) and Johan Niemann (bass). “It’s great to hear what a breath of fresh air Marcus, Johan and Hannes have brought into the band,” Englund enthuses. “Although the entire material, except for two songs to which Marcus wrote and contributed on the compositional side, had already been decided when we started recording, they all left their own, very personal mark on this album.” The great experience of Jidell and Niemann, who have worked with acts such as Royal Hunt and Therion, among others, and have now contributed lots of positive energy together with the 20-year-old drummer, Van Dahl, can be felt throughout the album.
I'm Sorry
Evergrey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your soul was red & your mind was blue
Destiny lad a light on my creation
This dream I had made a slave of my passion
Reality was always too far away
And we were happy until it came too close 1 day
Suddenly I faced the truth of my dream
I suppose I needed to believe
Didn't want to see you had never been close to me
[Chorus]
But I'm sorry
This illusion has caused you a lot of pain
And I have no solution
I'll try to never be back again
I'm sorry [Repeat: x4]
I painted a picture of you
My dream was a lie & the lie became truth
Reality held his breath too long
It's disgusting what dreams can do
[Chorus]
I'm sorry [Repeat: x4]
The lyrics of Evergrey's "I'm Sorry" tell the story of a person who creates an idealized version of the one they love in their mind, painting a picture where their beloved's soul is red and their mind is blue. This dream becomes an obsession, one that blurs the lines between reality and illusion, and ultimately causes pain for both the creator and the subject of the fantasy. The singer falls so deeply into this dream world that they can no longer differentiate between the picture they have painted and the true person they love in real life. Then, when reality finally shows its face, they are forced to confront the truth: that their love was merely a scene, an image in their head that held no real substance.
The song's chorus repeats the words "I'm sorry" four times, acknowledging the pain caused by this illusory love and recognizing that there is no easy solution to the situation. The line "it's disgusting what dreams can do" emphasizes the destructive nature of this kind of obsession, and the way in which it can twist a person's perception of reality. Overall, the lyrics of "I'm Sorry" offer a powerful commentary on the dangers of idolizing someone to the point of losing sight of their true identity, and the importance of seeing those we love for who they really are.
Line by Line Meaning
I painted a picture of you
I created an idealized version of you in my mind
Your soul was red & your mind was blue
You were a complex and contradictory person
Destiny lad a light on my creation
Fate brought us together and made me see you this way
This dream I had made a slave of my passion
My fixation on this idealized version of you controlled my feelings
Reality was always too far away
I refused to face the truth about who you really were
And we were happy until it came too close 1 day
Our relationship was great until reality set in
Suddenly I faced the truth of my dream
I finally saw how unrealistic my idea of you was
My love had only been a picture, a scene
I only loved the image of you, not the real you
I suppose I needed to believe
I needed to believe in this ideal version of you to be happy
Didn't want to see, you had never been close to me
I ignored the fact that you weren't really the person I thought you were
But I'm sorry
I apologize for my misguided actions
This illusion has caused you a lot of pain
My idealized version of you hurt you
And I have no solution
I don't know how to fix the damage I've caused
I'll try to never be back again
I'll try to stay away so I don't hurt you again
My dream was a lie & the lie became truth
My false perception of you ended up becoming my reality
Reality held his breath too long
It took me too long to face the truth
It's disgusting what dreams can do
It's upsetting how much my dream affected my perception of you
I'm sorry
I apologize again
I'm sorry
I apologize again
I'm sorry
I apologize again
I'm sorry
I apologize again
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAN ENGLUND, GUSTAF KJELLVANDER, JOACHIM LEKSELL, FABIAN PETTER RIS LUNDBLAD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BlindWithinBand
Has anyone noticed the drummer replacing thing at 0:58! The drummer Patrick Carlsson who played drums on the Recreation Day album is sitting at first, stands up when Jonas Ekdahl (the drummer who replaced him)...both shake hands and Carlsson leaves and Ekdahl sits down to where Carlsson used to sit...nicely done by the director...
@stormcorrosion176
Bro. The truth
@nicos2781
Year after i discover this ! Fun fact ! ^^
@dreamsalamander
I love this band. They're more metal than metal. It's what classic heavy metal would have sounded like if it grew into the millennium without turning into nu, djent, or hardcore, but kept with the (dark)times melody and lyrically.. and I love that this band sounds like nothing but themselves. hail the grey
@1234nateman
They aren't just another metal band following trends. they have lots of artist talent. their music and poetry is simply beautiful.
The abum Recreation Day will always hold a special place in me.
@cardboardconflicts
They are good, but if you want a metal band that can write songs then only one word: Opeth
@JosephFNavy
The emotion this man puts into the song damn near brings me to tears every time I hear it...
@tombillings2872
Great Dilba cover! I originally heard the Evergrey version over a decade ago, and it is as heartfelt now as it was back then!
@TheShyArmyTV
its 2020 and Evergrey still cant come up with a bad song, or a bad album or a bad cover. What is sorcery is this??
@elioke
Luv these guys. Standing humorous characters writing such sensitive songs. Wow !