Evergrey Torn Trailer May edition and album artwork!
Hey !!!
Pheeeeeeeeeeewwwww…. it's been a long fucking year negotiating this deals, not something we've enjoyed too much , it's taken its toll on everything from economi to psyche. BUT now it's finally done and we are extremely curious on what the future has in it's hands for us !
We have made changes in everything surrounding Evergrey , everything from management, record-label to booking and , perhaps most important, changed our own approach to this thing called EVERGREY.
It came to a time a while ago where we ALL were tired of everything surrounding this bitch called the music-industry. It affected our whole perception of what and who we were, it most certainly killed everything close to joy and in the end made it feel like a boring 9 - 5 job where you don't like your co-workers and just want to go home.
But as I said , we've been through that now and coming out on the other end of this rather dark tunnel are 5 guys who have the same determination, goals and fire to keep this ball spinning for another couple of laps!
Below you have the 3rd trailer that I know you have been eagerly awaiting , somethings up with the compression level that makes the pics smaller so those look like shit… but hey …. you're here to h e a r the God-damned thing, right ? It contains all songtitles for the regular edition of this release and the release day is 2nd week of September but , you'll see somethings prolly gonna come up and change that for the 10th time…..
I hope you enjoy it and we wish to hear ALL your thoughts , as they are what matter the most to us !
Below is also your new cover , spill your guts about that too.
EVERGREY SIGN WITH STEAMHAMMER SPV, NEW ALBUM OUT IN SEPTEMBER!
BREAKING EVERGREY NEWS, NEW LABEL AND NEW ALBUM RELEASE!
*SPV / EVERGREY PRESS RELEASE*
*EVERGREY HAVE SIGNED WITH STEAMHAMMER**/SPV*
*New album TORN out in early September*
Following intense and very constructive discussions, Steamhammer/SPV have announced their future collaboration with Swedish dark melodic metal act, Evergrey. The deal includes not only the group's brand-new studio album, *Torn*, which will arrive at the stores at the beginning of September, but also Evergrey's complete back catalogue. Evergrey mastermind Tom S. Englund is looking forward to a productive cooperation with Steamhammer, explaining: "After long and intense negotiations, we feel that we have arrived at optimum conditions for everybody involved. We are confident that Evergrey will continue to grow artistically under the terms of this contract, that SPV will enjoy our cooperation and – this is definitely the most important aspect – that our fans will thoroughly benefit from the new deal."
The first stage of this ambitious target will see the release of Evergrey's new studio album, *Torn*, at the beginning of September, featuring eleven compositions, described by Englund as a "modern mix of *In Search Of Truth*and *Recreation Day*". "The tracks are all guitar-oriented and very atmospheric. They have exactly the sound that our fans expect from us." According to Englund, the slightly more experimental direction of Evergrey's previous release, *Monday Morning Apocalypse*, has given way again to old strengths and virtues. "Two years ago we needed an album with a slightly different approach and an expensive producer, just to find out how that sort of thing works. It was the right album at the time, but now we have returned to our typical trademarks." This is one of the reasons why the tracks on *Torn* were self-produced by Englund together with drummer Jonas Ekdahl. In addition, the band has a new bassist, Fredrik Larsson having been replaced by former Stratovarius musician Jari Kainulainen.
Since the band arrived on the scene in 1998, Evergrey have brought out six studio albums and one live cut. All of them made the top 20 in their native Sweden and the last two made the top 10 (no. 6 and 3, respectively). On top of that, their DVD was number 1 for four weeks and nominated for a Grammy in Sweden. The band has toured around the globe several times, together with In Flames, Nevermore, Throwdown, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom and Iced Earth, among others. Along with *Torn*, their new contract with Steamhammer/SPV includes the band's complete back catalogue, so top-quality reissues featuring a selection of bonus tracks are likely in future. "There is so much additional material for each album that we could theoretically re-release it on an extra DVD. Whatever we manage to do – premium reissues are certainly a possibility."
-- be sure to visit www.evergrey.net www.myspace.com/officialevergrey
Jonas Ekdahl took the time to answer some fan sent questions for this MySpace interview in April 2008. Read up on how he started drumming, who is he influenced by, what he would be if not a rock star and a lot more! Thanks to all the MySpace friends for sending in the good questions.
Question: When and how did you discover that you had talent at playing the drums? If you took lessons, what inspired you to do such a thing? (Question from MySpace user "L")
Jonas Ekdahl's answer: I had my first band with a couple of friends from school when I was 10, I think. I played saxophone at that time. (And no, I can't play it anymore. Not even "Smoke on the water".) The guy who played drums in the band kept his drumkit in our garage, and sometimes I tried to play. I thought it was really fun, and told my friend, who suggested I joined him for some drum lessons. So I did, and took lessons from that teacher for 5 years, before I applied for a music- and percussion high school.Question: How long did it take you do actually learn how to drum as well as you do now and would you change anything about your drumming skills? (Question from "Cameron")
Jonas: It has taken me almost 14 years, and I'm still working on it, hehe. I feel that there's always something I can improve or do better with my playing. But one thing I would change is that I'm kind of lazy with practicing sometimes. But I'm working on that too. Question: Was there a defining moment where you suddenly realised that music was your life, or had you always known? (Question from "Budz")
Jonas: I have been interested in music my whole life, I started to play the clarinette when I was 8 or something. Then I switched to saxophone before I fell in love with drums. But I think that when I was in 8th or 9th grade, music and drumming became something I couldn't be without and wanted to do for the rest of my life.Question: What bands influenced you growing up and what specific drummers shaped the way you play today? (Question from "Leon")
Jonas: KISS were my first influence when I started playing drums. Peter Criss, Eric Carr and Eric Singer were all big influences to me, and I loved to play along to KISS records. Then I got into bands like Metallica and Pantera (Vinnie Paul rules), and I discovered Red Hot Chili Peppers, and really liked Chad Smith's groovy playing. I use ghost notes all the time when I play, it doesn't matter if it's metal, pop or funk. They're always there when I play.
When I got older and started high school, I started to listen to more of the technical drummers like Terry Bozzio, Virgil Donati and Mike Mangini, and listened to Steve Vai a lot, as well as an American band from Dallas, TX, called Haji's Kitchen (now called Haji). That drummer is really good and has really style and approach to his drumming. But I also listen R&B and Soul. I think Amir Questlove playing is absolutely awesome. He plays drums in the band Roots, but has also played on a lot of other records, with artists like D'Angelo, Nikka Costa and Joss Stone. So I keep my mind as open as possible. At the moment I listen to a lot of metal and I'm a huge sucker for both Dirk Verbeuren in Soilwork and Derek Roddy (ex-Hate Eternal). Question: Does the side project DeathDestruction still exist and if yes, what's in the planned future for it? (Question from "Tini")
Jonas: Yes it exists. But we all have had a lot to with our own bands, so there has not been time for any of us to do anything new with DeathDestruction, at the moment. But I hope we will go into the studio and record an album some day when we've got time, because we have a lot of awesome material laying around.
DeathDestruction started as a really playful project. Me, Henrik and Rikard did one night in the studio while we were recording "The Inner Circle". And we realised that the songs where actually really cool, so we kept writing that kind of songs. All of a sudden we had 14 songs that we recorded in the studio. At that time Rikard, (who actually was the lead singer) thought we had taken DD too serious, so he decided to leave the band. Instead we found Jimmie Strimell (Dead By April, ex-Nightrage), and also our friend and previous Evergrey bassplayer Fredrik Larsson, who's now also in Hammerfall. There, now you even got a small biography as well.
Check out DeathDestruction on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/deathdestructiongbgQuestion: How is your "partnership" with fellow rhythm maestro Jari developing, and what do you think he has bought that is different to add to the Evergrey sound? (Question from "Wooks")
Jonas: We are complementing each other just great! He's an unbelievable bassplayer, and I feel that we make each other tighter as a rhythm section. He makes me want to play better. And when you have that impression on someone, it's a pretty good rating. Especially, since he's "just a bassplayer"..haha. (I hope my Swedish "irony-humour" is getting through the screen. ) I remember when we had our first jam with him, or audition if you want to call it that. He came in with his bass, and as soon as we started the first song we all felt that this was the guy. And I actually caught myself with having one of the biggest smiles you can have. Jari is playing amazing on our new album as well! It was fun to record the album with him, because we got a chance to rehearse the songs just the two of us, and that was a really good thing for us to do.Question: The teasers (which sound mindblowing) got me wondering: Will "Torn" be a concept album? Or more like a record based around a theme, like "Recreation Day"? (Question from "Esopen")
Jonas: No, "Torn" is not a concept album. Ask Tom about the lyrics. I'm just the drummer, I'm glad if I can read the setlist during a gig right.Question: My question revolves around your involvement in the songwriting process for Evergrey. With "The Inner Circle", you were credited on a few songs ("Ambassador," "The Essence of Conviction") and on "Monday Morning Apocalypse", you had more credits (including "Obedience" and "Closure"). How much were you involved with the writing process for the upcoming "Torn"? (Question from "Past and Future Secret (Chris)")
Jonas: I have been involved in the song writing a lot more on Torn than on any of the albums you mentioned.Question: If you weren't a rockstar, what would you be and why? (Question from "Robson Netto")
Jonas: I like food and cooking a lot, so I think I would try to be a chef or something like that.Question: Besides your hometown, where is your favorite place in the world you have played so far? Also, what has been your favorite show you've played so far and why? (Question from "Shellikinz")
Jonas: That's a tough one.. There's no place like home, but I really like Spain, Holland and the United States. Of course, the DVD gig has been one of my favourite shows, since it was a mark in Evergrey's history. We recorded it in Gothenburg and had all of our friends and families there, and the whole thing with the choir and the string quartet on stage was very cool. We did a show in Belgium on our previous European tour with 800 crazy fans. We had a lot of fun on stage, the crowd was great. A great show. And speaking of Belgium, the Graspop festival is always awesome to play at. We played in Helsinki recently, and that show was also really really good. In 2004 we did a North American tour with Iced Earth and Children of Bodom, and we played a show in Toronto, Canada. And from the second the intro went on the audience turned crazy. It was great!Question: Although you've been the Evergrey drummer for a while now, I've always been wondering, do you ever change up the drumming when you play older material live? (Question from "Hardcore Cafe")
Jonas: It depends. I used to do that a lot before, but now I try to nail almost everything as much as possible. But some days I just have to do something different. Not on the most vital parts that are very important for the song, but like on small fills and stuff like that.Question: What is your favorite song (or songs) to play drumwise? (Question from "Sober and Irrelevant")
Jonas: I have always loved "Obedience". It's so dark, heavy and groovy and it really fits my style of playing. Other favourite tunes are "Mark of the triangle", that song has a lot of cool parts in it. It changes from slow and powerful to heavy and melodic. And the crowd likes that song to. It's pretty cool to see them jump up and down on the heavier parts. I like "Monday Morning Apocalypse", because it's "straight pipes" as you would say in Sweden (raka rör). In other words, it is really straight forward. "I'm Sorry" is kind of a favourite song as well. It's so simple to play drummingwise, and I feel that I really can play powerful instead of playing fancy technical stuff. Because that just would have ruined the whole song, in my opinion. "Fear" is the first song we have played from "Torn" and that's a really cool song to play live, even though we've only played it twice so far. But it's so heavy and I am playing doublebass stuff throughout the whole song, more or less. We have lots of songs on the new album that are really going to be kickass to play live.Question: Would you consider releasing a drums DVD with lessons, a drum solo, and also samples from Evergrey songs with the explanations? (Question from "VP-1480")
Jonas: Haha, well no, not yet. I think will take a while before (and if) I would release a drum DVD. That's not in my plans at the moment. But who knows, maybe some day there will be a DVD with all the "Evergrey chops from hell".. hahaQuestion: What's the most difficult thing about being a drummer? (Question from "Makntak")
Jonas: That is very individual. But for me, it's a lot of things, haha. The most difficult thing is to make the brain tell your arms and legs to do all these co-ordination stuff, and at the same time you want everything to groove. So when you practice you're not only sitting there, feeling like a stupid marionette puppet with your brain trying to pull all the right strings at the right time, you have to do it with feel as well. I can really go bananas on those exercises. Not to mention hearing and taking all the crappy "drummer-jokes".. Question: How much of your drum sound on Evergrey records is acoustic drums vs. triggered sounds? Also, when you use triggers or sound replacement, do you use samples of your own acoustic drums or do you use ddrum samples or some other sample library? (Question from "Mike Gerbitz")
Jonas: We have used both triggers and sound replacements on the Evergrey albums I've recorded. We like to mix the acoustic sound with sound replacement and sometimes triggers. We had some triggers on "The Inner Circle", but not on "Monday Morning..". On "Torn" we have triggers just on the bassdrums, but we have mixed it with the acoustic bassdrum sound. And it's divided like 70% acoustic sound and 30% trigger, I think. The trigged sound comes from my old Ddrum module from -92. Old school stuff, and it sounds great. For toms we sound replaced them with my toms, and we divided the sounds like we did with the bassdrums, 70/30. Just to give it that extra punch and attack.Question: How do you cope with the fact that you are younger than the rest of the guys from the band, was it easier or harder for you to fit in with the rest of the guys? (Question from "Rhaegar Targaryen")
Jonas: In the beginning it was maybe a little harder, but it wasn't anything I thought about. I've never felt that I'm that much younger than the rest. And now I definitely don't think about it, because I'm starting to get old too. Sad but true. But the good thing is, that I will always be at least 10 years younger than the rest of the guys.Question: What made you drum the first time - I mean, any song, situation that made you to drum on a desk or something? (Question from ".black.orchid.")
Jonas: The drum solo Ian Haugland from Europe did on their video "Europe in America". He had only a snare drum onstage during his solo, and he did a call-and-response thing with the audience. I really liked Ian when I was little, because he always looked so happy when he played. It was really contagious. I was 4 or 5 years old and I thought what he did was really cool and fascinating. Question: Double bass drumming is a very complex and exciting part about being a talented drummer in metal. What do you recommend for amateur drummers learning double bass as far as technique and endurance is concerned? (Question from "Ralphy")
Jonas: When you start out with learning doublebass, make sure you practice in tempo that you are comfortable with. Also, practice with a metronome, or play along to your iPod or CD player so you're not losing the tempo. Also make sure that your feet are playing equally, both in power and speed. If you want to develop your doublebass technique a good tip is to take a lot of rudiments and just try to play them with your feet. Double strokes, paradiddles, flams etc.. You can also for example do those exercises I just mentioned, but instead of just using both feet, exchange one foot to one of your hands. To develop speed and/or endurance, there are no shortcuts, you just have to practice, practice, practice. And play in a fast tempo for as long as you can. Play until your feet/legs burns, and when they do, continue until you just can't go on anymore. Take a break and crank up the tempo and play for as long as you can again. But it is really important that you warm up before you practice speed and endurance. And you should also stretch your muscles afterwards, just so you don't strain yourself.Question: Some drummers may find rudiments tedious and boring, but I love to practice them. What are your favorite rudiments and how important of a role do you feel they've played in developing your skill overall? (Question from "Cory")
Jonas: I used to do a rudiments, but I rarely do them anymore. I wasn't really that good at practicing rudiments, because every time sat down to practice them, I always ended up jamming along to my favourite tunes on my CD player. That was way more fun. (Again, the lazy practice attitude.)
I want to thank all of our fans for supporting us and I'll see you on the road! Stay tuned to our websites for updates.
We wanted to let you know that Jonas (Ekdahl) will be answering questions about anything and everything from you guys, might be about drums or his favourite food, whatever, its your choice.
Here are the instructions: *Send a message to the Evergrey MySpace profile with the subject "Jonas interview question" *Write your question to the message body (only ONE question per friend accepted)The deadline for sending in the questions is Wednesday the 9th of April. After that date the 20 best questions will be picked and sent to Jonas.
On another note we noticed that our April TORN trailer somehow crashed for some reason and for all the people that have been trying to check it out on Blabbermouth or what not it’s not been working, below you’ll find a working one : ) So please update your links.
During the next couple of weeks we will have a couple of contests coming up where you can win all kinds of cool things such as ,tickets for up and coming releaseparties, Merchandise-packages, signed stuff and/or whatever else we can come up with to keep you happy.
And man did those shirts go over well! We have never had so many orders coming in so fast, and for those who are interested there’s still a few left.
Just a few words to let you know that we had a great time in Finland, the shows were really awesome and the finnish fans R O C K!
We knew that already but it was nice to see that what we remembered from prior shows were really true.
We are almost done with our label-negotiations and think we will be able to present a release date within 2 weeks , and just to clarify, we have lot’s of history with different labels that we needed to clear up before signing a new deal with anyone. This has taken so much longer than anticipated, I mean we have been sending contacts back and forth since last JUNE, so of course this has been really frustrating for us as musicians, but at the same time we’ve been forced to be really business-minded. BUT …. as I said we are now down to one label and hope to tell you which one really soon.
During the month of April we will sign all of the stuff bought in our webstore and dedicate it to the person who’s on the order-form. ( that is if you want us to of course, we wouldnt want to fuck your cd’s up and the shirts are a bit tricky to sign. ) So if you dont want them signed,or if it is for another name, write that in the order .
Also we made some really cool shirts for the shows in Finland:
We have a couple of them left so be sure to check that out: Evergrey Store Link
Monday or Tuesday we will hand you the 2nd "TORN" Trailer so you know where and when to check !
After a couple of turbulent weeks we have now finally mastered our album.
When we listened to the finished product for the first time we all agreed that we were beyond satisfied with the result and can't wait for you to hear it! We have also decided to post video teasers for you to enjoy, there will be a new "trailer" every month up until we release the damn thing and oh, the title for it is " T O R N " !
Complete tracklisting will be presented here as soon as we have decided what songs will end up on special editions and / or bonus tracks for singles etc.
Other than that I am glad to read that all of you seem to love our new Evergrey "EY" logo. It will look pretty cool on a shirt that's for sure.
Tomorrow we play a show in Mariestad with our friends from All Ends so those of you who have the chance please stop by.
Summer festivals and tours for the fall are being booked as I write so be sure to check this area for all official confirmations. We will start rehearsing songs from TORN next week so MAYBE, and I mean maybe, we will play some of them in Finland in two weeks. Playing Finland is always a blast and it's nice to be with people that can keep up with us on the booze . Both me and Jari have lot's of relatives and friends coming out to the shows so that should be fun.
Tampere on the 19th and Helsinki on the 20th be sure to join in if you have the chance.
So enjoy the music combined with the fantastic photos courtesy of our friend René Asmussen http://www.reneasmussen.com/ - an award-winning Danish photgrapher who have graced us with his work which will be used in the booklet for " TORN " . That alone will be worth the money .
please let us know your feelings, ideas expectations after hearing what you now will hear.
Jari Kainulainen joined the band to play the bass late summer 2007. Evergrey's MySpace friends were asked for interview questions for him in January 2008. Here are the questions and answers. Thanks to everyone for the questions and welcome greetings for him, and naturally thanks to Jari for taking the time to answer!
Question: What was the main reason and motivation for you to apply to Evergrey? (Question from MySpace user "Rhaegar Targaryen")
Jari Kainulainen's answer: I like the music so much.Question: Is there anything you hope to bring to the band? (Question from MySpace user "Chris")
Jari: More aggressive bass sound and lines.Question: Did you have any doubts about joining a band as aggressive as Evergrey? And if so... What eased your mind about joining? (Question from MySpace user "David")
Jari: I've always liked aggressive music, like Slayer, Meshuggah, Immortal etc. So I really never had any doubts. Only worries I had was how the guys would treat a finnish hockey fan Question: Evergrey has always had an intricate sound, with harmonies and dynamics that reach into listeners deeper than just their ears. However, the bass has always just kind of bumped along with Tom and the drums. With you now in the band, is this still the same, or do you think you bring a new level of bass talent to the already beautiful music? (Question from MySpace user "SkinnnTyte")
Jari: Like I said earlier also, I will bring bass on a new level for this band. No background humping along Question: Considering where you came from (Stratovarius), they're different styles of metal. Did you have any trouble getting along musically with the rest of the band, or did you fit right in with them? (Question from MySpace user "Parker")
Jari: Like a glove!Question: What was the biggest adjustment you faced when you started jamming with Evergrey? (Question from MySpace user "Dawn")
Jari: I didn't have to do anything. Just be myself.Question: Have you taken part in the writing of the new album? (Question from MySpace user "Gojiramon")
Jari: No, just the bass adjustment.Question: How do you feel about the new album and your contribution to the new album? (Question from MySpace user "Alex")
Jari: The album is great. I've never played a better album in my life…yet.Question: What sort of bass effects have you used in the recording of the new album? (Question from MySpace user "Yiannis")
Jari: Boss distortion OD1 and bass wahwah crybaby.Question: If you and Evergrey could go on a world tour with two bands, who would you want those bands to be, and why? They could either be opening for Evergrey, or Evergrey could be touring in support of the other one or two. (Question from MySpace user "Austin")
Jari: Metallica - They are big Machine Men - Very cool band from Finland.
Difficult question, so many to choose from. Black Sabbath would be great!Question: What Evergrey song do you look most forward to performing? A song off the upcoming album or one of their other works? (Question from MySpace user "Keeper Of The Creed (Chris)")
Jari: Old songs: Mark of the Triangle. New songs: All of them!Question: What are your first thoughts as you come onto the stage hitting your first few notes? (Question from MySpace user "Mosquito")
Jari: Hopefully they bring more beer backstage.Question: Are you able to put in some of your own styles into the songs, or do you just play the bass lines that are on the albums? (Question from MySpace user "Scott"")
Jari: I play all the songs old/new in my own style. They forced me to do that Question: What was your first bass and would you ever play it on stage (provided you still have that bass)? (Question from MySpace user "Brian (into infinite obscurity)")
Jari: Ibanez, don't remember the model and I don't have it anymore! That was in 1981.Question: What do you like the most on 6-string basses? (Question from MySpace user "Raziel X")
Jari: The sound, and it's easy to play.Question: What is up with those shirts of yours that we see you wearing during the recording sessions? They are for sure not very "Rocker Like"!(Question from MySpace user "Tim")
Jari: I'm getting this nice Hawaii feeling. Or let's just all spell it together J O K E. And looks like it worked
That's it for for now, 3 out of the 5 members have taken part on these MySpace interviews so far. Look for the previous ones with Tom and Rikard in the blog archives. Probably some time in the near future we will arrange ones with Henrik and Jonas too! Until then..
We have once again been really buried in work and therefore have not been able to update you for a couple of weeks.
We are FINALLY in the mixing stage of the album and that truly feels like a blessing.
Today we finished the 8th song for mixdown and it sounds A W E S O M E !
We will be finished before New Years and then we will take a couple of weeks of well needed and deserved rest.
We have also been in Israel which was a fantastic experience, to visit such an old country with all of it's history and beauty, Jerusalem is really fascinating . Tel Aviv felt like a mixiture of Miami and New York which was really cool and the audience fucking awesome, we are really looking forward to going there again.
Well we will leave you with a small christmas gift which holds more than you think!
So to all of you from all of us have Merry Christmas and a happy New Year
Hey guys , we are very busy writing the last songs for the album.
Thant's wy we ahve not updated in a while, but that will be worth your while since we decided to make this weeks videoclip a bit longer than the older ones.
This week we ahve been writing in my homestudio and so far came up with 2 REALLY great songs which I am sure will end up on the album. Rikard and Jonas moved out to the studio yesterday and will pretty much stay there until the album is finished.
Henrik and I will probably finsish up what we have left to do while J and R are starting the recording of the Keyboards.
Jari will be here on Thursday and after that we will play on a kind of a Metal Cruise on Friday to Saturday. Imagine a ship full of 3000 metalheads , I sure hope they stacked up a lot of alcohol.
The week after that we're going to Israel and Tel Aviv, a thing that we are looking forward to very much since we had a cancellation there a while back.
