I received my promo copy via email this morning. Enjoying it so far. I'm not really an Evergrey fan, per se. But I feel like I should be, so I keep trying. Really enjoying it through the first few tracks. For me, a lot of my enjoyment of progressive hard rock and metal comes from the melody and connection with the singer's voice. I've always struggled in that regard with Thomas Englund. Part of it, admittedly, is that my ear really picks up his accent, which for whatever reason, I react poorly to singers with thicker accents. If it sounds ridiculous -- I agree with you, it is. But things resonate or don't resonate based on how its received. So while I feel dumb even saying that, it's true.
But as I sit here going through my initial listen, while I am picking up on it, it's affecting me less, which is a good thing. I've tried for years to get into them for about 12 years now, so I am hoping Escaping of the Phoenix is the record that does it.
The first track is a booming opener. Aggressive, heavy. The second cut is more more melodic. The third is a ballad. Piano and Tom until about 1:20, then the slow-paced, but heavy riff starts. That's as far as I am up to so far. I know that's not much. But diggin' it so far. I will say, the third track is a little early to go full-on ballad...