EVERGREY
VENUE REBELLION, MANCHESTER
DATE 16/12/2024
As the old saying goes, one should dress for the job they want, not for the one they have. Perhaps, then, Sweden’s introspective progressive metal quartet Evergrey have taken that lesson to heart. They play to a decent crowd tonight, especially for a blustery Monday night so close to Christmas, but the stage show they bring and the seismic sound they deliver smacks of a band that, in terms of product at least, have long since outgrown such intimate confines. They’re at the tail end of a gruelling tour: this is date 41 of 47 of a relentless schedule that will see the band return home on Christmas Eve and collapse, at last, on their respective sofas. The wear and tear of the road, though, is only apparent when guitarist/vocalist Tom S Englund brings it up, admitting his nonchalant between-song chatting is selfishly needed after a breathless run through of back-to-back tracks. He, too, reveals that evergreen drummer Simen Sandnes (also of Arkentype and Temic) is currently green in a very different way, a nasty bout of food poisoning nearly forcing the band to perform sans drums. But he’s a trooper, even delivering a rumbling and rambunctious drum solo late on that’s even more impressive considering the context. All these instances accumulate as a showing of perseverance, with the band pushing professionally and relentlessly onwards for the sake of their fans.