After The Burial // Evergreen
After The Burial’s sixth album ‘Evergreen’ is an excellent addition to the discography of one of my favorite bands. They’ve consistently put out incredible music and have been a driving force in progressive metal for the last 15 years. I also just saw them perform last night and they put on a killer show.
Opening “Behold The Crown” with a fun riff is a classic After The Burial move and is reminiscent of “Lost In The Static” and “Cursing Akhenaten”. The band doesn’t show any sign of slowing down until “11/26” where they tap into their melodic side, letting the soaring guitars set the tone. The guitar solo at the end also blends so well with everything else and is a stand out moment of the album.
The masterful instrumentals have always been a part of their identity and the intro to “In Flux” continues the trend. Properly balanced chaos and grooves is nothing new for After The Burial but this particular example gives me flashbacks to ‘Berserker’ which is where it all started for me. Their timing is exquisite as they thunder away and it’s one of the coolest parts of their live shows.
Despite every members’ skill, Anthony Notarmaso’s vocals remain the most impressive aspect. His range is ridiculous and although we don’t hear as many lows in ‘Evergreen’ as I’d like, he constantly switches styles depending on what the song calls for. (I want to point out how great his lows in “Quicksand” are though). He also has some of my favorite highs and I’m happy to see they’re still a staple of ATB’s music.
‘Evergreen’ has bits of each previous album and is a good summary of their career. The only thing I’d like to see more of in the future is a return to the instrumental style used during the choruses of ‘In Dreams’. “Respire” explores different tunings and that’s what I’m hoping for even more of in the future. There’s a lot to dig into here and multiple listens are much more rewarding than a quick pass through.
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