EVERGREY's debut album has been reissued and remastered, much like their second release, "Solitude, Dominance, Tragedy."  The remastering job is even more noticeable on this debut because the original had such a raw sound.  Back in 1998, there were not too many melodic metal bands with such a dark sound, but the production was also a bit too dark and rough for them.  The remaster sounds a lot better but still retains the right amount of edge.

Sure, there was Doom Metal that could bring you to tears but as far as Metal bands playing straight up Metal with Progressive elements wrapped up in such a dark sound, EVERGREY was one of the first.  They were clearly still finding their way on this album but they already had such a unique sound.  Englund's vocals are still expressive; however rather than bursting open with such a controlled, almost refined, emotional energy, there is a bit of gruff and edge to his voice.  Often time, it gets the better of him and he comes off sounding more pissed off than anything.  Still, to have such awesome vocal abilities so early, he impresses.

The opening track, "Blackened Dawn," is a fire storm right out of the gate.  Rapid fire riffs and frantic drumming set a more chaotic tone than the band's later efforts. Englund belts out the wonderful chorus with scary conviction.  This is one hell of an opener, especially for a band's first release.  They definitely went for the throat.  The 2:30 mark begins a passage that is more crushing than anything on their later albums.  It is obvious the band had a more fluid sound here, switching from straight up Heavy Metal to Prog as they saw fit.

The middle of the album features four very strong tracks, beginning with "Trust and Betrayal," which starts out like it could be an old school METALLICA album. The middle breakdown in the song, and the solo that comes after it, are worthy enough to make even the most jaded Metal fan head bang or slam their head against a glass window.

"Shadowed," is a strong deep cut for the band with its catchy chorus and guitar that grooves more than would be expected of such a band. The next track, "When The River Calls," continues the battering ram but a bit more focus is put on the riffs, of which the song has several good ones.  Tom's voice works very well with the keys during the verses.  The riffs after the verse are nothing short of astounding, matched only by the guitar solos.

"For Every Tear That Falls," takes things to a completely different level with Carina (later she and Tom would get married), whose haunting vocals worked so well with his own even in the early days of recording. It's a nice little song that even manages to have some heavy parts in it, although I would personally call the song a damn good ballad. This album doesn't quite reach the highest peaks of the albums that come after it, but they accomplished a lot on this classic debut album.  If you want to see the beginnings of greatness, look no further.