Their fourth album, Recreation Day, has just been released. I recently spoke with the band's bass player, Michael Hakansson, a former member of the bands Embraced and The Forsaken.
Chad Bowar: How would you compare the sound of your new CD Recreation Day to Evergrey's previous releases?
Michael Hakansson: I would definitely say that this album is more intense. We've added a lot of heaviness and energy to the sound. We also cut down on some of the musical passages to shorten down the songs to get the intense energy that we wanted the album to have. That's the biggest difference.
What does the title Recreation Day signify?
There is a theme that runs throughout the entire album. The theme we chose to write about this time is death. Not only death as in dying, but also in losing something or someone that is really close or important to you, how that affects your whole life situation and how you have to rebuild your life and soul without that person or that something. It's basically about the day after, recreation day.
Evergrey just got a new drummer, right?
Yes. Patrick decided that he wanted to focus on his family right now. We don't have any problem with that. We understand that. It was really sad for us when he decided to leave. We have a new drummer, Jonas, and he's really fantastic. He just turned 20, so he's really young and hungry.
Where did you find him?
He's been Patrick's drum tech for about two years. We knew him, he knew us, and he knew all the material so was really smooth and easy.
What are your touring plans for this summer?
We have some festivals planned, mainly in Sweden. We have a festival in France, and then we're coming back for another festival in the States in September. After that we're going to do extended touring in Europe. If everything goes as we hope to, we'll be able to come over and do a full scale tour in the States during the fall.
Evergrey has been categorized as power metal, progressive metal, and symphonic metal. How would you categorize your sound?
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