Music Theories Recordings / Mascot [Release date: 28.02.25]

German progressive rock band Everon were quite prolific in the late nineties / early noughties, releasing seven albums between 1993’s ‘Paradoxes’ and ‘North’ in 2008 – all of which somehow avoided the gaze of GRTR!

Since ‘North’, nothing, but, according to main-man Oliver Philipps, “the band never quit – it was a hiatus” – but, in December 2024 the band announced their return to music making with a new song ‘No Embrace’, which turns out to be the lead-off track of new album ‘Shells’.

In the meantime, Philipps has been working as a producer for bands such as Delain, Ad Infinitum, Wolverine and, importantly, Angel whose vocalist Iren Michaelsen appears on five tracks here – hardly surprising as she is married to Philipps.

The recording of ‘Shells’ was tinged with sadness following the unexpected death of drummer Christian ‘Moschus’ Moos with him having already recorded eight of the twelve tracks here – the remaining four having American sticksman Jason Gianni filling in.

If you had to put a name on Everon (and, unfortunately, we do) you would describe them as heavy-prog – not the prog-metal catch-all applied to so many recent bands – but there are many moments on ‘Shells’ that are quite delicate acting as that perfect progressive rock foil to the heavier stuff.

Aforementioned opener ‘No Embrace’ is an exempli gratia of this light/dark juxtaposition with its anthemic guitar intro, its almost English-folk verses and pounding chorus with great guitar work throughout – a feature of the album in its entirety.

There’s an ear-worm of a piano riff on ‘Broken Angels’, there’s a distinctly Billy Joel vibe on ‘Travels’ and ‘Monster’ although the latter has a particularly disturbing narrative, and, despite me thinking “here we go – the futile attempt to be amusing”, ‘Pinocchio’s Nose’ turns out to be a treatise on lying in general and politics in particular with the great lyric “may you go straight to hell – which is where you belong”.

There’s great prog on ‘Guilty As Charged’ with its middle Eastern vibe and pounding rifferama, and incisive lyrics on ‘Children Of The Earth’ taking apart politics and, more importantly, religion.

The instrumental ‘OCD’ has wonderfully staccato guitar seguéing into heavy-as-hell riffing – OCD with guitars?

And the paean to late drummer ‘Moschus’ ‘Until We Meet Again’ is excellent with no discernible mawkishness.

But all this leads to the fourteen minutes plus of closer ‘Flesh’ which utilises every prog trope known to man including the kitchen sink. There’s tinkling piano, there’s madrigal-like acoustic guitar, there’s hammer-of-the-Gods drumming, there’s more gentle piano kicked to death by metallic riffs and some simply amazing guitar work – this is Nightwish on steroids and left this listener slumped forward in his chair, exhausted…

A great album with a surprise at every turn and proof-positive that, even with a sixteen year hiatus, the maxim holds true – once a musician, always a musician. ****

Review by Alan Jones

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