Swedish progressive metal veterans EVERGREY have released "The Beholder," the lead single from their upcoming twelfth studio album — yet to be officially titled — available via AFM Records on all streaming platforms as of March 11. The track, which runs at six and a half minutes, is immediately identifiable as EVERGREY at their finest: brooding, atmospheric progressive metal that draws on the band's Gothenburg background without descending into melodic death metal territory, anchored by Tom S. Englund's extraordinarily expressive and emotionally direct vocal delivery.
Englund confirmed in a press release that the new album is a concept record centered on themes of perception, surveillance, and the experience of being observed against one's will — themes that he described as "personal, political, and existential in equal measure." "The Beholder" introduces the album's protagonist, who Englund has described as "an ordinary person who discovers they have been watched for years, and what that revelation does to their sense of self and their trust in the world."
Musically, "The Beholder" features some of the most complex arrangements EVERGREY have committed to record — including a key change in the bridge that spans a minor seventh and a tempo shift in the final third that opens up the song's emotional resolution. Guitarist Henrik Danhage and keyboardist Rikard Zander are both in exceptional form, with Danhage's solo section describing an arc from technical precision into deliberate emotional rawness. Producer Jacob Hansen, who has worked with EVERGREY on several of their recent releases, once again delivers a powerful, clear, and appropriately heavy production.