In connection with the upcoming Evergrey tour of Europe we are offering fans a unique chance to get to meet the band in your respective country.

This is a chance for Evergrey and their most dedicated fans to get to meet each other. The only thing you'll have to do is to send in your application which could consist of: Artwork, personal story, Youtube clip, a memory, tattoo - whatever you feel best represents your dedication to Evergrey. So needless to say it has to be "Evergrey-related".

The members of the band will go through the applications and choose 2 fans for each city/venue/show who will get:
-Free tickets to the show
-A bag of merchandise
-A chance to get inside the tourbus (this is where its able to park the bus outside the venue) and of course meet all the members and get whatever you see fit signed.
 
This is very important: The applications can only be sent by e-mail (this means no Myspace private messages will be accepted to take part in the contest). Mark your application with the name of the city in the e-mail "Subject" field and don't forget to leave your correct e-mail address where you can be reached.

Send your stuff to: evergreyfans@gmail.com
 

Best regards and good luck.
Evergrey crew

Here are finally some concert dates for some of you to look forward to.

ALL these dates are confirmed by us and if nothing extraordinary happens (even if luck lately has not been on our side) they will all go on as planned. So run, crawl or do whatever you see fit in order to get your tickets before the promoters get cold feet ;)

Hope to see all of you and there will probably be some more dates added but don't take that as a promise!

If anyone feels like they want to join as opening acts and have finances to support such a thing to there is still time even though we are right now sorting out a few bands. Send a mail and bio/anything else you feel is necessary to tom@evergrey.net and you'll get a fair chance. Last day for applications is July the 30th.

The confirmed Evergrey concert dates:

16th September - Bochum, Germany
17th September - TBA, Czech Republic
18th September - Budapest, Hungary
19th September - Sofia, Bulgaria
20th September - Bucharest, Romania
21st September - Larissa, Greece
22nd September - Athens, Greece (Acoustic / MTV Headbangers Ball)
23rd September - Athens, Greece
24th September - Cluj Napoca, Romania
25th September - Belgrade, Serbia
27th September - Dudley, England
29th September - Milano, Italy
1st October - Paris, France
2nd October - Colmar, France
4th October - Baarlo, Netherlands
9th October - Drammen, Norway

"Torn" is one of the albums nominated for the best Hard Rock album of the year award at the Swedish Grammy awards "Grammis". We need all your help to vote for Evergrey. Here's how:

1. Go to this site http://vote.grammis.se/

2. Click on "Arets Hardrock".

3. Vote for 3 bands. 1st = the best band, 2nd = the 2nd best, 3rd = the 3rd best

4. After you have picked the bands, you will be asked to fill in your name and e-mail address and then press "Röstä".

5. You will get a confirmation e-mail with a link you have to click to confirm your vote. Click that and voting is DONE!


So everyone please spread the word about this to get Evergrey as many votes as possible, the voting is only available for a little while so it's important to act fast! Thanks so much everyone in advance, will keep you updated about the award winnings later!

The brand new video for the song "Broken Wings" will debut on Headbanger's Blog this Thursday (Oct. 9th), and will be broadcast on Headbanger's Ball this Saturday night (Oct. 11th). Make sure to check out the Headbanger's Blog and tune in to the broadcast this week and show your support for the Evergrey (as you always do, thank you!).

Stop back by and let us know what you think, or hit the forum and post about the video. Torn continues to sell well and great reviews are still coming in, thank you to all who have purchased the new CD!

Evergrey has entered the Swedish charts at number 4! This during an extremely competitive week with many new bigger releases. Adding to that, The charts are counted from Wednesday to Wednesday and Evergrey's TORN was released on Friday!

Great job and a massive thanks goes out to the Swedish fans, you rule !!!

We are happy to announce that we have just added the whole new Evergrey album "Torn" for you all to listen on Myspace.

This special pre-listen of the upcoming album will only be up on MySpace for one full week starting today (Tuesday the 2nd of September). Hope you all enjoy it and please send us your comments about it! Also there are two new preorder links up now for buying the album, make sure to get yours.

Hey !!!

 Pheeeeeeeeeeewwwww…. it's been a long fucking year negotiating this deals, not something we've enjoyed too much , it's taken its toll on everything from economi to psyche. BUT now it's finally done and we are extremely curious on what the future has in it's hands for us !

We have made changes in everything surrounding Evergrey , everything from management, record-label to booking and , perhaps most important, changed our own approach to this thing called EVERGREY.

It came to a time a while ago where we ALL were tired of everything surrounding this bitch called the music-industry. It affected our whole perception of what and who we were, it most certainly killed everything close to joy and in the end made it feel like a boring 9 - 5 job where you don't like your co-workers and just want to go home.

But as I said , we've been through that now and coming out on the other end of this rather dark tunnel are 5 guys who have the same determination, goals and fire to keep this ball spinning for another couple of laps!

Below you have the 3rd trailer that I know you have been eagerly awaiting , somethings up with the compression level that makes the pics smaller so those look like shit… but hey …. you're here to   h e a r  the God-damned thing, right ? It contains all songtitles for the regular edition of this release and the release day is 2nd week of September but , you'll see somethings prolly gonna come up and change that for the 10th time…..

I hope you enjoy it and we wish to hear ALL your thoughts , as they are what matter the most to us !

Below is also your new cover , spill your guts about that too.

yours in metal

Tom, Henrik, Jonas, Rikard and Jari

Evergrey trailer M A Y edition
..

BREAKING EVERGREY NEWS, NEW LABEL AND NEW ALBUM RELEASE!


*SPV / EVERGREY PRESS RELEASE*


*EVERGREY HAVE SIGNED WITH STEAMHAMMER**/SPV*

*New album TORN out in early September*


Following intense and very constructive discussions, Steamhammer/SPV have announced their future collaboration with Swedish dark melodic metal act, Evergrey. The deal includes not only the group's brand-new studio album, *Torn*, which will arrive at the stores at the beginning of September, but also Evergrey's complete back catalogue. Evergrey mastermind Tom S. Englund is looking forward to a productive cooperation with Steamhammer, explaining: "After long and intense negotiations, we feel that we have arrived at optimum conditions for everybody involved. We are confident that Evergrey will continue to grow artistically under the terms of this contract, that SPV will enjoy our cooperation and – this is definitely the most important aspect – that our fans will thoroughly benefit from the new deal."

The first stage of this ambitious target will see the release of Evergrey's new studio album, *Torn*, at the beginning of September, featuring eleven compositions, described by Englund as a "modern mix of *In Search Of Truth*and *Recreation Day*". "The tracks are all guitar-oriented and very atmospheric. They have exactly the sound that our fans expect from us." According to Englund, the slightly more experimental direction of Evergrey's previous release, *Monday Morning Apocalypse*, has given way again to old strengths and virtues. "Two years ago we needed an album with a slightly different approach and an expensive producer, just to find out how that sort of thing works. It was the right album at the time, but now we have returned to our typical trademarks." This is one of the reasons why the tracks on *Torn* were self-produced by Englund together with drummer Jonas Ekdahl. In addition, the band has a new bassist, Fredrik Larsson having been replaced by former Stratovarius musician Jari Kainulainen.

Since the band arrived on the scene in 1998, Evergrey have brought out six studio albums and one live cut. All of them made the top 20 in their native Sweden and the last two made the top 10 (no. 6 and 3, respectively). On top of that, their DVD was number 1 for four weeks and nominated for a Grammy in Sweden. The band has toured around the globe several times, together with In Flames, Nevermore, Throwdown, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom and Iced Earth, among others. Along with *Torn*, their new contract with Steamhammer/SPV includes the band's complete back catalogue, so top-quality reissues featuring a selection of bonus tracks are likely in future. "There is so much additional material for each album that we could theoretically re-release it on an extra DVD. Whatever we manage to do – premium reissues are certainly a possibility."

--
be sure to visit
www.evergrey.net
www.myspace.com/officialevergrey

MySpace Interview with Jonas Ekdahl

Jonas Ekdahl took the time to answer some fan sent questions for this MySpace interview in April 2008. Read up on how he started drumming, who is he influenced by, what he would be if not a rock star and a lot more! Thanks to all the MySpace friends for sending in the good questions.

Question: When and how did you discover that you had talent at playing the drums? If you took lessons, what inspired you to do such a thing? (Question from MySpace user "L")

Jonas Ekdahl's answer: I had my first band with a couple of friends from school when I was 10, I think. I played saxophone at that time. (And no, I can't play it anymore. Not even "Smoke on the water".) The guy who played drums in the band kept his drumkit in our garage, and sometimes I tried to play. I thought it was really fun, and told my friend, who suggested I joined him for some drum lessons. So I did, and took lessons from that teacher for 5 years, before I applied for a music- and percussion high school.

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Question: How long did it take you do actually learn how to drum as well as you do now and would you change anything about your drumming skills? (Question from "Cameron")

Jonas: It has taken me almost 14 years, and I'm still working on it, hehe. I feel that there's always something I can improve or do better with my playing. But one thing I would change is that I'm kind of lazy with practicing sometimes. But I'm working on that too.

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Question: Was there a defining moment where you suddenly realised that music was your life, or had you always known? (Question from "Budz")

Jonas: I have been interested in music my whole life, I started to play the clarinette when I was 8 or something. Then I switched to saxophone before I fell in love with drums. But I think that when I was in 8th or 9th grade, music and drumming became something I couldn't be without and wanted to do for the rest of my life.

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Question: What bands influenced you growing up and what specific drummers shaped the way you play today? (Question from "Leon")

Jonas: KISS were my first influence when I started playing drums. Peter Criss, Eric Carr and Eric Singer were all big influences to me, and I loved to play along to KISS records. Then I got into bands like Metallica and Pantera (Vinnie Paul rules), and I discovered Red Hot Chili Peppers, and really liked Chad Smith's groovy playing. I use ghost notes all the time when I play, it doesn't matter if it's metal, pop or funk. They're always there when I play.

When I got older and started high school, I started to listen to more of the technical drummers like Terry Bozzio, Virgil Donati and Mike Mangini, and listened to Steve Vai a lot, as well as an American band from Dallas, TX, called Haji's Kitchen (now called Haji). That drummer is really good and has really style and approach to his drumming. But I also listen R&B and Soul. I think Amir Questlove playing is absolutely awesome. He plays drums in the band Roots, but has also played on a lot of other records, with artists like D'Angelo, Nikka Costa and Joss Stone. So I keep my mind as open as possible. At the moment I listen to a lot of metal and I'm a huge sucker for both Dirk Verbeuren in Soilwork and Derek Roddy (ex-Hate Eternal).

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Question: Does the side project DeathDestruction still exist and if yes, what's in the planned future for it? (Question from "Tini")

Jonas: Yes it exists. But we all have had a lot to with our own bands, so there has not been time for any of us to do anything new with DeathDestruction, at the moment. But I hope we will go into the studio and record an album some day when we've got time, because we have a lot of awesome material laying around.

DeathDestruction started as a really playful project. Me, Henrik and Rikard did one night in the studio while we were recording "The Inner Circle". And we realised that the songs where actually really cool, so we kept writing that kind of songs. All of a sudden we had 14 songs that we recorded in the studio. At that time Rikard, (who actually was the lead singer) thought we had taken DD too serious, so he decided to leave the band. Instead we found Jimmie Strimell (Dead By April, ex-Nightrage), and also our friend and previous Evergrey bassplayer Fredrik Larsson, who's now also in Hammerfall. There, now you even got a small biography as well.

Check out DeathDestruction on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/deathdestructiongbg

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Question: How is your "partnership" with fellow rhythm maestro Jari developing, and what do you think he has bought that is different to add to the Evergrey sound? (Question from "Wooks")

Jonas: We are complementing each other just great! He's an unbelievable bassplayer, and I feel that we make each other tighter as a rhythm section. He makes me want to play better. And when you have that impression on someone, it's a pretty good rating. Especially, since he's "just a bassplayer"..haha. (I hope my Swedish "irony-humour" is getting through the screen. ) I remember when we had our first jam with him, or audition if you want to call it that. He came in with his bass, and as soon as we started the first song we all felt that this was the guy. And I actually caught myself with having one of the biggest smiles you can have. Jari is playing amazing on our new album as well! It was fun to record the album with him, because we got a chance to rehearse the songs just the two of us, and that was a really good thing for us to do.

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Question: The teasers (which sound mindblowing) got me wondering: Will "Torn" be a concept album? Or more like a record based around a theme, like "Recreation Day"? (Question from "Esopen")

Jonas: No, "Torn" is not a concept album. Ask Tom about the lyrics. I'm just the drummer, I'm glad if I can read the setlist during a gig right.

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Question: My question revolves around your involvement in the songwriting process for Evergrey. With "The Inner Circle", you were credited on a few songs ("Ambassador," "The Essence of Conviction") and on "Monday Morning Apocalypse", you had more credits (including "Obedience" and "Closure"). How much were you involved with the writing process for the upcoming "Torn"?  (Question from "Past and Future Secret (Chris)")

Jonas: I have been involved in the song writing a lot more on Torn than on any of the albums you mentioned.

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Question: If you weren't a rockstar, what would you be and why? (Question from "Robson Netto")

Jonas: I like food and cooking a lot, so I think I would try to be a chef or something like that.

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Question: Besides your hometown, where is your favorite place in the world you have played so far? Also, what has been your favorite show you've played so far and why? (Question from "Shellikinz")

Jonas: That's a tough one.. There's no place like home, but I really like Spain, Holland and the United States. Of course, the DVD gig has been one of my favourite shows, since it was a mark in Evergrey's history. We recorded it in Gothenburg and had all of our friends and families there, and the whole thing with the choir and the string quartet on stage was very cool. We did a show in Belgium on our previous European tour with 800 crazy fans. We had a lot of fun on stage, the crowd was great. A great show. And speaking of Belgium, the Graspop festival is always awesome to play at. We played in Helsinki recently, and that show was also really really good. In 2004 we did a North American tour with Iced Earth and Children of Bodom, and we played a show in Toronto, Canada. And from the second the intro went on the audience turned crazy. It was great!

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Question: Although you've been the Evergrey drummer for a while now, I've always been wondering, do you ever change up the drumming when you play older material live? (Question from "Hardcore Cafe")

Jonas: It depends. I used to do that a lot before, but now I try to nail almost everything as much as possible. But some days I just have to do something different. Not on the most vital parts that are very important for the song, but like on small fills and stuff like that.

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Question: What is your favorite song (or songs) to play drumwise? (Question from "Sober and Irrelevant")

Jonas: I have always loved "Obedience". It's so dark, heavy and groovy and it really fits my style of playing. Other favourite tunes are "Mark of the triangle", that song has a lot of cool parts in it. It changes from slow and powerful to heavy and melodic. And the crowd likes that song to. It's pretty cool to see them jump up and down on the heavier parts. I like "Monday Morning Apocalypse", because it's "straight pipes" as you would say in Sweden (raka rör). In other words, it is really straight forward. "I'm Sorry" is kind of a favourite song as well. It's so simple to play drummingwise, and I feel that I really can play powerful instead of playing fancy technical stuff. Because that just would have ruined the whole song, in my opinion. "Fear" is the first song we have played from "Torn" and that's a really cool song to play live, even though we've only played it twice so far. But it's so heavy and I am playing doublebass stuff throughout the whole song, more or less. We have lots of songs on the new album that are really going to be kickass to play live.

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Question: Would you consider releasing a drums DVD with lessons, a drum solo, and also samples from Evergrey songs with the explanations? (Question from "VP-1480")

Jonas: Haha, well no, not yet. I think will take a while before (and if) I would release a drum DVD. That's not in my plans at the moment. But who knows, maybe some day there will be a DVD with all the "Evergrey chops from hell".. haha

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Question: What's the most difficult thing about being a drummer? (Question from "Makntak")

Jonas: That is very individual. But for me, it's a lot of things, haha. The most difficult thing is to make the brain tell your arms and legs to do all these co-ordination stuff, and at the same time you want everything to groove. So when you practice you're not only sitting there, feeling like a stupid marionette puppet with your brain trying to pull all the right strings at the right time, you have to do it with feel as well. I can really go bananas on those exercises. Not to mention hearing and taking all the crappy "drummer-jokes"..

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Question: How much of your drum sound on Evergrey records is acoustic drums vs. triggered sounds? Also, when you use triggers or sound replacement, do you use samples of your own acoustic drums or do you use ddrum samples or some other sample library? (Question from "Mike Gerbitz")

Jonas: We have used both triggers and sound replacements on the Evergrey albums I've recorded. We like to mix the acoustic sound with sound replacement and sometimes triggers. We had some triggers on "The Inner Circle", but not on "Monday Morning..".  On "Torn" we have triggers just on the bassdrums, but we have mixed it with the acoustic bassdrum sound. And it's divided like 70% acoustic sound and 30% trigger, I think. The trigged sound comes from my old Ddrum module from -92. Old school stuff, and it sounds great. For toms we sound replaced them with my toms, and we divided the sounds like we did with the bassdrums, 70/30. Just to give it that extra punch and attack.

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Question: How do you cope with the fact that you are younger than the rest of the guys from the band, was it easier or harder for you to fit in with the rest of the guys? (Question from "Rhaegar Targaryen")

Jonas: In the beginning it was maybe a little harder, but it wasn't anything I thought about. I've never felt that I'm that much younger than the rest. And now I definitely don't think about it, because I'm starting to get old too. Sad but true. But the good thing is, that I will always be at least 10 years younger than the rest of the guys.

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Question: What made you drum the first time - I mean, any song, situation that made you to drum on a desk or something? (Question from ".black.orchid.")

Jonas: The drum solo Ian Haugland from Europe did on their video "Europe in America". He had only a snare drum onstage during his solo, and he did a call-and-response thing with the audience. I really liked Ian when I was little, because he always looked so happy when he played. It was really contagious. I was 4 or 5 years old and I thought what he did was really cool and fascinating.

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Question: Double bass drumming is a very complex and exciting part about being a talented drummer in metal. What do you recommend for amateur drummers learning double bass as far as technique and endurance is concerned? (Question from "Ralphy")

Jonas: When you start out with learning doublebass, make sure you practice in tempo that you are comfortable with. Also, practice with a metronome, or play along to your iPod or CD player so you're not losing the tempo. Also make sure that your feet are playing equally, both in power and speed. If you want to develop your doublebass technique a good tip is to take a lot of rudiments and just try to play them with your feet. Double strokes, paradiddles, flams etc.. You can also for example do those exercises I just mentioned, but instead of just using both feet, exchange one foot to one of your hands. To develop speed and/or endurance, there are no shortcuts, you just have to practice, practice, practice. And play in a fast tempo for as long as you can. Play until your feet/legs burns, and when they do, continue until you just can't go on anymore. Take a break and crank up the tempo and play for as long as you can again. But it is really important that you warm up before you practice speed and endurance. And you should also stretch your muscles afterwards, just so you don't strain yourself.

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Question: Some drummers may find rudiments tedious and boring, but I love to practice them. What are your favorite rudiments and how important of a role do you feel they've played in developing your skill overall? (Question from "Cory")

Jonas: I used to do a rudiments, but I rarely do them anymore. I wasn't really that good at practicing rudiments, because every time sat down to practice them, I always ended up jamming along to my favourite tunes on my CD player. That was way more fun. (Again, the lazy practice attitude.)

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I want to thank all of our fans for supporting us and I'll see you on the road!
Stay tuned to our websites for updates.

All the best,
/Jonas