With every record, Evergrey distance themselves from their prog metal roots and shoot for the stars: their last handful of records has been increasingly elaborate (bordering on symphonic at times), and quality to boot. On ‘Architects Of A New Weave, the band are cutting closer to triumphant area rock than anything else, plucking songs straight from the creative mind of one Tom S. Englund. This time, Evergrey’s ambitions wind up working against them.

‘Architects Of A New Weave’ sits comfortably as the follow-up to 2024’s ‘Theories Of Emptiness,’  an album defined first-and-foremost by its grandiose choruses and stellar vocal writing— if anything, the new record leans even further in the same direction, turning every track into a monumental, show-stopping anthem. You can barely go two minutes without stumbling your way into yet another larger-than-life chorus, whether it takes the form of the fist-pumping title track or the unusually joyous melodies of single ‘Leaving The Emptiness.’ Englund’s name is almost ironic, as his vocals are often so heavily layered upon themselves, he winds up sounding like a pack of rabid football fans: the record commits to its bombastic presentation far more readily than previous outings, even to a fault. ‘Architects Of A New Weave’ wants to sound huge, but its wide open sound stage ends up feeling rather hollow, like the guitars and keyboard lines are floating in empty space. You can see how Evergrey have trekked too far down this road of theirs.

It’s difficult to pin down exactly why this new project fails where previous efforts succeeded, except to say that ‘Architects Of A New Weave’ is largely serving up the table-scraps that ‘Escape of the Phoenix’ left behind. Those driving guitar riffs are here and accounted for in 2026, but whether we’re interested in songwriting or in production, they clearly aren’t the focus— ‘The Shadow Self’ kicks off with some grizzly down-tuned riffs, but it’s that ginormous chorus that the song is clearly based around. Now, this is Evergrey we’re talking about, and the band’s work is nothing if not anthemic: if any group were going to put together an album full of show-stopping hooks thinly strung together, it may as well be this one. Overblown as they may be, it’s hard not to get swept away during parts of ‘The World Is On Fire’ and ‘Leaving The Emptiness,’ both of which also treat the listener to some explosive Englund guitar work— ‘Chains Of Shame’ is similarly infectious, but it’s the track’s intensity and stunningly beautiful bridge that make it the most well-rounded number on the record.

After undergoing some significant lineups changes between records, Evergrey are being piloted almost entirely by their frontman here, and you can feel his passion pouring out from the album. Englund’s singing carries unquestionable emotion with it, but it’s disappointing to see him exploring themes of regret and purpose via such rudimentary language— the word ‘darkness’ becomes an awkward cliché across ‘Architects Of A New Weave,’ and the endless repetition of ‘emptiness’ and ‘loneliness’ on ‘Call Off Your Lions’ is just one of the many issues dragging this lowlight down. The record may get off to a shaky start with the rambling ‘Welcome To The Pattern,’ but it’s actually its second half that buckles under the weight of all those keyboard flourishes: come on, ’Longing’ would sound right at home as part of a new Twilight sequel. Neither the Mikael Stanne-featuring ‘A Burning Flame’ nor ‘The Script’ are outright unlistenable, but they aren’t stacking up against Evergrey’s previous work. It does feel like the band’s formula has finally turned against them.

Englund and company may claim to be the ‘Architects Of A New Weave,’ but there isn’t much ‘new’ about their latest batch of songs: rather, the group are playing things incredibly safe here, and shooting themselves in the foot because of it. Any fans who enjoyed a project like ‘Theories Of Emptiness’ will probably find something to love here, as this new release throws in many of the flashy guitar solos and impressive hooks Evergrey are known for. What seems clear, though, is that these ideas aren’t shining as bright anymore.