Evergrey have made a very respectful name for themselves as being the leaders of progressive metal. With this new disc, their sometimes elaborately arranged dark and mood filled music has taken a back seat for simpler and more straight ahead songs. Even by the cd cover which has the band members photographed as mug shots you can see they are going for something a little different. Take 'Lost' which has the band’s very recognizable somber melodies or 'Obedience' which captures their aggressive side with forceful riffing and a simple keyboard to back it up.

When I compare "Monday Morning" to previous albums I don’t find much difference. This one has more in common I think with "The Inner Circle" instead of "Recreation Day". The sound and style has not changed, well the guitar tone is a little different and thicker. The music itself is just simplified a bit more here and maybe easier to get into at first listen. Piano and keyboards have not been lost nor has the virtuosity of Tom and Henrik on guitar. The band still takes note of balance between both their harder and softer sides. 'At Loss for Words' is one of my favorites as it has a hard attack, great keyboards and what they are always good for….the chorus. The song brings me back a bit to my favorite record “Recreation Day” with those guitar leads.