So before we answer any other questions, yes, this is more or less a continuation of the direction the band has been going in for the last records, and I do not mind that decision at all. The band has showed enough promise to continue down this road without any real hickups, and sure enough, we get treated with a pretty solid record, with enough surprises to keep our interest. Most of those surprises come in the latter half of the record, so we will get to those eventually, but the first half is not just a safe bet with predictable tunes.
To start off the album after a small intro, "Arrival" bring the blast beat with an epic effort that is classic Soilwork work. The rhythm is infectious, the chorus is easy to scream to, and the solo makes you wanna close your eyes and just take it all in. It is a great opening that continues on to "Bleeder Despoiler", a track that goes for a slower, but groovier tempo that works, even if the chorus is not the best. Then we have "Full Moon Shoals", which is easily memorable, but I believe a lot of people will just dismiss this track and its "Pull Me Under"-like riffs. The band does not really get back their groove on "The Nurturing Glance" either, but "When The Universe Spoke" pulls them back in, with some nice "The Panic Broadcast" vibes.
"Stålfågel" (Swedish for steel bird) opens up the second, and more experimental part of the record with something that could have easily been with The Night Flight Orchestra if it had a little more 80's flare to it. It is a melodic track that is easy to hum along to, and it does give the album a nice little half time break, which eventually transitions to the obviously Thin Lizzy inspired "The Wolves Are Back In Town". Not that it sounds like the classic rock band, but it is certainly not much metal in this track. Both "Witan" and "The Ageless Whisper" plays around with the guitars to create some nice melodies, but once again we get some more NFO vibes that could be a little distracting, but it sounds great, so who cares.
In the second to last song "Needles And Kin" we get a guest appearance of Amorphis singer Tomi Joutsen, who brings the most brutal segment of the record, and with some contrasting clean vocals from Mr. Strid, we get an adrenaline fueled steam roller of brilliant metal. Another uptempo track in "You Aquiver" ends "Verkligheten" with Disco. No, I am serious, the drums and the tempo completely reeks of disco, which is just strange. It is not KISS levels of disco, but you can certainly dance to this one.
So if you have not guessed it already, the NFO influence in this record is pretty strong, which is certainly gonna divide some of the fans, but I think the material is strong enough to merit such a risk (also, NFO is pretty good for a 80's inspired AOR band). "Verkligheten" is a reasonable continuation of the last two records, and it changes just enough to make it not feel like a stale repeat. It is a little inconsistent at times, and it might have needed some more heavy parts to add a little spice, but just as that album cover, "Verkligheten" could be seen as a beautiful landscape of Swedish melodic death metal. This definitely (Soil)works for me.
Songs worthy of recognition: Arrival, When The Universe Spoke, Needles And Kin, The Ageless Whisper
Rating: 7,5/10 Stålfåglar
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