Soilwork - Verkligheten (2019)

The word verkligheten is Swedish for reality, and the reality for Soilwork is right now looking pretty good. Their last two full length efforts have been critically acclaimed, and the band is seemingly on a roll, especially guitarist David Andersson and vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid who also enjoy success with The Night Flight Orchestra. They even seem to be more patient, because the four year span between this record and "The Ride Majestic" is the longest "album to album" span in the band's career. Let us see if it is worth the wait.

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

https://www.soilwork.org/
https://twitter.com/_soilwork

More reviews of Soilwork
The Living Infinite
The Ride Majestic

Soilwork - The Ride Majestic (2015)

One of the nicer surprises in 2013 was made by Soilwork, a interesting double album called "The Living Infinite". While it did not make it into my top 20 of that year, it was still a strong effort from the band that led me to believe that they would regain some momentum after several mediocre albums. And it seems like they have utilized that new found flame well and kept it going with this, the band's 10th studio album "The Ride Majestic", a album that spins further with the ideas and influences that "The Living Infinite" had.

I definitely applaud Soilwork for continuing on the same track since I really enjoyed their last album, but I am afraid that the more I listen to "The Ride Majestic", the more it feels like a album filled with ideas that did not make it into "The Living Infinite". Not that the music in here is THAT much worse than what it was in the predecessor, but it still feels a little pale when you compare them together.

No matter what, there is still some good music to be found here, and the guys them self does a splendid job in performing it. I have always loved Björn "Speed" Strid's vocals, both harsh and clean, because he has a really broad range that gives the band some extra dimensions (just listen to "Petrichor By Sulphur" and you will hear what he is capable of). And while the rest of the band does not have as much originality as their singer, they still do their job really well, executing some great melodies and nice riff work.

I do miss the really high tops in this album, songs like "Parasite Blues", "Spectrum of Eternity" and "Rise Above The Sentiment" that gives an album a great edge to it. But at the same time, it is fairly nice that "The Ride Majestic" has a smooth, even line up of good, effective songs that binds well together. There are still some stand outs though, like the soft and catchy "Death In General", and both of the title tracks (Yes, there are two of them, "The Ride Majestic" and "The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic)". I would have liked a really heavy tune into this mix as well, but I guess I have to settle with "All Along Echoing Paths" who compromises with a soothing chorus and "Shining Lights" that has small new wave thrash influences in it, sort of like Trivium.

With a more even performance and a continuation on a interesting take of their sound, Soilwork has really nailed it with "The Ride Majestic". I still think "The Living Infinite" is slightly better mostly thanks to its high top, but this album is still a nice melodic death metal album that should make the fans smile, but will probably not generate a greater number of them. Soilwork seems really confident in themselves and their newly found direction, and they should be, because it is a sound that fits them well. Hopefully they do not get all too comfortable, they need some risk taking so they can keep their momentum up, and the ratings as well.

Songs worthy of recognition: Death In General, The Ride Majestic, Petrichor By Sulphur

Rating: 7,5/10 Phantoms

https://www.soilwork.org/
https://twitter.com/_soilwork

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The Living Infinite


Verkligheten

Soilwork - The Living Infinite (2013)

"The first double album in the history of melodic death metal". That is the slogan for the ninth full-length album of Soilwork entitled "The Living Infinite" and it stands clear that Soilwork is raising the bar extremely high with this giant of an album. Twenty songs in 84 minutes makes this one of the meatiest albums in modern age.

My own experience with Soilwork is that folk in the metal community either love them or hate them. I myself definitely like them but I am after all Swedish and I have grown up with this melodic death metal sound. But I can agree on that Soilwork has seen its better days but they still flinch here and there with some great tunes (for instance, "Deliverance Is Mine" from the last album, "The Panic Broadcast").

Soilwork has had its highs and lows but one thing that is consistent with the band is Björn "Speed" Strid's great vocal work. He weighs up both the clean and harsh vocals to a perfect amount in every song and his repertoire of both the styles is amazing. I would not say he is one of the best singers in metal but he is one of the most skilled and professional vocalist in the community. The rest of the band is also very skilled and especially the double guitar assault signed Sylvian Coudret and David Andersson (his first album with Soilwork) is impressive with the rich amount of exciting riffs and killer solos. But let us now talk about "The Living Infinite" and just like the album, I will split it into two parts.

Disc 1

The first disc starts off in a furious tempo with "Spectrum of Eternity", a song that should please old Soilwork fans. The opening scream and blast beats gives you an immediate adrenaline rush that only wild headbanging can cure. A perfect way to start of this disc. The rest of the songs are not nearly as heavy as "Spectrum of Eternity" (With the exception of "Let the First Wave Rise") but most of the songs weighs it up with some great melodic abilities like in "This Momentary Bliss" and "Realm of The Wasted". However other songs like "Tongue" and Vesta" takes your mind towards bands like Killswitch Engage which does not feel entirely wrong but it is a little unpleasant. The overall variation on the first disc is good and it gets better with the atmospheric songs "The Windswept Mercy" and "Whispers And Lights". A good way to round of the first disc.

Disc 2

The big difference between disc 1 and 2 is that disc 2 is a little more progressive than the first disc. Songs like "Leech" and "Antidotes In Passing" reminds me of something Devin Townsend would do. Good songs but it does not quite feel like Soilwork to me. Disc 2 is contains without a doubt more of the newer Soilwork. The music does not get heavy until the end of the disc starting with the short but interesting instrumental "Loyal Shadow" followed up by "Rise Above The Sentiment" that has the most beautiful chorus the band has ever made but also a great melodic guitar solo. One of my personal favourites in the album. But the heaviness is definitely showing its ugly face in "Parasite Blues". Almost everything in this song is perfect. The groovy drum beat, the epic chorus and the amazing guitar work. I only wished that the solo could have been a little more complex but it does not matter since the song still kicks ass with the existing solo.

If we compare the disc against each other I would say that it is a very close call but the first disc wins it. But I would advice you to give both disc a listen since they are surprisingly even together, something that is really hard to accomplish in an album that has this many songs. Sure there are a few fillers here and there but they are a very small minority and the overall standard of "The Living Infinite" is much higher than I anticipated.

I am pretty sure that if you are against Soilwork and their current sound then you probably will not scream hooray for "The Living Infinite" but if you are like me and actually like the 21st century Soilwork then you will, just like me, take this double album with open arms and hug it. It is hard to make twenty songs without cutting corners and I find a couple of fillers but "The Living Infinite" exceeds the expectations and delivers an assault of twenty songs that does not get boring anywhere along the way. This is definitely the best album Soilwork has made in more than five years and it is a proof that the band is not done yet with their heavy roots (even if those roots still hangs out mostly in the background). Double album = double joy.

Songs worthy of recognition: Parasite Blues, Spectrum of Eternity, Rise Above The Sentiment, Whispers And Lights

Rating: 8/10 Tongues

https://www.soilwork.org/
https://twitter.com/_soilwork

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Verkligheten