Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 11/01/2019
Label: Nuclear Blast
“Verkligheten” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Verkligheten
2. Arrival
3. Bleeder Despoiler
4. Full Moon Shoals
2. Arrival
3. Bleeder Despoiler
4. Full Moon Shoals
5. The Nurturing Glance
6. When The Universe Spoke
7. Stålfågel (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
8. The Wolves Are Back In Town
9. Witan
10. The Ageless Whisper
11. Needles And Kin (feat. Tomi Joutsen)
12. You Aquiver (feat. Dave Sheldon)
6. When The Universe Spoke
7. Stålfågel (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
8. The Wolves Are Back In Town
9. Witan
10. The Ageless Whisper
11. Needles And Kin (feat. Tomi Joutsen)
12. You Aquiver (feat. Dave Sheldon)
The Review:
Soilwork are a key example of a band being in the wrong place but at the right time. Their native Helsingborg is a small town inSweden , closer to Copenhagen , Denmark than it is to melo-death mecca Gothenburg. Forming in late 1995, they were in prime position to take the place of At The Gates, frontrunners of the scene soon to disband and join the ranks among Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. However, this ultimately failed to manifest.
Soilwork are a key example of a band being in the wrong place but at the right time. Their native Helsingborg is a small town in
The band were never held in the same esteem as their contemporaries, and the reason why is curious. Could it be geography? Were they late to the party? Nevertheless, since their inception, the band have remained outsiders.
Their influence however must not be underestimated. Perhaps more than any other melodic death metal band, they have also had a remarkably apparent influence on the boom of American metalcore in the early 2000s, with such bands as Killswitch Engage, Unearth and particularly Trivium taking direct influence and appropriating the band’s flair for juddering rhythms and electrifying melody. Their work has even infiltrated the mainstream, as commercial heavyweights such as Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine have taken direct influence. They may not have been the originators, but Soilworkmanaged to wrangle a complex and whirling form of extreme metal and given it life in the limelight, despite not entirely enjoying such commercial success themselves.
Despite this, Soilworkcould never boast about their consistency. While “Natural Born Chaos”, “Figure Number Five” and “Stabbing the Drama” each helped establish them as one of the leading lights of melodic death metal, the two following albums showed Soilwork making a beeline for the mainstream. Perhaps following in the footsteps of Dark Tranquillity, who embraced clean vocals and a gothic sheen, and In Flames, who explored alternative metal like that of Deftones, Soilworkbegan to take from the metalcore bands they had previously influenced. Both “Sworn to a Great Divide” and “The Panic Broadcast” felt derivative rather than defiant, and there was a worry that Soilwork were to fade from former glories, much like their contemporaries.
However, 2013 saw a tremendous return to form with the ambitious double-record “The Living Infinite”. Embracing their early victories and taking that formula into exciting new territory, the 20-song set helped establish Soilworkas a great band once again and quashed all doubt of their quality. It remains as one of the finest albums in their career Soilwork in good stead for the future. This campaign was furthered with the excellent 2016 effort “The Ride Majestic”, which was a leaner, meaner release than its predecessor and was welcomed by fans and critics alike. Improving on the progress made on “The Living Infinite”, the band made what was perhaps their most effective and successful album to date.
This has put “Verkligheten”in a curious position; on one hand, the band are in a strong position, having earnt back the trust of fans with the preceding two releases, but on the other, they now have a reputation to live up to. It is a relief to report that “Verkligheten”suffers no downfall, and instead further establishes Soilwork as perhaps a sole truly reliable band in melodic death metal.
The performances on this album are absolutely superb, from the opening moments of the instrumental title track, with it’s curious slide-guitar over tribal-drums aesthetic to the glorious string-bends which close the album, the band are on astounding form. This is the first album with Bastian Thusgaard, who has inherited the drum stool following the departure of Dirk Verbeuren who has recently become the full-time drummer for Megadeth, and he proves himself with an exceptional performance. Fiery and fluid, the percussion on this album mercifully swerves the traps that often laid within this style of music of feeling contrived and repetitive. It bolsters the album along and gives it a sense of pace that allows the album to feel light on its feet while also accenting the heavier passages.
Band info: facebook