ALBUM REVIEW: Soilwork, “Verkligheten”

By: Elliot Paisley

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

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)

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 in Sweden, 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.

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.

The instrumentation is well-performed and tastefully composed, but perhaps the most impressive work on this album comes from vocalist Bjorn Strid, who has continued to improve album-on-album, with “Verkligheten” perhaps being his most accomplished performance yet. In a 20+ year career, to see a vocalist (particularly in metal) continuing to improve his craft is a rare thing. His screeches are furious and his cleans serene; it’s not a new formula, but when it is done to a high standard it remains refreshing.

The guitar-work is also electrifying, with soaring Maiden lead-wails providing a superb juxtaposition to the rhythm guitar’s punishing grunt. The album’s stand-out track “Witan” is a perfect example of this, with the low-end at its heaviest and the lead work at its most heavenly. Again, it’s not an entirely original formula, but when it is done with such conviction, it is still irresistible.

However, the album isn’t flawless. Perhaps most interestingly though, the primary flaws of this album are not really the fault of the band. The production job on the album, while complimenting the sweeter, more melodic passages of the album, can’t help but make certain passages feel less savage than they ought to. It’s far cleaner than it ought to be, and this is a pandemic among these types of bands; many of them appear afraid to embrace gritty production jobs, despite the fact that they would be far improved for it.

The band are their most electrifying when they let themselves off the leash and sound positively rabid, and at times it feels as though the band are restraining themselves. Closing track “You Aquiver”, while boasting some joyous melodies, does occasionally stray too far into Final-Fantasy territory, which is far from Soilwork playing to their strengths. It’s a markedly less-heavy album than what the band have put out recently, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it does show Soilwork moving away from the sweet-spot ever so slightly.

Despite these flaws, “Verkligheten” is still a great album. Soilwork may never be as good as In Flames, Dark Tranquillityor At The Gates at their heights; even their finest works don’t match up with “Clayman”, “The Gallery” or “Slaughter Of The Soul”, but in 2019, they are certainly one of the finest commodities within this style of music. Were it not for last year’s excellent “To Drink From The Night Itself”, a superb return to form by At The Gates, it would be difficult to find a peer for Soilworkin the modern age. “Verkligheten” may not be quite as exceptional as the preceding two albums, but it does more than enough to establish their dependability over 20 years in.

“Verkligheten” is available HERE

Band info: facebook

ELEVEN IS ONE LOUDER: London-based death metallers ABHORRENT DECIMATION choose their top picks for Bloodstock 2017

UK-based death metal titans ABHORRENT DECIMATION released their new album “The Pardoner” on July 28th via Prosthetic Records to rapturous applause.  Conceptually, the new album is an in-depth exploration into "The Pardoner", English poet Geoffrey Chaucer's most depraved and deceitful character from The Canterbury Tales. "The Pardoner" is a religious fraud and hypocrite who preaches against the love of greed, yet whose own love of wealth enabled him to profit off the sins of others. He claimed to work on behalf of the clergy, selling spiritual forgiveness for one's sins in the form of his pardons, which included forged "official letters" from high ranking church officials absolving one of their sins and bones and crystals blessed with healing powers. In Chaucer's story, "The Pardoner" tells a harrowing tale of three men whose materialism becomes the death of them.

It is the bands most inspired, charismatic and dominating material to date and with band set to hit the stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival this weekend, we invited the band to talk about their top picks for festival and bands to look out for.  So come with us as we take our weekly trip into the extreme and turn the volume all the way up to eleven. 

THURSDAY

The Infernal Sea

If you are going to watch any band on Thursday, watch The Infernal Sea.  We have toured with the guys a few times and there is just something so visceral and eerie about this lot, it a real package band. The sounds, the look, the vibe. Go and find out for yourself. PLUS they are unveiling a new look at the festival. Go and check them out.

FRIDAY

Decapitated

This band is hugely influential to us and one we look at with great respect. I have only seen them live once myself, a few years ago – maybe 2011. So I would be very interested in seeing the guys again, playing some of the killer new album ‘Anticult’. But for me, you can’t beat ‘The Negation’/‘Organic Hallucinosis’ era.  

Soilwork

Back in the day, I loved this band dearly. So purely for nostalgic bliss, I will go and check them out. Unlikely they will play any of the stuff I know as its 10+ years old now but still, well worth checking out.

Whitechapel

Another band that has made an impression on us over the years. Not so much a fan of the newer stuff but they still slay and hold it down very well. In fact, we are playing a Bloodstock warm up show with them Thursday 10^thAugust at The Underworld in London.

Inquisition

I’ve seen Inquisition once before and it blew my bloody socks off. Just super moody and a great atmosphere. If you like your Black Metal a little on the primitive side, go and check em out.

Ashen Crown

These guys did a great job of winning Metal To The Masses for a slot on the New Blood Stage. As far as new blood goes, we look forward to seeing how they handle themselves on the sacred NB stage. We know what it means to play that stage and how it feels before you head out. So we wish them the best of luck and hope they have a great crowd for when they go on.

SATURDAY

Hatebreed

Again, another act that sparks off pure nostalgia for some us. I stopped keeping up with them after ‘The Rise of Brutality’ but I know they are a great live act and Jamey really brings the good vibes when he’s on form. I look forward to feeling 15/16 for half an hour.

Fallujah

I know Cooke really loves these guys. So we will all no doubt head over and watch them when they hit the Main Stage on Saturday. We played on the same bill as them last year and they were unlucky with the sound quality. So I look forward to seeing them in the BOA set-up, which in the main, has always been pretty good for sound for an open air.  

Abhorrent Decimation

You’ve got to come and see us. BOA 2014, was such a great show for us on the New Blood Stage. Now we have been invited back onto the next stage up, The S.O.P.H.I.E. We can’t wait to come and smash some heads in with a set exclusively full of material from our new album ‘The Pardoner’. We’ve been quiet on the show front for a little while and with our best line-up ever, we are ready to return with a big performance at the festival.

SUNDAY

Obituary

I’ve seen Obituary a bunch of times and every time, I bloody love them a little more. The anticipation of waiting for Tardy to come out, with his luscious golden mane and release the almighty “bee-ki-uuuugh

Courtesans

Goth Pop? Whatever it is, it’s done well. Truly sultry. Great vibe and well formulated songs. I think it will make a nice break for most ears over the long weekend.

Band info: Facebook || Twitter || Website || Bandcamp