Year: 2020
Total Time: 35:53
Label: Nuclear Blast
It was an idea the band’s guitarist, David Andersson, had a few years ago, that led SOILWORK to write their longest and most progressive song, “A Whip Of The Atlantic”. The eponymous piece from the most recent EP of the Swedes, is a sixteen-minute demonstration of power and composing ability.
The track begins melodically with a piano, clean guitars, and the warm voice of Strid bringing to mind 90s progressive titans like SYMPHONY X and SHADOW GALLERY. Gradually the drums, electric guitars and growls join in, giving the song the familiar style of SOILWORK’s melodic metal. Within the sixteen minutes of “A Whisp Of The Atlantic”, we will hear the band engage in an endless game of sounds and styles. From blast-beat attacks to virtuoso solos and from groovy riffs to prog intermissions that even feature a jazzy saxophone(!), the Swedes weave their majestic work with extra comfort.
The rest of the songs of this new EP are the 4 singles released between 2019 and 2020. First, we have “The Nothingness And The Devil” with its addictive old school metal riff, a typical SOILWORK composition, with up-tempo drums, growls from Strid and a poignant chilled outro. Then we have the complete “Feverish” trilogy which according to the band was created to “celebrate the Babylonian goddesses of death who once made the world a more feverish and exciting place”. “Feverish” opens with 80s keys before a frantic blast-beat bursts out of Bastian Thusgaard’s drum kit. The tempo is slowed down during the main part of the composition, but always maintaining a fast character, to transition to the chorus with Strid’s beautiful clean vocals soaring over another frenzied blast-beat. A semi-prog cut in the middle of the song brings back to mind 90s groups like DREAM THEATER while the violin finish contributes brilliantly to the variety of EP. “Desperado” that follows, I can imagine it quite easily to take a place in the band’s live setlist as it is an exemplary catchy composition. An inspired up-tempo dynamite with continuous fast riffs and vocals taken from the band’s past. In the chorus, Strid is just captivating. He easily alternates the brutal with the clean vocals and creates melodic lines that are pinned directly to your mind. The trilogy closes with “Death Diviner” a groovy song with mostly clean vocals guided by a riff that seems to have come out from a TOOL record. And they make it work!
SOILWORK once again deliver an excellent and quality release. Strid sounds in top form, while Coudret and Andersson find fertile ground to unfold their guitar talent. Surely the highlight of the EP is the self-titled track that might foreshadow a change in the direction of the band and one that I would love to see them explore. Despite a 20-year career, the swedes show that they have not rested on their laurels but dare to follow their restless spirit. I wish their fellow genre companions would do the same…
Rating: 7.5/10
Editor: Dimitris Benetatos
Related Link: SOILWORK – Official Page
