The Gothenburg Project 02.13.09: Soilwork Part 2
Posted by Matt Shoemaker on 02.13.2009
This week, The Gothenburg Project gets into the real meat of Soilwork's album catalog, as I look at A Predator's Portrait and Natural Born Chaos.
I'm back to looking at Soilwork this week, after my little rant from last week. I think that may have been the most comments I've ever gotten on an article. Sadly, some of them were not at all what I was hoping to hear. That joke was tasteless. I'm thinking about doing more articles like that in the future. I had a lot of fun writing that, since it was all gut feelings and raw opinion.
But anyway. Onto the metal! I'm a bit rushed this week, as, between a personal emergency and a ridiculously challenging paper for my film class, time is of the essence. I'm sticking more to opinions on the next few columns, as my editorial format was starting to wear thin.
So… where were we?
In 2000, the band had exhausted themselves with touring in support of The Chainheart Machine, so they headed back to the studio to record the follow up, A Predator's Portrait.
Album Info Recorded: September/October 2000, Studio Fredman and DHS Studios Released: February 19, 2001 Produced by: Fredrik Nordstrom, Soilwork
Track Listing
1. "Bastard Chain" – 4:02
2. "Like the Average Stalker" – 4:30
3. "Needlefeast" – 4:06
4. "Neurotica Rampage" – 4:43
5. "The Analyst" – 4:42
6. "Grand Failure Anthem" – 5:20
7. "Structure Divine" – 4:06
8. "Shadowchild" – 4:38
9. "Final Fatal Force" – 4:59
10. "A Predator's Portrait" – 4:31
11. "Asylum Dance" − 4:16 (Japanese and Korean versions only)
This album is hailed as, quite possibly, the band's finest work by many. While I don't necessarily agree with that sentiment, I will say this is a great album. Vaulting the band to the forefront of the melodic death metal scene, the album saw a new direction for the band, including Bjorn Strid's clean singing. The highlights of the album, for me, are "Like The Average Stalker" and "Structure Divine". Both of those songs are genuinely powerful, aggressive songs that capture the best of both of Strid's vocal styles.
"Needlefeast", "Neurotica Rampage", and the title track are the highlights in the guitar section, putting together excellent main riffs, impressive melodies, and stunning solos. Peter Wichers is/was a seriously underrated guitarist. The title track also features Michael Ackerfeldt of Opeth on guest vocals, and his clean vocals are always incredible. Mixing them with Strid's makes for an even better combination. "Asylum Dance", if you can find the deluxe version, is another powerful, almost melancholic song, with a haunting synth melody looming throughout most of the song.
The rest of the album is good, but on most songs, it feels like something is missing, in one way or another. For example, "The Analyst", while overall, a decent song, seems a little bit too generic at points for me to be able to get into it fully. The same can be said with "Grand Failure Anthem". The verse riffs for most of these songs seem to be recycled in one form or another, and that makes for a major turn off for me.
Overall, though, everything on this album is solid, well played, and sounds extremely difficult. Strid seems to be constantly one-upping himself in terms of both lyrics and vocals, and it shows even more on the band's next album.
"Like The Average Stalker", followed by an impressive drum cover of the same song
After the release of the album, the band once again wore themselves out with touring for another couple of years, then headed back to the studio.
Natural Born Chaos
Album Info
Recorded: Late 2001 Released: March 25, 2002 Produced By: Devin Townsend
Track Listing
1. "Follow the Hollow" – 4:02
2. "As We Speak" – 3:43
3. "The Flameout" – 4:18
4. "Natural Born Chaos" – 4:08
5. "Mindfields" – 3:29
6. "The Bringer" – 4:43
7. "Black Star Deceiver" – 4:42
8. "Mercury Shadow" – 3:49
9. "No More Angels" – 4:01
10. "Song of the Damned" – 5:02
While most said A Predator's Portrait was the band's opus, I feel this album is better in most senses. Musically, this is one of the most solid, technical albums in the genre. Lyrically, Speed outdid himself by leaps and bounds. The album features much more melody, while still maintaining the power of their past albums.
"Follow The Hollow" is an incredible opener, and everything after that keeps the pace set up by the first song for, like I said, an incredibly solid, thorough album. This, if my memory is not mistaken, is the first album I was exposed to from the band, which may have something to do with my personal preference.
Personal favorites for this album include the opening track, "As We Speak", "Black Star Deceiver", and "Song of the Damned". Each of those songs possesses something special that sets them apart from the rest. However, unlike the previous album, even the mediocre songs are excellent. "Mercury Shadow" is one of those songs, possibly containing the best chorus on the album. Speed's harsh vocals on the track are a bit more guttural than normal, however, which, in comparison to the rest of the album, throws the track off a little bit.
"As We Speak" contains the best verses of the album, musically, and possibly lyrically, with "Song of the Damned" giving it a run for its money. Everything falls into place perfectly, especially the drums. Ranta's double bass work on this song is crisp and clean. Then again, Soilwork's always had a reputation for incredibly talented, technical drummers.
This would be a "Two Thumbs Up" recommendation. Go out and get this album now. Like, right now. This is one of the standards of the modern melodic death metal genre.
"As We Speak" Music Video
And I'm out for the week! Join me next week as we get into the final three, that's right, count ‘em, three albums from the band. Till next time, take care.
