Yet another heavy, melodic masterpiece from Bjorn & Co.This will just be a quick review as, while an excellent album, if you know Soilwork’s previous material then there will be little on Sworn To A Great Divide that will be a surprise.
Soilwork are one of the best bands out of Sweden, along with In Flames and up-and-comers Sonic Syndicate and Engel (review coming soon). However, like these other bands, they have broken away from the ever-growing pack of Melodic Death Metal/Gothenburg scenesters and have forged ahead with their own blend of heaviness and melody.
In some ways similar to Scar Symmetry in that they mix not only melodic guitar lines with roared and screamed vocals, but also proper, clean vocals that are truly remarkable! The fact that they both come from the same throat makes it all the more impressive.
As hinted in the first sentence, this is Soilwork exactly as we would expect them to sound. While some have decided that this is a bad thing, I think that’s very far from the truth. With bands constantly trying to reinvent themselves or jump from one bandwagon to another (Avenged Sevenfold please stand up), it’s refreshing for a great, talented band to stick with what they know they do better than everyone else.
The first few tracks start things off heavier than previous album Stabbing The Drama, but following that we are entertained by 11 more stunning blends of brash heaviness and sing-along melodicism. There’s no great variation in structure between the songs, but that’s not to say that they are all carbon copies of each other. The similarities allow the album to blend into a cohesive whole which makes it all the easier on the ears.
“Breeding Thorns” is a track that particularly stands out in my mind, mixing all the instrumental elements we’ve come to love from Soilwork, not to mention three different singing styles (roared, sung and something that falls in the middle of the two). It’s also impossible not to be lifted by this song. That, actually, is one of the defining things about Soilwork’s music: despite it being heavy and angry, each song has a distinct uplifting feel to it. It’s strange, but I love it. The album passes the goosebump test, easily.
Not the most expansive review, or even the most detailed considering how much I love the band, but every song on here is one that deserves attention. Soilwork are a band that doesn’t need flowery or poetic prose, they just need your attention. Sure, Sworn To A Great Divide is not the best album in the world, but this is as close as heavy music can gets to highly-consumable without being pop or Linkin Park.
Go buy this album. It works, on every level that an album should. It would also act as a perfect bridge for anyone who wants to delve deeper into heavier music but hasn't completely committed to it, yet.
www.soilwork.org / www.myspace.com/soilwork
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