Reviewer:

8.7



258 users:

7.96

Band: Soilwork Album: Verkligheten Release date: January 2019

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07.

[feat. Alissa White-Gluz]

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[feat. Tomi Joutsen]

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[feat. Dave Sheldon]

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[Underworld limited EP bonus]

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[Underworld limited EP bonus]

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[Underworld limited EP bonus]

16.

[original version]

[Underworld limited EP bonus]





Rating breakdown Performance: 9 Songwriting: 8 Originality: 9 Production: 9

Written by Shamppy | 09.06.2019



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Guest review disclaimer:

This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

VerklighetenArrivalBleeder DespoilerFull Moon ShoalsThe Nurturing GlanceWhen The Universe SpokeStålfågelThe Wolves Are Back In TownWitanThe Ageless WhisperNeedles And KinYou AquiverSummerburned And WinterblownIn This Master's TaleThe Undying EyeNeedles And KinThere's a very common saying that reads "don't judge a book by its cover". This, of course, is not meant to be taken literally and does not only apply on books. It also means "don't judge an album by its artwork". There's also another common saying that states that every rule has an exception. Well, Soilwork seems to be that exception.Ever since Soilwork has been on a streak of very solid records, and for some reason, the artwork of each one of them does a really good job at conveying the contents of its respective material.With that said, you can begin forming an idea of what the album will sound like. Stoic, and with elements from what made its predecessors have a sense of identity, yet less threatening and with a wider color scheme that might attract some and push away others, but never straying too far from what was before it.The album opens with the title track, a slow-paced intro with an aura of solitude and mystique that gets abruptly interrupted by "Arrival", one of the most intense songs on the drumming department of this album and one of the most recognizable in style for the band. It has an aggressive riffing but a tremendously melodic chorus. From here on, something begins to happen. This is Soilwork alright, yet it seems like Björn Strid carried over some heavy influence from his other project, The Night Flight Orchestra over to this album, creating a weirdly functional mix of their now traditional "melodic groove metal" (for the lack of a more fitting term and too afraid to even mention *shivers* "metalcore") and '70s progressive-inspired "hard rock".The result is a familiar sounding yet fresh enough album that delivers some amazing musicianship and variety when it comes to both the album within itself and the band's overall catalogue, proving once again that Soilwork still have some great music in them and are a reliable band when it comes to quality releases. And whiledoesn't reach the level of, it does improve over, which wasn't too far back on quality either, if anything purely because of how fresh this album sounds and the fact that the band is still trying to mix new elements over their formula with great results.