Band: Soilwork
Album: Figure Number Five
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Release: 2003
Length: 40 minutes
Tracks: 11
Country of Origin: Sweden
Album: Figure Number Five
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Release: 2003
Length: 40 minutes
Tracks: 11
Country of Origin: Sweden
This band. This FUCKING band.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Soilwork, easily one of the best Melodic Death Metal bands out there and one of the few that consistently churn out fantastic albums, others in that boat being Scar Symmetry, Mnemic and In Flames… Sorry, In FUCKING Flames. Soilwork started back in the 1990s, during the beginnings of what is now referred to as Melodic Death Metal, or Melodeath, after bands such as Dark Tranquility and In Flames led the way. Ever since their first album, they’ve been labeled as one of the most definitive bands in the genre, and one of the few who consistently experiment with different styles in each of their albums. Soilwork is one of my personal favorite bands for their consistency in creating great albums and songs and the fact that they have not slowed down one bit since they have started, in fact their most recent album has some of the heaviest stuff they’ve ever released.
This is Figure Number Five, appropriately named since it is their fifth studio album to date, released at a time when Melodeath as music, not just in Soilwork, began changing and becoming more Melodic than Death, a transition which I personally approve. The album, as does the rest of Soilwork’s discography, revolves around the singer Bjorn “Speed” Strid. American metal listeners not attuned to the Swedish scene may have heard him on the song Collapsing by Demon Hunter, which is probably the closest he got to a mainstream hit in the United States. His singing is split into two types, harsh and clean, and he mixes between the two styles almost seamlessly within each song, a talent which lends greatly to metalheads listening to the album who will be headbanging and thrashing around before and after the chorus and then will proceed to jump and sing during the choruses themselves. This lends to a great concert experience, and I personally suggest to ANY metalhead to go and see a Melodeath show for those reasons. The guitarist, Peter Wichers, who would sadly leave the band following the next release, pumps up the album with his chugging guitars which just seem to rip straight into you with every strum and it just feels better and better the more you listen and the drummer does some of the best drumming I've heard in a while, however it is largely kept in the background and he doesn't really get the solo he deserves.
The album starts out explosively with the mindlessly catchy song “Rejection Role” which seems to come straight out of nothing (heh) and slap you in the face if you are not ready for the ride Figure Number Five is about to present you. It is a fantastic song and when the song calms down briefly near the two-thirds mark of the track, Speed’s clean vocals are the perfect match for the calm intensity. “Overload” does exactly what you’d expect and is much heavier than the previous track, so it will appeal to those who feel that “Rejection Role” was not fast and heavy enough. But it’s okay, because you’re not gonna think that. “Brickwalker” is one of the most interesting songs on the tracks because it sounds like a Five Finger Death Punch song written and performed by In Flames, and shows the obvious influence big brother Flames has on Soilwork, even this far in their career. The two actually collaborate together often, as seen in the music video for “Rejection Role,” where In Flames shows up to mock and taunt Soilwork, an action Soilwork repays to In Flames in their video for “Trigger.” More of my favorites on the album include “Cranking the Sirens,” “The Mindmaker,” and “Distortion Sleep”, all mixing the great formula that Soilwork has devised for this album. The album even has a ballad-type song, “Departure Plan,” which honestly throws you off a tad, particularly after finishing the heaviest song in the track which I will next present, but it speeds up a bit and is a great song for those looking for a strange type of slow song. And trust me, Melodeath bands produce some of the hardest ballads I’ve ever heard. The heaviest track on the album is by far “Light the Torch,” complete with distorted screams and chugging perfect for punching a fucker’s face in the pit or at work or, well, anywhere really. That song will make you want to kill things. And its GLORIOUS.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Soilwork, easily one of the best Melodic Death Metal bands out there and one of the few that consistently churn out fantastic albums, others in that boat being Scar Symmetry, Mnemic and In Flames… Sorry, In FUCKING Flames. Soilwork started back in the 1990s, during the beginnings of what is now referred to as Melodic Death Metal, or Melodeath, after bands such as Dark Tranquility and In Flames led the way. Ever since their first album, they’ve been labeled as one of the most definitive bands in the genre, and one of the few who consistently experiment with different styles in each of their albums. Soilwork is one of my personal favorite bands for their consistency in creating great albums and songs and the fact that they have not slowed down one bit since they have started, in fact their most recent album has some of the heaviest stuff they’ve ever released.
This is Figure Number Five, appropriately named since it is their fifth studio album to date, released at a time when Melodeath as music, not just in Soilwork, began changing and becoming more Melodic than Death, a transition which I personally approve. The album, as does the rest of Soilwork’s discography, revolves around the singer Bjorn “Speed” Strid. American metal listeners not attuned to the Swedish scene may have heard him on the song Collapsing by Demon Hunter, which is probably the closest he got to a mainstream hit in the United States. His singing is split into two types, harsh and clean, and he mixes between the two styles almost seamlessly within each song, a talent which lends greatly to metalheads listening to the album who will be headbanging and thrashing around before and after the chorus and then will proceed to jump and sing during the choruses themselves. This lends to a great concert experience, and I personally suggest to ANY metalhead to go and see a Melodeath show for those reasons. The guitarist, Peter Wichers, who would sadly leave the band following the next release, pumps up the album with his chugging guitars which just seem to rip straight into you with every strum and it just feels better and better the more you listen and the drummer does some of the best drumming I've heard in a while, however it is largely kept in the background and he doesn't really get the solo he deserves.
The album starts out explosively with the mindlessly catchy song “Rejection Role” which seems to come straight out of nothing (heh) and slap you in the face if you are not ready for the ride Figure Number Five is about to present you. It is a fantastic song and when the song calms down briefly near the two-thirds mark of the track, Speed’s clean vocals are the perfect match for the calm intensity. “Overload” does exactly what you’d expect and is much heavier than the previous track, so it will appeal to those who feel that “Rejection Role” was not fast and heavy enough. But it’s okay, because you’re not gonna think that. “Brickwalker” is one of the most interesting songs on the tracks because it sounds like a Five Finger Death Punch song written and performed by In Flames, and shows the obvious influence big brother Flames has on Soilwork, even this far in their career. The two actually collaborate together often, as seen in the music video for “Rejection Role,” where In Flames shows up to mock and taunt Soilwork, an action Soilwork repays to In Flames in their video for “Trigger.” More of my favorites on the album include “Cranking the Sirens,” “The Mindmaker,” and “Distortion Sleep”, all mixing the great formula that Soilwork has devised for this album. The album even has a ballad-type song, “Departure Plan,” which honestly throws you off a tad, particularly after finishing the heaviest song in the track which I will next present, but it speeds up a bit and is a great song for those looking for a strange type of slow song. And trust me, Melodeath bands produce some of the hardest ballads I’ve ever heard. The heaviest track on the album is by far “Light the Torch,” complete with distorted screams and chugging perfect for punching a fucker’s face in the pit or at work or, well, anywhere really. That song will make you want to kill things. And its GLORIOUS.
Easily one of the best albums in the genre. If you’re looking into the genre, I would
highly suggest this album as one of your first, however it may set the bar a
little too high for other Melodeath albums you listen to I the future.
Here's Soilwork being awesome. Thank me later.
My Rating: 5/5
Review by Diesel
Review by Diesel
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