As an early adopter of Swedish melodic death metal, I see the Soilwork road map being long and winding. I always assumed by now they would have strayed from the path and driven into uncharted territory that no band wanted to venture. Many of their contemporaries fell by the wayside, either musically slipping into mediocrity or eventually breaking up when no one cared about their band anymore. Soilwork defy expectations on every turn, and by not straying from the path that made them successful in the first place.
Consistency used as a derogatory word toward many wields its double edge with bands, a sound that stagnates and festers with one song always sounding like the other, but Soilwork weaves that uniformity into every album, never straying turning their back on what made them a stalwart of the melodeth genre. When used to maintain one's core ambiance, consistency with some small variances works to a band's advantage, never driving away those fans that brought them this far after two decades while also keeping a fresh perspective on a tried formula.
With the monumental line up changes within Soilwork maintaining what made them great appears an even more important task. I know many have decided after their last record, the bloated double-album The Living Infinite, and the departure of core member Peter Wichers, Bjorn “Speed” Strid admitted that he felt there was something to prove, and in turn cranked out their largest undertaking, but an album which they chose not to self edit, leaving in many songs probably meant for the rehearsal room more than on a record. The Ride Majestic does none of this… no frills, nothing to prove, simply Soilwork doing what they do best.
From the moment the title song opens with its soft guitar tone, then jumping straight in with Speed’s signature scream, you know that the title is completely appropriate, the listener is about to go on a journey through what makes Soilwork an outstanding band. Soaring guitar work, intricate drum production, the addition of some sweeping guitar slides and positioned with singable memorable choruses and that powerful voice, buckle up and sit back and see where this lands.
Every song has the same qualities, but offers a particular flow, backing away from the aggressive on “Death in General” but savagely rebounding “Petrichor in Sulphur,” but without breaking into a track by track meltdown of The Ride Majestic know that so many different looks are given on this album, and fully formed compositions that can be split into pieces of a whole, not to say that the entire album is not amazing, but concept records are getting tedious these days. You can relax and listen to a band who knows how to shape a coherent thought into a four minute well crafted jam, something lost on too many bands.
My favorite song on The Ride Majestic comes later in the progression. “Whirl of Pain” slow builds out of a great chord progression, and Verbeuren’s double kick backbone to the soaring melodic chorus sends chills up my spine as the guitar harmonies break into a spinning solo perfectly. As a slower song it is one of the most powerful pieces Soilwork have ever written, and just one example of their ability to remain a constant in a genre that lost so many of the great bands to efforts to morph into something that they could not successfully perpetuate.
The path Soilwork carved for themselves has been littered with so many futile attempts to achieve what they seem to produce so easily. The Ride Majestic stands to prove their consistency does not hold them back, but propels them forward to the front of the genre, leading the pack toward creating music that inspires while remaining true to their overall sound and style.
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