Swedish Death-Metal Headbangers, here comes something you'll surely want to listen to!!! This is a group surely to become the successor of At The Gates (R.I.P.).
We're talking about a group that started in 1995, in Sweden. Their first name was Inferior Breed but after releasing a demo tape they changed it into Soilwork. Their initial line-up was: Peter Wichers - Guitar, Bjorn Strid - Vocals, Ludvig Svartz - Vocals, Jimmy Persson - Drums, Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg - Keyboards and later on they added Ola Fink on Bass. The managed to release their first album in 1998 after having some trouble making a deal with an appropriate record company. So they made a deal with Listenable Records in France. The album was called Steelbath Suicide and had a great response from magazines and fans from all over the world! Soon after the album's release, Soilwork made some changes in their line-up causing guitarist Ludvig Svartz and drummer Jimmy Persson to leave the band. They replaced them with Ole Frenning as guitarist, who was a more Black Sabbath kind of musician, and Henry Ranta on the drums, who met them on a successful gig in Stockholm. With this line up they toured Europe with bands like Krisiun, Darkane and Naglfar.
After adding these two guys to their line-up Soilwork decided it was time they ''changed'' their sound into something more futuristic and tempting. So they released their second album in late 1999, which was their breakthrough album too. Its name was Chainheart Machine and they got to do small tours with bands like Defleshed, Cannibal Corpse and Marduk. They also got to do a promotional tour in Japan together with compatriots Dark Tranquillity due to the huge response they got from fans over there.
The third album, A Predator's Portrait, was bound to come and as they admit, it's their strongest one so far! I am not a Swedish Death Metal fan but trust me, oh yes trust me, this album kicks ass! I listened to it over and over and over again and hardly got bored at any point of the CD! All tracks are high-speed death kicking bullets riding on a fantastic drum rhythm! Boy, this drummer sure is talented! The guitars are powerful, melodic (they sometimes remind me of Hardcore groups and Heavy Metal ones) and hard-filling explosions of death tones. The vocals remind me a bit of Death, I don't know why, just got this feeling. Not that it's anything bad to mention! On the contrary, I find them quite good! I should also note the fact that there are some clean vocals within the songs. Even though I find most of the album's songs very good, I'd point out Bastard Chain, Like The Average Stalker, Needlefeast and A Predator's Portrait...oh well... the whole album kicks ass!!!
So all you Death Metal fans interested in something that will surely be a MUST in your listening choices of 2001 MUST listen to Soilwork's A Predator's Portrait. You do that...and remember...I told ya!