Valkyrian Music

Soilwork
“A Whisp Of The Atlantic”
Metal
Released: 4th December 2020
Via Nuclear Blast Records

Soilwork have been pushing the envelope of classy with every release for a few years now and “A Whisp Of The Atlantic” (even the title has a ring to it, hasn’t it?) keeps the tradition, this time sounding even more exquisite than before. I won’t talk about new directions as I don’t believe that’s what’s happening here – after all, they’ve always juggled with heavy and melodic; but the outcome is indeed… different.

Starting with the title-track, which is also the opening one. Sixteen and a half minutes?! But don’t worry, they haven’t gone progressive, the song just unfolds naturally for that long. The initial sound of the ocean mingles with a soft intro where you’ll recognize Soilwork’s signature right away, and then it takes an ominous turn with cranking guitars and all of a sudden you’re being blasted with fierce drum beats. Yep, “epic” turned out to be a literal term here. Also, the whole EP is a reminder of why Björn Strid is one of the best metal singers around, but the contrasts in this particular song between his coarse, harsh tones and the angelic ones are more highlighted, and so is the excellence of his vocal capacity. Finally, I have to mention the sax in the background during the last minute of the song, as we’re used to sad orchestral arrangements (like in the following song, “Feverish”) and having a sax, New-York-street style, was yet another refreshing trait, even if so subtle.

The other four songs have been rolling on YouTube for about a month (incredible videos, by the way) so I’ll just sum up what you’ve already had the chance to check for yourselves: between the feisty aggression of both “Feverish” and “Desperado”, and the edgy catchiness of “Death Diviner” and “The Nothingness And The Devil” (a Southern rock vibe in the former and a hint of NWOBHM in the guitars of the latter), you’ll find one of the boldest and most vibrant works in Soilwork’s discography.

9/10

Renata “Pieni” Lino

This entry was posted on 1st December 2020 at 10:32 pm and is filed under Review with tags A Whisp Of The Atlantic, EP, Metal, Nuclear Blast, Soilwork. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.