With their debut “Steelbath Suicide, Soilwork had already become quite popular in their home country of Sweden. It’s easy to imagine that they would only get better, and indeed they did. “The Chainheart Machine” is the Swedish six-some’s second effort, and is a marvelous piece of work. Here, Speed screams are more powerful and gut-renching than in any of the other releases. The guitars and drums are much tighter as well, giving this release a heavier sound than Soilwork’s other releases. “The Chainheart Machine” consists of nine brutal, headbangable pieces of music, only slowing down for the epic “Spirits of the Future Sun.” The lyrics are pretty good, but definitely not a strong point, not that it really matters. Also, the album steadily gets better as it progresses,, though every track shines in its own way. The only problem with this album is that for the songs are very similar sounding for the most part. Luckily, they’re not alike enough to make this album a bad listen, there’s just a noticeable sound that mixes the songs together a bit. This is probably Soilwork’s heaviest album, and defines their older sound quite well. If you’re new to Soilwork, this would be the first album to buy.
Track Analysis:
The Chainheart Machine: The title track starts with an odd machinelike noise, it’s very industrial sounding, sounds like a drill in a way. After about 5-10 seconds of that, Speed’s vocals immediately come in with amazing force. The verse then goes on with quick stokes by ranta and very tight guitar playing. It overall combines for a catchy and aggressive sound that makes you want to head bang till you get a concussion (at least it happens to me) The song doesn't slow down at all as it transitions to the prechorus, where the guitars gain a more melodic feel than before. It finally slows down a bit for the very melodic chorus. The chorus is one of the most catchy on the cd, Speed Screams at the top of his lungs and WInchers and Frennings deliver with a great riff. This then repeats, before the guitar solo in. The solo is a bit of mixture of tight and melodic parts. It’s a good solo, but they're are better to come in the latter half of the cd. The song ends with the chorus. A definite highlight of the cd that defines the whole early era of Soilwork. 10/10
Bulletbeast: Starts off with aggressive everything. The drums pound, and the bass and guitars blast through the speakers. This song has very heavy drumming throughout, and Ranta really leads this song, The verses are similar to the previous tracks, fast and tight, though not quite as much as the title track. The guitars are then picking frantically during the pre chorus and then the keyboards add some extra atmosphere to the melodic chorus with Speed screaming “WHY? WHY?” A short solo plays after the chorus at 1:32. It’s extremely melodic and has a nice organic feel to it. The verse plays again, followed by the chorus, and then the short solo plays again. However, this time, it leads to another solo, which greatly reduces the previous tempo, while keeping the melody going strong. After the slower solo, the breakneck drumming of the verse comes back in. Eventually, the chorus plays again and the song ends with a furious scream by Speed. This is a very similar son to the title track, only not quite as good. 9.5/10
Millionflame: This track immediately starts off with a very fast and melodic riff that makes excellent use of triplets. The intro makes it feel like the whole song will consist of strong melodies, butt that is soon forgotten as another very heavy and tight riff comes in. The double bass is especially good during the verse here. The chorus isn't quite as catchy as the other tracks, but is very brutal, but yet again consists of a strong guitar melody. A mid-tempo guitar solo starts at about 2:30, and is very melodic like the intro. After about thirty seconds, the solo stops, and it seems like the song is ending. After a few more seconds, a lone BASS LINE comes in. This is one of the few times when the bass is really audible, and it plays a short melody that repeats four times before the guitars come in doing the same melody. Speed belts out a few screams here, and the drums start to build up. Another solo then starts, only this one is amazing and very headbangable. The guitars seemed to be tuned down lower here, for a very interesting feel. The song ends with the chorus like the previous tracks. 9.5/10
Generation Speedkill: This is one of the fastest tracks on the cd, It starts of with four beats on the high hat followed by a fast picked riff. The main riff then starts with amazing energy and leads to the verse where Speed’s screams are as aggressive as ever. The best part os the prechorus that follows. It wouldn't be anything special without an amazingly organic riff that accompanies it. I’ve honestly never heard a guitar make quite that type of sound, it’s amazing though. The chorus isn’t anything too special, but is none the less catchy. The solo here starts slower than the rest of the song but picks up speed later. Overall, this is one of the weaker tracks on the album but is none the less a good listen. 9.25/10
Neon Rebels: The shortest song on the album and probably the weakest. It’s very similar sound wise to the previous track. It starts with a muted riff, which picks up a bit as the drums come in. The verse contains the same riff as the intro. The chorus is actually pretty good here, the guitars are heavy and melodic here as Speed screams, “Screaming for victory..Neon rebels will rise!” As you’d probably guess, this song also features a solo, which is again, similar to the previous track. The song basically repeats itself to the end. 9.25/`10
Possessing the Angels: Wow, I was shocked by this track’s energy. This may be the fastest track on the album, and is one of the most aggressive easily. The opening riff is interesting, yet amazing. After the riff, Speed screams without any instruments in the background what sounds like, “1 2 3 4” (the lyrics don't say what it really is) The riff then comes back even faster than before and Speed comes in with more furiously than he other tracks, The pre chorus is very strong, the riff is fat and tight like the title track, but less melodic. The chorus doesn’t slow down at all, with the guitars screaming and Ranta killing at the drums. Up till now, the solos haven;t been anything special, but the solos here are some of the best soilwork solos ever. It starts quickly and melodic,a nd basically stays that way through out, though it slows down aa bit near the end. OVerall, the solo is more sophisticated sounding than the other tracks. The verse then comes back so brutal that it seems like the solo didn’t exist. Again the chorus plays which is followed by some cymbal and bass drum rolls. A definite highlight. 10/10
Spirits of the Future Sun: The longest song on the album, and the longest Soilwork song clocking in at six minutes exactly. The ending of the last track goes right into this track, which starts with ranta hitting the snare once. After that, an amazingly haunting guitar note comes in, which holds for about 5 seconds, This is played four times, before a slower guitar melody comes in. The into is quite long, and shows how this song is definitely the most atmospheric and creepiest song on the album. The temp changes to a much faster beat at 1:13 and that ends up being the verse riff. The chorus is pretty catchy in a weird sort of way. All it is is Speed screaming “Spirits....of the.....future sun.” Later in the song, it seems that there is another chorus as well. This one is much more melodic and much slower than the other one. Another amazing solo starts at 3:37, and shifts back and forth between slower, more melodic parts, and faster aggressive parts. The solos here are epic, and ever better than the last track and are only rivaled by the next track. This is easily the most epic song on the album, and is very atmospheric. A great song. 9.75/`10
Machine Gun Majesty: It starts with a short drum fill. After that, an extremely aggressive and fast riff comes in, with machine-gun drumming (no pun intended) From then on, it’s easy to tell that this is the most aggressive song on the album, and the best at that. Speed’s screams are more aggressive here than the other songs (save the title track) and just plain mind-blowing. The pre chorus is great, it features a simple riff, but a catchy one and violent vocals. The chorus is again, simple but very catchy, with shouts of “Kill, kill, MACHINE GUN MAJESTY.” After the chorus, a bit of a softer part play in as the bridge. This leads to some heavy drumming, and the start of what is possibly Soilwork’s best solo ever at 2:38. The solo has some of the most melodic and haunting soilwork licks ever in it. It’s slower than the rest of the song, but doesn’t seem out of place at all. At 3:13, the tempo changes to be a little faster, and WInchers shreds like hell. At 3:32, the tempo slows again, followed by even more shredding. The solo effortlessly fades into the opening riff at 4:20 where the normal speed continues. The song ends with the chorus. The best song on the album quite easily. 10/10
Room No. 99: This song isn't really 7:39, it’s really about 4:57 in length. Anyway like the previous track, it starts with a drum fill and a very heavy riff. This is one of the heavier songs on the cd, though it’s not all that fast, it’s more mid-tempo. The riffs are simple at first, but hen make use of 16th notes and double bass. This song probably has the best chorus. The guitar is more melodic and sophisticated sounding in the chorus than in the other songs. THere is some soloing in the background after the chorus. The solo is much shorter than the previous 3 tracks, but is still really cool. It stars heavier, then gets pretty soft with more melodic riffs. The main riff then reappears and the chorus then plays. After the chorus, an instrumental section with strong cymbals comes in, and a strange, alien-sounding voice repeats. This fades to 4:57. There is about a 2 minute silence and at 87 minutes, some strings come in followed by the same sound that started the title track. This is the second best song on the album. 10/10
This is Soilwork’s heaviest and fastest release. There are no clean vocals here as in the next release, adding a more aggressive feel. Overall, this is an excellent buy. Only surpassed by “A Predator’s Portrait” and tied for second place with “Natural Born Chaos.”
