Soilwork has pretty much gone into the mainstream after Natural Born chaos. Luckily, the new soilwork is still pretty good, unlike the new in flames. In flames had 5 amazing albums, then they had reroute to remain which was different, but still pretty good. Soundtrack and clarity were much worse than the other 6 albums though. Not bad, but pretty crappy compared to the other stuff. Man i hope soilwork doesn't do that.
That's far from the point though, I feel that this album is way too unappreciated. I agree that it is one of my least favorite of all soilwork albums (fifth to be precise) it still is a treat to listen to. This is the first album of soilwork I bought, mainly because of rejection role. I actually found out about soilwork by watching an in flames video (trigger) on youtube. Someone commented that it was a reverse of the soilwork video "rejection role" so I checked it out and was blown away by it. Rejection role is a really good song, as is the rest of the album if you give it a chance.
track analysis:
Rejection role: Easily the best song on the album. Very melodic riff, with a simple, but interesting song structure. It goes from whisper, to scream, to the amazing chorus, which is one of the best soilwork chorus's ever. It's a very good song overall, with a short, but pleasing guitar solo. 10/10
overload: The second best song on the album. It is composed of many simple, but heavy riffs that are very catchy. Like rejection role, this song features one of the best soilwork chorus's ever. This chorus features some harsh vocals as well though, making it more interesting than the rejection role one. The solo isn't much, but is pretty good. 10/10
figure number five: This is actually a really good track. It's the heaviest on the album and has almost no clean vocals. Speed's older growls ar featured here too! The chorus is really catchy and fast and almost reminds me of the chorus on "follow the hollow" Its the third best on the album. Oh, and the melodic riff after the clean vocals is very catchy, as is the solo that follows. 10/10
Strangler: Here comes another fantastic cut. The riff is more interesting than the other riffs, but the harsh vocals aren't quite as good in this one. However, I love speed's short, loud screams in the pre chorus. Speaking of which, the chorus is amazing yet again, and features a great clean vocal performance by speed. Though the harsh vocals aren't great, the rest of the song makes up for it. 9.5/10
Light the torch: Eh, I never really like this song too much. It's still really good, the guitar work is one of the best in the cd. I think the techno elements kinda ruined it for me, i don't know. Anyway, the verse starts with just the keyboard, drums, and speed's voice distorted, which is kinda weird. When the heavy riff comes in though, the song gets much better. The chorus is catchy, but not as good as the others. On a good note, this song does have the best guitar solo on the cd. 8.75/10
Departure plan: and we have a ballad. Though a ballad by soilwork may seem kinda far-fetched at first, this song is actually very ell done. I was surprised that I liked it actually. The chorus is very good, and the solos are very short, and melodic, but catchy. It's a pretty good song. 9.25/10
cranking the sirens: A very solid song. The opening riff is very heavy, and catchy as well. The chorus really shines here again, one o the best choruses. 9/10
brickwalker: Solid like the previous track, only slower and a bit heavier. I love the guitar work on this song, it's pretty simple, but heavy and catchy. The chorus is pretty good also. 9/10
The mindmaker: I love the opening riff, it kicks @$$ but after that, the songs not great. The vocals at the beginning I find really annoying, and the chorus is good but somewhat lackluster. The only good parts are the parts with the main riff. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad song, just my least favorite on the cd. 8.5/10
Distortion sleep: I didn't really like it at first, but I soon began to love this song. The chorus especially is amazing, one of my favorites (rivaled with the choruses of tracks 1,2, and 4). The guitar solo is very good as well. 9.5/10
Downfall 24: Im till trying to figure out what the hell the 24 in the title stands for....It's a very good song, though different from other soilwork songs. The chorus is great, and the verses are equally catchy., Another great solo is featured. 9.5/10
I’d say give this album a chance, it really is quite good. It will grow on you with every listen!
