Review Summary: While fellow Melodeath band In Flames entered the Alternative Metal scene with all the grace of a homeless wino with a half-finished bottle of Wild Irish Rose, Soilwork managed to firmly make their transition to Mainstream Metal with ease.
One of Soilwork’s “Older” albums, Figure Number Five came after Soilwork’s Natural Born Chaos which certainly had elements of alternative metal mixed with their standard Melodeath present on their beginning albums. With Figure Number Five, however, their newer sound is more pronounced, with a greater use of keyboards, clean vocals, and less-melodic guitar riffs. Such a change was inevitable as In Flames had made a similar shift from pure Melodeath to a hybrid of sorts with Reroute To Remain and their albums that followed; and even Dark Tranquillity did some experimentation with their 1999 album Projector. However, while In Flames alienated many die-hard fans with their stylistic change and Dark Tranquillity remained rooted in Melodic Death Metal, Soilwork managed their change gracefully.
Of course a pure Death/Melodic Death metal fan probably won’t have high praise for this album due to the lack of melody in the guitar work or the mix of clean and death vocals; that’s a given. The band wasn’t necessarily out to appeal to that fan base. Rather, the album was meant to appeal to a wider audience (most likely to boost sales and attract new fans), but the songs on this album are still worth listening and the album as a whole can be enjoyed by anyone interested in metal.
What differs from Natural Born Chaos, first of all, are the keyboards. The keyboards are brought further into the spotlight and take a more prominent role on the album. The guitar work is simple, but effective; as is the drumming. There are some solos here and there that prove interesting, but for the most part the melody is going to primarily come from the keyboards. The bass, as par for a mainstream metal band, is virtually non-existent; but this fact doesn’t make the album any less weaker.
The album starts with “Rejection Role,” a song, oddly enough, I had first heard while watching a World of Warcraft Vanilla PVP video, and I can understand why. The song has both a simple but catchy guitar riff, and the keyboard work gives the song the touch of melody it needs. Björn Strid’s harsh and clean vocals are present throughout the song, and complement the music very well. The same can be said for the following song, “Overload.” This is why the album works. Most of its songs are simple, yet catchy, and have a chorus that's engaging; and nearly all the songs make good use of both the guitars and keyboards simultaneously.
One of the album’s weaker moments lay in the more aggressive songs, such as “Figure Number Five” and “The Mindmaker.” These songs give the guitar work and Strid’s harsh vocals more attention, while leaving the more melodic parts behind, and overall songs like these feel empty. Not to say they are bad songs, but save for a solo near the end of the title track, there’s not much to say about them.
A slow song, “Departure Plan” serves as a brief reprieve from the aggression and shows some more of Strid’s clean vocal work. While Strid’s clean vocals are definitely more tolerable than, say, Anders Fridén’s vocals, that’s not really saying much. As for the song itself, its strength lies in the guitars applying what heaviness the song needs and the keyboards providing the melody when appropriate. Without one or the other, the song would be much weaker. Luckily, both are present.
As Natural Born Chaos laid the groundwork for Soilwork’s sound, the band improved on it with this album; and it would be this sound that other alternative metal bands, such as Sonic Syndicate would eventually copy. Soilwork’s newer album seem to be getting a lot of praise, so they must be doing some things right. Now, if only In Flames could follow in the same suit. Oh well.
Recommended Songs:
Rejection Role
Overload
Strangler
Light the Torch
Cranking the Sirens
Distortion Sleep
