A Predator's Portrait is a transitional album for Soilwork, acting as the bridge between their earlier, hard and fast, melodic death sound, and their later, more tuneful, alternative metal material. While some of the At the Gates influence remains, much of it is discarded in favour of increasing the prevalence of their Pantera, Fear Factory and In Flames (more Clayman than anything earlier) influence. The result is a more moderately paced, more obviously melodic and much groovier album. Bjorn Strid's vocal style has changed greatly from the blackened rasp he used on the first two discs, favouring an Anselmo-esque bark with some deep clean croons. While Soilwork is occasionally awkward in incorporating these new influences, the positives lost from their old sound are pretty much balanced out by the new ideas, making for an album that isn't much worse than it's predecessor, just quite different.
Bump |
