Have you heard the one about the regal-looking rhino eating human sushi and people kabobs for dinner? Mexican surrealist painter José Luis López Galván’s classic illustration captures the perfect sentiment on Swedish progressive rock band Soen’s sophomore full-length album cover, Tellurian (out today through Spinefarm Records). The artwork, entitled Dinner Without Solomon, was an existing piece that the band felt was just perfect. The band’s name, unusual as it sounds, doesn’t actually mean anything according to drummer Martin Lopez (Opeth, Amon Amarth). “We just liked the sound of the word and didn’t want to use a word with meaning,” Lopez said. “So there isn’t any other connection to Soen but our music.”

The music is what happens when you cross Tool with Opeth. And Lopez gives credit where credit is due. “Comparisons can be flattering, depending on who they compare us to. Tool and Opeth are both great bands and we find their music inspiring, so comparing us to them is both flattering and certain.”  

The Swedish/Uruguayan drummer first cut his professional teeth in melodic death metal band Amon Amarth in 1996, playing on the band’s debut album, Once Sent From The Golden Hall. He then joined Opeth in 1998 and played on seminal albums My Arms, Your Hearse, Still Life, Blackwater Park, Deliverance, Damnation and Ghost Reveries. “I had a great time with both bands, and feel really proud of what was achieved,” Lopez said. “My fondest memories are Amon Amarth’s first European tour back in ´97and the first North American tour with Opeth back in 1999.”

 

 

Lopez formed Soen in 2004, but it never fully blossomed until he met vocalist Joel Ekelöf in 2011. Only then did the band acquire the necessary tools to fully develop the concept of Soen. “We wanted to create heavy, emotional music; complicated yet groovy. Joel brought a lot of harmony and emotion to the music. He has the ability of turning heavy intricate parts into lullabies. Stefan (Stenberg, bass) brought musical knowledge and all the music-school goodies. Kim (Joakim Platbarzdis, guitar) brought the technical and production part and I wrote the core of the songs.”

The nine tracks that make up Tellurian are melancholic, empowering and uplifting at the same time. The many lush harmonies and melodies the band manages to capture creates lavish moods and emotions. “The main focus was energy and emotion, but also to somehow build intelligent songs. Songs that would make you think and analyze and not merely for entertainment. I don’t know if we reached our goal, that’s for the listener to decide. But that’s the vision we had.”

And what a vision it is. Human interpretation and perspective is a big part of Soen’s modus operandi and the video to its first single, “Tabula Rasa,” conjures up powerful emotions. “The video concept was Kim’s idea, later developed by Kirke Ailio Rodwell, the director. I’m not sure how he came up with that. The music was written by me and the vocal lines by Joel. Stefan came up with the keyboard arrangements.”

Bass extraordinaire Steve DiGorgio played on Soen’s debut album, Cognitive. But due to logistics, DiGorgio was expendable. Stefan Stenberg is now the full-time bassist and he seems to fit in well with the band’s overall style. “It was because he lives in San Francisco and we live in Stockholm,” Lopez said. “So once we decided to really give Soen a try and see how far we could reach, we had to look for someone local to be able to rehearse properly.”

As far as touring plans go for the new album, Lopez & Co. are looking at a few options. “We will definitely tour Europe to support Tellurian and we truly hope we get the chance to tour North and South America also,” Lopez concluded.