BW&BK Exclusive: SOILWORK - A Return To Chaos
July 29, 2007, 17 years ago
BW&BK; scribe Carl Begai recently received a sneak peek of the new SOILWORK album, Sworn To A Great Divide. He has checked in with the following report:
"Soilwork fans that were worried about the band falling apart in the wake of guitarist and main songwriter Peter Wichers departure can rest easy. In fact, they'll be surprised at how strong Sworn To A Great Divide is, because although it's indeed loaded with Soilwork's trademark guitar grooves and vocal acrobatics it showcases a much tougher, uglier and adventurous band. Sworn To A Great Divide has taken an all important step back to the Natural Born Chaos record, with the ultra-polished clean-as-a-whistle sheen of their last outing, Stabbing The Drama, having been replaced by a sound that's both dirty and dynamic. The use of real drums instead triggered drums makes for a much warmer record, with Dirk Verbeuren tearing the roof off with his performance. The return of Devin Townsend as producer for Bjorn "Speed" Strid's vocals has worked wonders, yanking Speed out of the rut he was in and pushing him to a whole new level. His voice is still incredibly melodic bar none, but the growls are much more aggressive and his clean voice has a new set of balls. According to guitarist Ola Frenning, Townsend squeezed every ounce of talent and energy out of Speed and pushed him beyond his established benchmark to get the desired results.Tracks to watch out for include 'The Pittsburgh Syndrome' and 'I, Vermin', the two heaviest tracks on the album that offer a nod to Soilwork's debut, Streelbath Suicide, the melodic 'Exile', 'Your Beloved Scapegoat', and the Verbeuren showcase '20 More Miles'."
Sworn To A Great Divide will feature the following tracklisting: 'Sworn To A Great Divide', 'Exile', 'Breeding Thorns', 'Your Beloved Scapegoat', 'The Pittsburgh Syndrome', 'I, Vermin', 'Light Discovering Darkness', 'As The Sleeper Awakes', 'Silent Bullet', 'Sick Heart River', '20 More Miles'.
Watch for an interview with guitarist Ola Frenning, coming soon.
