SOILWORK
More than two decades into their career, are Sweden’s melodeath mainstays going retro?
It’S been three-and-ahalf
years since Soilwork’s last true studio album. But the band haven’t been complacent, using the time to tour incessantly before releasing rarities collection Death Resonance. Now that Soilwork are finally back in the studio, we spoke with frontman Björn ‘Speed’ Strid about what to expect from the long-awaited Verkligheten. As it turns out, the Swedes are looking backwards to move forwards…
Verkligheten will be your first studio album since The Ride Majestic in 2015. has going that long between albums built up some pressure for this one to really excel? “I wouldn’t say so. We did quite a lot of touring for The Ride Majestic and then we needed some time off; I think everybody was really inspired after that. You’ll be able to hear that on the album. It’s like heavy metal basics mixed with the melancholic sound we’ve built on the three newer albums.”
You have said before that fans should
expect Verkligheten to be an album with those classic heavy metal roots. are you able to elaborate on that? “On the first three albums we released, there was a classic heavy metal vibe to them. After that, our sound become groovier and bouncier. We lost touch with classic heavy metal and that is something we wanted to bring back. But we’re still moving forward and we’ve developed our sound.”
You formed the night flight Orchestra with Soilwork guitarist david andersson in 2007. has your more classic rock-inspired work with that band influenced your return to those old-school metal elements? “Maybe that music has been crossing over a little bit, even though it’s a totally different expression. I never really understood people who started other bands that sound very similar to their main band!”
Verkligheten means ‘reality’ in Swedish. What’s the significance of that title? “The latest albums, especially
The Ride Majestic and this new one, have been inspired by Swedish suburban anxieties. It’s socially realistic, but there is a lot of escapism in there, as well. It’s a Swedish melancholy that can’t translate, called ‘vemod’. So the album has a real John Carpenter vibe to it: it’s dark, yet dreamy.”
this is your first album with new drummer bastian thusgaard. how much impact has he had on writing and recording this album? “Bastian has had a big impact! He’s only 26 years old and he had some big shoes to fill when Dirk [Verbeuren, ex-drummer] left to join Megadeth. I think he’s added so much to this band; he doesn’t over-play, but he has a mean blastbeat, which is an important ingredient in our music. He did fantastic on this album and he has a lot of great ideas.”
Verkligheten is slated to come out in January. You’ll be starting the year with a bang then? “We’re gonna be starting 2019 with the co-headlining tour with Amorphis, all the way through Europe. They’re a great band and, with Jinjer and Nailed To Obscurity supporting, it’ll be a great bill, too! Then we will be heading to Japan, and then a bunch of festivals over the summer!”