Soilwork is an entity that surely requires no introduction. The band’s “underground” releases garnered both critical and fanatic acclaim, but many of the aforementioned fans began to lose interest once 2001’s “Natural Born Chaos” showcased the band’s different sound. “Figure Number Five” dropped merely a year later, and – though it was the same stylistically – was a little less strong than the previous release, as evidenced by critical/fan reactions. Still, others accused them of pulling an In Flames (or: N* Flames) by softening their sound to produce a muddled, nu-metal disc. Well, my lengthy introduction is supposed to prepare you for what you knew I was going to say all along: the death knell has been rung.

Soilwork’s “Stabbing the Drama” is uncharacteristically stale for the band in question, and the full-length is rarely able to muster even a moment of undivided attention from yours truly. In spite of my opinions, I have no doubt that Soilwork will continue to grow in popularity, much to the chagrin of those who once considered themselves fans of the Swedes.

I mentioned it earlier, extract the aggression from “Figure Number Five” and inject directionless songwriting in its place to duplicate “Stabbing the Drama.” The riffing contained within the latter is noticeably less gripping this time around, and it convincingly sounds like the group crafted these opuses in order to achieve commercial success…at the stake of their core audience. There’s no real need to mention specific tunes. However, the production is of high quality and Speed’s vocalizations sound pretty good (read: about the same as always). In addition, though, the musicians have seemingly dumbed down the technicality of their performances to adjust to this new formula. Unfortunately, I think the inevitability of seeing N* Flames and $oilwork co-headlining Ozzfest is not far from realization; and, that’s a scary thought my friends. Another band bites the dust…

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]

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