Mid-Week Review: "The Ride Majestic" by Soilwork

The 4th week of August played host to three huge releases in the heavy metal world; "The Ride Majestic" by Soilwork, "Bad Magic" by Motorhead, and "What Should Not Be Unearthed" by Nile. As per the standard procedure, I will be judging the album on a track-by-track basis, where the vocals/lyrics, musicality and originality will be judged. In the end, I will give an average score for the entire album.

NOTE: I will not be reviewing any bonus tracks from the albums, as they are heard very rarely by listeners.

Mid-Week Review #1...

THE RIDE MAJESTIC

by SOILWORK

Background

Soilwork is a Swedish Melodic Death Metal band hailing from Helsingborh, Sweden. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast Records and have released 10 studio albums with their latest release, The Ride Majestic, released last week. The current lineup of Soilwork is the following:

• Bjorn "Speed" Strid - Vocals
• David Andersson - Guitars
• Sylvain Coudret - Guitars
• Sven Karlsson - Keyboards
• Markus Wilbom - Bass
• Dirk Verbeuren - Drums

Their current release, The Ride Majestic, is a beautiful mix of aggression, passion and tranquility. Blending the Melodic Death and Alternative sounds into this album creates a product of unparelled quality. 

1. The Ride Majestic

A tranquil sea of clean guitar melodies and chords, this is what we are given when The Ride Majestic begins, and constrasts what is to follow beautifully. Within seconds, Soilwork transcend into an amalgamation of distorted tremelo picking, double kick pounding and Bjorn Strid's iconic scream. I found this song to be one of the highlights of the album, with the instruments and vocals harmonising perfectly. What garnered my interest more was the fact that I had never heard anything like this before, which means a lot coming from a Melodeath fanboy right here. It was extremely hard to pick any faults in this song, but I sure as hell tried. Was it the incredible riffs that let me down? Was it the virtuosic shredding during the solo? Or was it the vocal brilliance? Safe to say, I couldn't find a single god damn fault in this song. I sure as hell hope The Ride Majestic continues down this path, because I'm looking at a real contender for Album of the Year right here.

Vocals/Lyrics: 5/5

Musicality: 5/5
Originality: 5/5

2.  Alight in the Aftermath

This song doesnt waste any time in grabbing you by the throat and throwing you into a pit of barbed wire and lemon juice. The opening sections of this song are some the most aggressive tunes I've heard in a long time, but what surprised me most with this track, is it's eventual transition into slower, more meaningful riffage and somewhat operatic clean vocal performance. This song varies a lot in musical direction, but somehow, Soilwork made it work. From the in-your-face intro, to the doom-inspired bridges, to the up-tempo chorus section, this song delivers on a magnificent scale and so far, has not let me down. I only just wished that the guitars showcased a lot more melody in this one, to further define that iconic Soilwork sound.

Vocals/Lyrics: 4/5
Musicality: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

3. Death in General

I'm not gonna lie, I love this song...like, A LOT. The opening melody brings the listener into a sense of euphoria and immediately transitions them into a slow build up of tribal-rhythm drumming to what eventually ends up in heavy riffage and that Soilwork staple sound. The build-up and break-down of the heavy parts gives this track a sense of character that can't really be defined. The vocals definitely shine through the most in this track, but that doesn't mean I don't find the instrumentals to be brilliant, because they absolutely are! Maybe it's just me being critical, but I had hoped the keyboards came through in this track, as it's very hard to distinguish their presense in this track. Nevertheless, fantastic and unique track!

Vocals/Lyrics: 4/5
Musicality: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

4. Enemies in Fidelity

The melodic brilliance of this band really shines through in this track, but unfortunately, most much else does. The solos were incredible, the rhythm, not so much. I wished that Bjorn Strid used his vocal range a bit more in this song, it would have saved it. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this song, just not as much as the rest. 

Vocals/Lyrics: 3/5

Musicality: 2/5
Originality: 4/5

5. Petrichor of Sulphur

Pardon my language here, but HOLY FUCK! Arpeggios out of nowhere, heart-stopping punches from the drums and the screams that only a god could replicate, I think I may have just found my next favourite Soilwork song! The guitar work only continues to keep up the standard with beautiful melodies and agression in the riffs. There's not much I can say about this track that I can fault, except maybe the odd progressive sounding riffs in the middle of the track, it just didn't sit right with me, but I'm sure many other will love it! Also, that solo...

Vocals/Lyrics: 4/5
Musicality: 5/5
Originality: 5/5

6. The Phantom

This sounds like Soilwork's attempt at black metal, whilst still trying to maintain their melodic sound. This definitely gives off a very unique track for the listener. I loved the use of tremolo picking and blast beats, but I had just wished they let the melodic sections of the song shine through a little more, as I found them to be the stronger parts of the track. I don't think I'll ever get over the damn guitar solos in this album, and this track in particular, they're just magnificent! Another fault I see in this track, is once more, I expected more from Strid's incredible vocal potential. Regardless of these faults, awesome track with another kick ass guitar solo!

Vocals/Lyrics: 3/5
Musicality: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

7. The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic)

This song had potential, a lot of potential! Opporunities for every member of the band to shine through were presented, instead, I was presented to an average performance with only the lead guitar work really doing anything to keep me from giving this track a bad review. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough for me to look at this song in a positive light. 

Vocals/Lyrics: 2/5
Musicality: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

8. Whirl of Pain

Now this is more like it! Awesome transitioning between heavy and soft, aggression and passion, this track delivers. Vocals were finally to my expectations this time around, the keyboards, guitars and bass carved a path of awesomeness though my ears and the drums provided execellent rhythm the entire song. There wasn't any real strong point in this track, as I found all aspect of this song to be above-par. Not an amazing song, but definitely a quality song!

Vocals/Lyrics: 4/5

Musicality: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

9. All Along Echoing Paths

This track once again delivers epic tremolo picking riffage, incredibly fast double kick drumming and another epic guitar solo! This time, my expectations were met, with Soilwork's melodic brilliance coming to light in this track, which just made this song utterly epic. Not much else can be said except I genuinely believe that as this album goes on, I can safely say that Soilwork are more on top of their game than ever before, and All Along Echoing Paths prove just that!

Vocals/Lyrics: 4/5
Musicality: 5/5
Originality: 4/5

10. Shining Lights

The riffs in this song are nothing short of epic. Maintaining blistering speeds throughout the majority song, the rhythmic sections of the track deliver on a massive scale, leaving the vocals to blast through and take us to another pedestal of epicness, and Soilwork did just that! Perfect harmony between the melodic compenents accompanied by rhythmic brilliance. I seriously think I've overused the words "Melodic" and "Brilliance", but if this album wasnt so damn melodic, and so damn brilliant, I wouldn't have to use them!

Vocals/Lyrics: 5/5 

Musicality: 5/5
Originality: 4/5

11. Father and Son, Watching the World Go Down

The album closes on a very unique note. Definitely the black sheep in the herd, Father and Son delivers a somewhat Alternative vibe to their established sound, also trying to stay away from the incredibly fast tempos that this album has been displaying. The vocals and guitars in this track definitely close the album in grand style, with Bjorn Strid's upper register being the peak of perfection in this song and the final guitar solo of the album providing harmonic and melodic excellence. A solid conclusion to an album, that depsite a few road blocks, delivers high on the epic scale.

Vocals/Lyrics: 5/5
Musicality: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

Final Thought

I've been a huge Soilwork fan for years now, giving high praise to every album they've ever done. But this album is on a whole new level, Sure, a few tracks really let me down, but that doesn't mean this album is far from brilliant. The Ride Majestic and Petrichor of Sulphur being my personal stand-out tracks of the album, with every other track being an absolute joy to listen to. My final piece of opinion is this...
Soilwork, don't stop producing these amazing tunes!

P.S. I look forward to meeting you all in February in Melbourne, Australia as I am a "VIP Meet and Greet" pass holder for that show! It's definitely going to one hell of an experience meeting a band I just reviewed!

VERDICT

Vocals/Lyrics: 42/55

Musicality: 45/55

Originality: 48/55

TOTAL: 82% - DISTINCTION

Soilwork are on the top of their game with this album! 

Purchase The Ride Majestic at: www.nuclearblast.de/en/

Purchase tickets for Soilwork's upcoming Australian tour at www.livenation.com.au