Two years ago, Soilwork surprised everyone with an EP coming out of nowhere, "A Whisp Of The Atlantic", led by an eponymous track absolutely masterful in its 17 minutes. A first for the band! With this new offering, "Övergivenheten", the band goes back to the basics with no less than 14 tracks with a more compact format and a more direct style.
The first thing that strikes you when listening to this album is the relevance of the choice of singles. Especially the first two which turn out to be the first two tracks of the album. The eponymous track opens on a warlike crescendo with latent epic accents. Björn 'Speed' Strid (vocals) says that this track could be the "pinnacle of the band's musical journey", and we can only agree. 'We Are The War' is the strongest track on the record with a chorus that is simply addictive, a mix of beauty and power, a perfect combination of sensitivity and firmness. 'Dreams Of Nowhere' also stands out with its impeccable chorus and good compositional ideas, just like 'Death, I Hear You Calling', catchy and groovy.
Although Soilwork confirms its melodic death turn to the pop side, the death metal roots remain very present with the recurrent use of the blast beat ('Electric Again', 'Is It In Your Darkness', 'This Godless Universe') and a sometimes clear and sometimes screamed vocal always monumental.
Some small elements of innovations also surprise. It is the case of the two instrumental interludes 'The Everlasting Flame' and 'Morgongåva/Stormfågel', but also of the use of acoustic instruments with the presence of a banjo in particular on the introductory track, as well as some beautiful incursions of violin on 'Electric Again' or 'This Godless Universe'. In spite of the years, Soilwork manages to add small ingredients to spice up his recipe, while keeping its singular style.
If there is no 17 minutes epic like on "A Whisp Of The Atlantic", the Swedes confirm their writing qualities as soon as they have to compose more convoluted and longer tracks. 'On The Wings Of A Goddess - Through Flaming Sheets Of Rain', which closes the record, offers more than 7 minutes of evolving melodic death music, surfing from one atmosphere to another without a hitch.
Of course, this is a long and dense album (14 tracks for 65 minutes). A few less tracks would not have tainted the quality of the record and would have allowed to focus the attention of the listener on a more "essential" content. But such a prolixity after more than 25 years of career remains a great performance. Soilwork's fans will definitely find something to their liking, because the recipe is respected, while distilling some welcome evolutions letting us foresee even better things for the future.