Soilwork

End of the week and a Black Friday post dump if you will. Starting off with some Swedish metal. Much like their fellow countrymen In Flames and Dark Tranquility, Soilwork play what can be referred to as an updated Gothenburg Sound. Formed in the mid 90's under the name Inferior Breed, the band quickly changed names to Soilwork and released a few album to some acclaim. The sound was a melodic death metal vibe, but 2001's 'A Predator's Portrait' showed the band updating their sound a bit. This album was their debut for Nuclear Blast and marked the beginning of what some consider their best work. Much like In Flames the band has moved towards a more modern metal sound. This album though along with the follow up 'Natural Born Chaos'  is some of their finer work. The later album was produced by Devin Townsend, but not to be outdone, the title track here features Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt. Solid release for those who are looking for the slice of Swedish Metal.

I've always been into the whole Swedish metal scene. There's been some great bands and even better albums that have come out in the past two decades. I got the chance to see Soilwork some years back, I wanna say opening up for Hypocrisy. This was right around the time 'Natural Born Chaos' came out and the band was beginning to get noticed. The live show was full of great energy and the band was really tight and on mark. After seeing them I became a fan and have been one since. Granted there's been a few low points on the album releases but still solid modern metal. A band that could and sometimes does get played on hard rock radio, but deserves more credit.

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