Many people will remember 2020 as one of the worst years in their life. However, sometimes it’s good to talk about silver linings too. 2020 has given us a lot of music. We never thought, for instance, SYSTEM OF A DOWN would be releasing any new tracks, but here we are… While some bands decide to release singles, the Swedish melodic death metal act SOILWORK has opted for a brand new EP, “A Whisp of the Atlantic,” out on 4 December 2020 through Nuclear Blast Records.
The EP contains what the band refers to as “The Feverish Trinity,” a trilogy of songs with accompanying videos that, according to SOILWORK, would celebrate the Babylonian Death Goddesses that once made the world a more feverish and exciting place (“Feverish,” “Desperado,” and “Death Diviner”). Luckily for SOILWORK fans, there are two more tracks to discover on “A Whisp of the Atlantic” that will make this release worth your time.
While the EP, with its six tracks, seems short in length at the first glance, much of its run time is taken up by what is perhapss the most ambitious SOILWORK track out there, title track “A Whisp of the Atlantic.” This monolith of a track is a big surprise because, with its different proggy sections (including a jazz section), it feels like it could have been written by OPETH. Naturally, the track does have that trademark SOILWORK sound, which makes it even more impressive.
If you enjoy songs that have a more progressive nature, this track definitely is experimental enough to rock your socks off, but if you came here for the traditional SOILWORK sound, have no fear. The rest of the tracks follow a similar recipe to what we expect from the Swedish melodic death metal act. While the “Feverish” intro might give you a slight NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA vibe, the band mixes in their sound beautifully as the track progresses and we’re served riffs that are as melodic as can be, alongside some threatening blast beats. The exciting and high-on-energy “Desperado” is a true classic, while the balanced mellow, groovy, and melodic riffs of “Death Deviner” have a little bit of a TOOL vibe in the guitar melodies. “The Nothingness and the Devil” ends the EP on a high note with both dynamic and hooky sections.
Altogether, the EP contains six outstanding tracks. While “A Whisp of the Atlantic” is probably their most ambitious song to date, the other tracks offer the listener a little bit of familiarity and certainly are not inferior to the opening track. All-in-all, it seems like SOILWORK have kept themselves busy in these trying times and we can’t wait for them to release more of where this came from!
Written by Laureline Tilkin
Tracklist
- A Whisp of the Atlantic
- Feverish
- Desperado
- Death Diviner
- The Nothingness and the Devil
Lineup
Björn “Speed” Strid – vocals
David Andersson – guitar
Sven Karlsson – keyboard
Sylvain Coudret – guitar
Bastian Thusgaard – drums
Label
Nuclear Blast
