When Soilwork announced their ninth studio album, “The Living Infinite” I just about jumped out of my seat hearing about it and then actually did jump out of my seat when they announced it to be the first ever double album from a death metal band. Now you’re probably sitting there going “Arkin, what does this all mean?” It means we have a monster of an album on our hands and you should take a listen even if you aren’t an avid metal listener like myself.
Let’s dig right into this beast that is “The Living Infinite.” Track 1: Spectrum of Eternity. when you listen to this track you know you’re ready for a ride of your life. A welcome of soft instrumentals greets you followed by a wave of ear shattering metal pouring right through making you tap your foot or bang your head in surprise and amazement. It’s certainly a track that covers a wide range of what is to be expected from this album’s lead vocals Bjorn “Speed” Strid and shows why he’s one of the best voices in Metal. His crazy growls to his wonderfully clean vocals and nothing but superb harmonies never fails to impress those who listen to that man sing.
The rest of the album is a mixed bag of great songs. You have your pit openers such as the song “Let the First Wave Rise & The Momentary Bliss” opening with great heavy guitars and vicious growls following with the catchiest of choruses. Then you have you “sit back and relax” titles like the last track of the first CD “Whispers and Lights” with Speed’s clean vocals woven with a heavy chorus. Now, while this is all just in the first CD, just when you think it’s all over, you toss in the second disc and are presented with a nice dark intro “Entering Aeons” that present guitars and cymbals that seem to say “we were just warming up.” Then begins the fun of “Long Live The Misanthrope” the initial intro fades into a smooth thrash-and-bash song. Probably the heaviest song on the second disc next to “Leech” the disc has a more relaxed feel with such songs as “Antidotes In Passing & The Living Infinite II” which is a wonderful blend of acoustics with Speed’s clean vocals.
So how does one end this roller-coaster of an album? Their last album “The Panic Broadcast” which ended with the song “Enter Dog of Pavlov” finished the album on a strong note. However, this time a soft approach was taken with “Owls Predict, Oracles stand guard“. A very down-to-earth, almost like fellow Sweden band “Katatonia” is how it felt to me which, hey, I’m all for! Regardless, it is a fitting end to a great album.
All in all, the album is a must have for any metal head and even still worth a listen for those not into the genre. They are also currently on a North American tour which I recently went to in NYC and they blew the roof off the place. It was definitely a treat for me. As for the album, I give it 5 Metal Arks out of 5.
With that said, you all keep it heavy and stay metal folks.
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