SOEN – Imperial (2021)
Delayed due Covid-19, Swedes SOEN are set to release their new album “Imperial” where the band carries out a poetic, heavy, and emotional dissection of our human condition through songs encompassing reflective and provocative lyrics as well as heavy, haunting, and intricate musicianship.
While SOEN are marketed as progressive metal, their music go far beyond adding colorful elements like hard rock groove or rock&pop sensibility. Additionally, all compositions are in a ‘song format’, and SOEN only need 42 minutes to deliver an intense, astonishing piece of work.
“Imperial” unfolds brilliantly and delves even further into the Soen style, which before “Lotus” was often compared to that of Tool and Opeth.
After five albums they have crafted and entrenched a unique trademark sound that superlatively blends heavy, emotional, and subtle melodic passages, managing to remain consistent in this approach throughout the album.
With thunderous snare hits, first track “Lumerian” immediately immerses the listener into the perfectly calibrated gears of the Soen machinery, which boasts aggressive riffs that naturally blend with their atmospheric and contemplative side. This dynamic allows Joel Ekelöf ‘s portentous voice to unroll at will. No matter how hard or dense the music proceeds, its chorus reaches a melodic, memorable and intense nature, as it also happens in the rest of the song’s choruses.
Ekelöf‘s vocals have become essential to Soen‘s identity, and once again, he delivers an imposing and elegant performance.
Commanding the drum kit, Martin Lopez takes care of greasing it through his technical, dynamic, and energetic chops. As usual, Lopez’s complex grooves go beyond keeping time, continually displaying his unlimited beats arsenal that accentuates, guides, and deepens the musical atmosphere. These talents are showcased in “Antagonist”, where his several drum patterns create a vibrant ode to resistance.
Other songs equally enclose the virtues mentioned above, but the album contains mainly two different kind of songs. On the one hand there are the massive, mighty, and crushing songs that, with flawless execution, present an incessant flow of belligerence, power, and defiance, but also beautiful melodies and emotion.
On the other hand are songs that deliberately slow down the tempo and create heartfelt ballads with evoking messages.
For instance, “Illusion” belongs to the latter category, embellishing itself through the suggestive atmosphere created by Lars Enok Åhlund’s keyboards / synths and magnified with a moving guitar solo courtesy of Cody Ford, contrasting its beauty with the heaviest songs mashing riffs.
“Fortune” follows the same path, closing the album with an expressive slow tempo that wraps the “Imperial” experience with a courageous message and a necessary reminder of perseverance and gallantry.
“Imperial” will take Soen even higher and cement them as a dominant force within progressive rock / metal / hard. A band with their unique sound now accessible like never before, aiming to make us fall victims to their substantial mix of emotion and strength.
HIGHLY Recommended
01. Lumerian
02. Deceiver
03. Monarch
04. Illusion
05. Antagonist
06. Modesty
07. Dissident
08. Fortune
Joel Ekelof – Vocals
Cody Ford – Lead Guitar
Lars Enok Ahlund – Keyboards, Guitar
Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel – Bass
Martin Lopez – Drums
Pre Order:
www.amazon.de/-/en/Soen/dp/B08LNJKYMT
