SOEN – Reliance (2026) *HQ*

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Since formed 2010 in Sweden by drummer Martin Lopez — formerly of a couple ‘little bands’ called Opeth and Amon Amarth — SOEN brought together a group of highly pedigreed musicians developing a progressive sound, melodic, heavy, intricate and very different than everything else.
Sixteen years and seven albums later, Soen’s upcoming new CD, ”Reliance”, is none of those things. Instead, it’s dad rock – and that’s in good way. The new songs doesn’t have the twists & turns and proggy intricacies of the first albums, but sometimes all you need to hit the spot is some solid grooves and a fist-pumping chorus.

The album starts with the lead single ”Primal” which is one of the punchier songs on the album “detailing the existential fight between the human spirit and our current world”. The album itself has a healthy balance of punchy heavier songs and ones which are more in the emotive and atmospheric side of things, pretty accessible for everyone.
When a twinkle of technical mastery shines through in Cody Ford’s guitar solos (“Huntress”, “Axis”) or more rhythmically intriguing passages from Martin Lopez (“Discordia”), they are the prog metal of their origins.
”Reliance” is cleanly produced—I don’t hear the brickwalling that troubled some previous Soen releases—and slickly performed.

01. Primal
02. Mercenary
03. Discordia
04. Axis
05. Huntress
06. Unbound
07. Indifferent
08. Drifter
09. Draconian
10. Vellichor

Joel Ekelof – vocals
Lars Enok Ahlund – keyboards, guitar
Cody Lee Ford – guitar
Stefan Stenberg – bass
Martin Lopez – drums

Pre order:
www.nuclearblast.com/products/soen-reliance-cd