Soen, the Swedish progressive metal band, is back with their new album, Reliance. Released just last week, it’s a work that stays the course they’ve set for themselves. Right from the start, it’s clearly excellent metal, and emotionally very intense.
The album constantly oscillates between heavy metal sections and clean, atmospheric ones, full of synth backgrounds or piano. I love these atmospheric sections that emerge between the songs; they give the music great depth and artistic legitimacy. Especially the parts with dreamy, reverb-drenched vocals. That’s what I like the most: it’s not just heavy metal, but the cleaner, quieter parts also have plenty of room to breathe.
The recording sound is excellent, something noticeable in the mix of every instrument. And speaking of instruments, it’s mandatory to mention that the drummer is Martin Lopez, who played with Opeth during its golden era. You can feel his presence in the excellent polyrhythms adorning the tracks. It’s not standard drumming; it has that complex, syncopated groove that characterizes him and elevates the songs above the genre’s average.
In general, the whole album maintains a feeling of sadness and depression. Soen is known for creating this type of “sad metal.” Even singer Joel Ekelöf has stated previously that “sad, melancholic tunes make us feel comfortable.”
As for fronting the band, I like Ekelöf’s voice. It’s clean and his range is solid. He’s very melodic, and can scream when necessary, though at times I think he could be better or take more risks. Sometimes his voice reminds me a bit of emo bands, but hey, maybe that’s just his personal tone and his Swedish accent.
Many of his vocal melodies are quite simple and beautiful. This makes the sad music Soen produces quite easy to digest, without stripping away the feeling. That said, the lyrics are quite personal, and I find them quite relatable, at least when they focus on emotions and personal experiences. As soon as they start with the social or political commentary they are also known for, they lose me completely. I wish they spared us from these interventions.
There are specific moments that stand out. Emotive choruses abound, like in “Mercenary”.
“Indifferent” is a beautiful ballad, drumless and piano-based, with a very emotive atmosphere.
Another interesting moment is “Draconian”, a song dedicated to a father figure, which will resonate with many, featuring an ironic title since the word means “excessively harsh and severe.”
With 10 songs and a 43-minute runtime, it’s not that long of an album. The songs are so good that it all ends as quickly as it arrived.
It’s depressive sound and minor key to the max. Perhaps it might make those who don’t like this type of music feel uncomfortable, but for those who do, you will find much solace here.
Anyway, that sad and depressive feeling envelops the entire album, and is something I personally appreciate very much. If you are someone who enjoys music imbued with sadness and depression, and also enjoys complex metal reminiscent of bands like Tool and Opeth, with a good dose of Pink Floyd, you will find this album excellent.
