Soilwork Albums Ranked
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork (meaning “working from the ground up”). The band was formed in late 1995, originally under the name Inferior Breed. Their sound, as explained by “Speed” was influenced by such bands as Pantera, Meshuggah, and Carcass. Upon changing their band name in late 1996 to Soilwork, they began to make more melodic music. Here are all of Soilwork’s albums ranked.
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10. Steelbath Suicide (1998)
“Steelbath Suicide” is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish melodic death metal act Soilwork. The album was released through Listenable Records in May 1998. It was re-released in 2000 through Century Media Records with a different cover artwork and a live bonus track. Soilwork formed in 1995 under the Inferior Breed monicker, but changed their name to the current monicker in 1996. Soilwork recorded the 5 track “In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake” demo in 1997 and upon a chance meeting with Michael Amott (Arc Enemy, Carcass, Spiritual Beggars), they gave him a copy of the demo, which led to the record deal with Listenable Records. Soilwork went through a couple of lineup shuffles in their early years and just before recording “Steelbath Suicide”, keyboard player Carlos Holmberg and bassist Ola Flink were added to the lineup.”
9. The Chainheart Machine (2000)
“Much heavier and faster than the rest of Soilwork’s discography, Chainheart Machine easily borders on thrash metal. Although the album lacks in variety, many of the tracks are quite memorable, and the neck-snapping pace of several tracks are sure to entertain. Any fan of old-school Gothenburg metal or modern thrash metal will probably like this album. Highly recommended.”
8. The Panic Broadcast (2010)
“The Panic Broadcast actually does harken back to earlier Soilwork; however, it does have a good deal of their modern influences. I would say take Natural Born Chaos and collide it with Stabbing the Drama and you have this album. Speed isn’t the main purpose of listening to this band on this album. He steps back slightly and rejoins the band. He’s still the frontman and still has an amazing vocal, switching between clean and gruff whenever he feels it appropriate. Now it’s a band instead of the Speed show. All the instrumentation works together to present an awesome listening experience.”
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7. A Predator’s Portrait (2001)
“This is the first album for me where Soilwork really created their trademark melodic style. For better or for worse, obviously it’s the first album to really use clean singing a a major part of the sound. Really strong all the way through, although it took quite a few listens to appreciate their less matured use of clean vocals and soaring choruses – they are still a little haphazardly applied here. But it’s made up for by the killer riffing, energetic pace and masterful production.”
6. The Living Infinite (2013)
“This is the most mature, most accomplished, most ambitious Soilwork album in their entire catalog. “Natural Born Chaos” is their most inspired, “Stabbing the Drama” their catchiest, but as a statement album, an album that forces re-evalutaion from both casual and long-standing fans of the band and Melodic Death Metal as a genre, “The Living Infinite” is an incredible achievement.”
5. Sworn To A Great Divide (2007)
“This band has been one of my go-to’s when it comes to melodic death metal from Sweden. I love every single one of their albums . But this is a masterpiece. I know there’s no brutal Gothenburg style anymore . But man , the guitars on this one, the drum work and especially Speed’s voice make this one the greatest album of theirs.”
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4. Figure Number Five (2003)
“You’d think that this type of melodic death metal might get boring after repeated listens. Sorry, but you might just be proved wrong! I just can’t help but listen to this album again and again even though I’ve got lots of other new stuff to attend to. The first track “Rejection Role” really grabs your attention and arguably becomes the best track of the album. “Overload” becomes a close second by using a similar formula. Most of the tracks that follow are almost as good, especially “Strangler”.
3. Natural Born Chaos (2002)
“This is such an enjoyable album. This thing is filled with so many hooks. Some folks say that they sold out with this style but I honestly feel like as long as they know how to write good melodies and catchy songs then good for them. However, to my dismay, this is their last amazing album because the hooks would get further watered down and the guitars would just get more and more dull as the following releases will go…”
2. The Ride Majestic (2015)
“The high quality production sound remains, the performances continue to impress, the songwriting has become more complex, but the ambition has lessened and the catchy songcraft has diminished. Following a landmark album like “The Living Infinite” with equal results was certainly a daunting task, yet they succeeded in some ways, but the overall effect is not as mind-blowing or surprising this time. I do have the feeling, however, that “The Ride Majestic” is a potential ‘grower’ with many undiscovered details hardly noticed the first few spins. Another solid release from Soilwork but not necessarily near the pinnacle of their discography. Time will tell.”
1. Stabbing The Drama (2005)
“This is an exceptional CD! It has a perfect mix of singing, awesome screaming vocals, and great lyrics. Songs that stand out are Stabbing The Drama, Crestfallen, Distance, and Conservation Slave. My only gripe would be that in some of the songs the vocals and keyboards needed to be more up front. I highly recommend this CD, and even more seeing them live.”