Soilwork
is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently 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").
Their sound is a fusion of the classic Gothenburg metal sound with power-groove riffs of late 1970s, early 1980s British, and European metal. However, in their most recent albums Soilwork have also introduced elements from other genres and adopted a more melodic sound. Their most recent work has more singing and lighter melodies than their earlier work, as well as a more polished production. [1] Due to their more recent changes in sound, they have been likened to their label mates In Flames, labeled metalcore in some instances, and even faced scrutiny by fans for their progressive sound. [2] [3]
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SOILWORK TICKETS
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Background
Formative years
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.
Soilwork began work on a
demo entitled
In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake
. Before the recording ever took place, bassist Carl-Gustav Döös left the group, leaving guitarist
Peter Wichers to handle the bass tracks on the demo. In a chance encounter, Soilwork met
Michael Amott of
Arch Enemy fame, who owned a record store in Helsingborg, and gave him a copy of their demo.
This ultimately led to the band signing with
Listenable Records. In 1998, Soilwork added keyboardist Carlos Holmberg and bassist Ola Flink. The band recorded and released their debut album
Steelbath Suicide
in May of that year. Soon after, guitarist Ludvig Svartz and drummer Jimmy Persson left, citing "different musical opinions."
[4] Persson (now guitar and vocals in Faithful Darkness) was replaced by
Henry Ranta, while Svartz was replaced by Peter Wichers' uncle, Ola Frenning.
[5] The band toured throughout Europe in support of the album with bands such as
Darkane,
Naglfar, and
Krisiun. In 2000, Soilwork recorded their second full length
LP,
The Chainheart Machine
. The album received critical acclaim and eventually landed them a recording contract with major label Nuclear Blast, allowing the band to tour with acts such as
Defleshed,
Cannibal Corpse, and even, briefly, with fellow melodic death metallers
Dark Tranquillity.
Breakthrough
In 2000, after exhausting themselves with touring, Soilwork returned to the studio to record their third full-length album,
A Predator's Portrait
. The release was well received and brought Soilwork to the forefront of the melodic death metal scene, alongside label mates In Flames.
[6] The band played at
Wacken Open Air Festival that year, and toured extensively with
Annihilator and
Nevermore. Following up on their success, Soilwork entered the studio again in late 2001 to record the follow-up to
A Predator's Portrait
with
Devin Townsend (
Strapping Young Lad) and
Fredrik Nordstrom.
[7] Natural Born Chaos
was released in early 2002, to much acclaim as well. Soilwork toured throughout Europe to support the album, and, for the first time, throughout the
United States, first with bands
Hypocrisy, Scar Culture, and
Killswitch Engage during the summer,
[8] then alongside label mates In Flames during the fall.
[9] After touring, started writing and recording their fifth album.
Figure Number Five
In December 2002, Soilwork entered the studio to begin recording their fifth album.
[10] After recording, the band began a European tour with
Children of Bodom and
Shadows Fall throughout April and May.
[11] That same month,
Figure Number Five was released. In early June, drummer Henry Ranta left the band, to focus more on his personal life, and was replaced a week later by Richard Evensand.
[12] The band then embarked on another North American tour with In Flames,
Chimaira, and
Unearth.
[13] [14] In September, Soilwork toured
Japan with Children of Bodom
[15] Merely days after a short mini-trek tour through Japan, Soilwork also toured
Australia briefly.
[16] Later that year, they again toured North America with Chimaira,
As I Lay Dying and
Bleeding Through.
[17] After the tour Richard Evensand left the band to replace drummer Andols Herrick who had recently left Chimaira.
[18] Soilwork initially announced his "temporary" replacement as Dirk Verbeuren of
Scarve;
[19] Verbeuren would later become the full time replacement.
[20] In early 2004, singer
Björn "Speed" Strid laid down tracks with
Italian melodic death metal band
Disarmonia Mundi.
[21] During April, the band announced that it had extended its contract with record label Nuclear Blast Records.
[22] That same month the band again toured Australia alongside
Anthrax,
Embodiment, and Killswitch Engage. In mid 2004, Soilwork toured Japan for a second time alongside Dark Tranquillity.
[23] In September, Soilwork entered the studio to record their sixth album,
Stabbing the Drama.
[24]
Stabbing the Drama
Soilwork entered Dug Out Studios on September 14th to begin recording their sixth full length album. A week later the band changed venues and recorded at Fascination Street Studios.
[25] Stabbing the Drama was released in early March 2005. The album entered the
Finnish charts at number 19, and in Sweden at number 14.
[26] The band also began to gain minor commercial success in the
United States.
Stabbing the Drama
reached #12 and #21 on the
Billboard Heatseeker and
Independent album charts, respectively.
[27] The band partook in the 2005
Ozzfest, performing on the second stage.
[28] In November the band toured stateside with
Fear Factory.
[29] In late
2005, guitarist
Peter Wichers left the band due to tour exhaustion and other personal issues.
The same month, Bjorn announced he was working on a second album with Disarmomia Mundi.
[30] In May 2006, Daniel Antonsson was announced as the replacement for Peter Wichers.
[31] Soilwork spent the summer appearing at festivals throughout Europe. In September they toured throughout the
UK and
Turkey.
[32] The band later pulled out of the Turkish dates, due to
terrorist attacks and bombings that had recently occurred to tourists there.
[33] In October the band trekked North America, this time with
Darkest Hour,
Mnemic and
Threat Signal.
[34] [35] In March 2007, Soilwork began work on their seventh album.
Sworn to a Great Divide
In early March, Soilwork began laying down the tracks for their seventh album,
Sworn to a Great Divide
[36] Late in June, Ola Frenning announced that the album was finished.
[37] Soilwork will tour in the fall alongside
Caliban,
Sonic Syndicate, and
Dark Tranquillity in a tour dubbed, '
Eastpak Antidote' tour.
[38] The album was released on
October 19,
2007 through Nuclear Blast. The album sports a sound closer to
thrash than their previous albums, though still backed by their trademark synth elements.
The band took part on an American tour with co-headliners
Lamb of God and
Killswitch Engage, as well as
DevilDriver. The tour began on
November 28,
2007 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts, and ended at the Santa Ana Star Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on
December 17,
2007. The tour, dubbed The Clash of the Titans Tour 2007, appeared in Grand Prairie, TX at the Nokia Live Theatre on
December 8,
2007 to play for the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. On
February 12,
2008, an official statement was posted on Soilwork's official website that Ola Frenning and Soilwork had decided to part ways, his replacement came in the form of
Sylvain Coudret. In another statement on
September 18,
2008, it was revealed that guitarist
Daniel Antonsson would be replaced with the return of former guitarist and founding member
Peter Wichers and also that Sylvain Coudret from the band
Scarve who has been doing session work as second guitarist during 2008 Summer festivals became permanent guitar player for the band.
[39]
The future
Once the current tour is over, the band plans to return to the studio in late 2009 / early 2010 to write and record their eighth album. In a March 2009 interview, Peter Wichers vowed that there would be no more line-up changes.
[40]
Band members
Current members
- Björn "Speed" Strid – vocals (1995–present)
- Peter Wichers – guitar (1995–2005, 2008–present)
- Sylvain Coudret – guitar (2008–present)
- Ola Flink – bass guitar (1998–present)
- Sven Karlsson – keyboards (2001–present)
- Dirk Verbeuren – drums (2005–present)
Discography
Studio albums
Date of Release
| Title
| Label
| Billboard 200
| Heatseekers
| Sales
|
May 20, 1998
| Steelbath Suicide
| Listenable Century Media
| -
| -
| -
|
February 8, 2000
| The Chainheart Machine
| Listenable Century Media
| -
| -
| -
|
February 20, 2001
| A Predator's Portrait
| Nuclear Blast
| -
| -
| -
|
March 25, 2002
| Natural Born Chaos
| Nuclear Blast
| -
| -
| -
|
May 6, 2003
| Figure Number Five
| Nuclear Blast
| -
| 43 [41]
|
March 8, 2005
| Stabbing the Drama
| Nuclear Blast
| - [42]
| 12 [43]
| 13,000+
|
October 19, 2007
| Sworn to a Great Divide
| Nuclear Blast
| 148 [44]
| 2 [45]
| 5,100+
|
Demos/EPs
- In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake
(1997, demo)
- The Early Chapters
(2003, EP)
Singles
- "As We Speak" (2002)
- "Light the Torch" (2003)
- "Rejection Role" (2003)
- "Stabbing the Drama" (2005)
- "Nerve" (2005)
- "Exile" (2007)
- "Sworn To A Great Divide" (2008)
- "20 More Miles" (2008)
References
- Soilwork Interview - Metalkings.com
- Soilwork Interview - Rockdetector.com
- An Interview with Peter Wichers of Soilwork
- Svartz and Persson quit
- Wicher's Uncle Frenning Joins
- Predator's Portrait brings much acclaim
- Soilwork Complete Work on "Best Album We Ever Did"!
- Soilwork to tour US with Hypocrisy
- In Flames, Soilwork join forces for European/US tour
- Soilwork To Commence Recording New CD
- Shadows Fall to Support Children of Bodom, Soilwork in Europe
- Soilwork Announce New Drummer
- In Flames, Soilwork, Chimaira, Unearth to Team up For North American Tour
- In Flames, Soilwork, Chimaira: More North American Dates Announced
- Children of Bodom, Soilwork to Team up for Japanese Tour
- Soilwork to Tour Australia
- Chimaira And Soilwork to Team up For 'Pure Hatred' Tour
- Former Soilwork Drummer Explains Decision to Join Chimaira
- Soilwork Announce Temporary Replacement For Departed Drummer
- SOILWORK: Guitarist WICHERS Quits, Drummer VERBEUREN Named Full-Time Member
- DISARMONIA MUNDI: Sophomore Album To Include Appearance By SOILWORK Singer
- Soilwork Extend Contract With Nuclear Blast
- Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork to Team up for Japanese Tour
- Soilwork to Enter Studio in September
- Soilwork Begin Recording New Album
- Soilwork's 'Stabbing The Drama' Enters Finnish Chart At No. 19
- Billboard albums
- It's Official: Mudvayne To Fill 'Mystery Band' Slot on Ozzfest's Main Stage
- Soilwork to Miss First Nine Shows of Fear Factory Tour
- Soilwork Frontman Working on New Diarmonia Mundi Album
- Soilwork: North American Debut with New Guitarist Scheduled for the Fall
- SOILWORK: U.K., Turkish Dates Announced
- SOILWORK Postpones Turkish Dates
- Soilwork, Darkest Hour, Mnemic: More U.S. Tour Dates Announced
- Threat Signal: Video Footage From Soilwork Tour Posted Online
- Soilwork: Drums for New CD Completed; Photos, Video Available
- SOILWORK Completes Work On New Album
- Chimaira, Soilwork, Caliban, Sonic Syndicate: More 'Eastpak Antidote' Dates Announced
- http://soilwork.org/index.php
- Peter Wichers: Soilwork
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=294&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Heatseekers&ci=3049
- http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=34221
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=324&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Heatseekers&ci=
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?aid=1087586&pid=380491
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=324&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Heatseekers&ci=