Kev Rowland There is no doubt that Björn "Speed" Strid and his band of merry men have changed direction since they first started, yet that has never been enough for Strid who has also launched The Night Flight Orchestra, as well as being involved in other projects. It has got to the point that I am not always sure what to expect from Soilwork, but whatever that was, it wasn’t this. The reason for that comment is that here we find Soilwork pushing themselves way into prog metal on the title cut of this EP. The five songs include one which is just under four minutes in length, three which are more than five, and then the opening title cut which is over 16!

There is no doubt that this is the highlight of the set, with keyboard player Sven Karlsson being able to have a much larger impact on proceedings, with some lovely rippling piano as well as the over-the-top synth lines he is more well known for, while the rest of the guys take the opportunity to really rip when the time is right. They have yet to bring in a bassist, so David Andersson is again doubling up on bass and guitar, and there is a passage where he takes a bass lead and is joined by a flugelhorn which is an absolute delight. But, when it is time for him and Sylvain Coudret to get down and nasty they hit the riffs with aplomb. It would also be wrong not to make a mention of drummer Bastian Thusgaard who has been challenged to provide the support for multiple sections in a song which keeps morphing and changing throughout. Then at the front we have Björn, who spends most of his time in this song singing melodically, but also throwing in the growls we know so well, and even the odd scream. The result is something which is an absolute highlight of their lengthy career to date. They have never been afraid of changing their musical approach and challenging their audience, but to jump so overtly into prog takes a certain mindset as one can almost guarantee that many progheads will not welcome this intrusion onto their turf.

The rest of the songs do seem somewhat less after the opener, as although they are solid Soilwork numbers they just do not stand up to the sheer breadth and depth of the opener, and consequently the EP feels somewhat lopsided. “Feverish” is the highlight, with great singing from Strid, superb drums, and a consolidated concentrated approach. The question now is whether or not this EP is a stepping sound to a new Soilwork, or just an experiment, and they will revert to the tried and tested. I only hope they decided that ‘A Whisp of the Atlantic” is the right way to move forward. Only time will tell.

UMUR "A Whisp Of The Atlantic" is an EP release by Swedish metal act Soilwork. The EP was released through Nuclear Blast in December 2020. It´s the follow-up release to the band´s 11th full-length studio album "Verkligheten" from January 2019, although the "Underworld" EP from June 2019 bridges the gap between the two releases. There has been one lineup change since the release of "Verkligheten (2019)" as bassist Taylor Nordberg has left. He has not been replaced here and the bass parts are therefore recorded by guitarist David Andersson. "A Whisp Of The Atlantic" features 5 tracks and total playing time of 36:52 minutes, which makes it longer than some album releases although it´s labelled an EP, so there is a lot of quantity for the money (I´ll get to the quality a little later).

Stylistically Soilwork play a melodic death metal/heavy metal style, featuring intricate melodic lead- and harmony guitar lines, an energetic and powerful playing rhythm section, atmosphere enchancing keyboards, and Björn "Speed" Strid´s raw snarling vocals and clean vocals complimenting each other. What sets the EP apart from other Soilwork releases is predominantly the song length and progressive structure of the 16:31 minutes long title track. This is something completely new in the world of Soilwork, which is a band where most tracks feature a rather formulaic vers/chorus structure and it´s definitely a breath of fresh air to hear them try something new. They´ve dipped their toes in progressive territories a few times before in the past, but never to this extent and definitely not with a long track like "A Whisp Of The Atlantic".

This could easily have been a forced attempt at creating a long progressive track, but fortunately Soilwork have managed to write a greatly intriguing composition, with many different sections, atmospheres, tempo changes, and even excursions into completely different musical territories like the semi-jazzy part on the track and the use of instruments like cello and flugelhorn. The remaining four tracks on the EP are also very well written compositions. "The Nothingness and the Devil" features an infectious melodic heavy metal riff and memorable vocal melodies and "Feverish" is also quite the brilliant track. I like the way they play blastbeats while Strid sings a melodic clean vocal line. The contrast of fast-paced brutality and melodic sweetness works perfectly. To my ears "Desperado" and "Death Diviner" are less interesting tracks. They are still high quality compositions, but they don´t stand out as much, and when you know what Soilwork can produce when they set their mind to it, I´m afraid those two tracks come off a little more standard in quality. Standard quality in the world of Soilwork is still way above what most other artists are able to produce on their best days mind you...so this is ultimately a minor critique.

"A Whisp Of The Atlantic" features a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, which does exactly what the best sound productions are meant to do...enchance the listening experience and make the material shine. So upon conclusion "A Whisp Of The Atlantic" is yet another high quality release by Soilwork and the band successfully manage to further develop on their signature sound here, which is a great sign for an experienced act like Soilwork. No stagnation in sight here. It actually feels like something new is about to happen. A shift of gears or musical approach maybe. I´m excited, and I hope Soilwork don´t blow this chance to broaden their musical horizon and experiment with their sound on the next releases. Because what they have done here is certainly promising. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.