A Predator’s Portrait

Relative latecomers to the Swedish melodeath scene, Soilwork distinguished themselves with the sheer unpredictability of their sound. Their third album contained lots of speed limit-busting guitar leads, sure, but that didn’t stop them from turning on a dime to some complex jazz fusion soloing or groove metal pit-bait breakdowns. While Bjorn “Speed” Strid growls with the best of them, dude can sing (as proved by his future tenure in Night Flight Orchestra), and he does so for the first time here. His grandiose clean vocals paint catchy choruses on “Needlefeast” and “Like the Average Stalker.”