Soen continues its path.
Created in 2004 in Sweden but only active since 2010, the band is composed of Martin Lopez (drums, ex-Opeth, ex-Amon Amarth) and Joel Ekelöf (vocals), the founders, but also of Lars Enok Åhlund (keyboards/guitar), Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel (bass) and Cody Ford (lead guitar). Imperial, their fifth album, is here.
The band wanted a first contact as tortuous and vivid as their music, so they asked producer Kane Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Dylan) and photographer Mark Laita to offer their eight tracks the strength they deserve.
Lumerian is the opening song, and it’s with striking riffs that the band begins the assault. Instruments melt together and meet to offer a complex but still soaring ambience, allowing toe vocalist to place its intense singing. The rhythmic is made of some ferocity, translated by a raw and jerky sound, just like Deceiver, a heady and quite groovy song. Harmonics give a special relief to the sound, which easily catch worldwide crowds attention before throwing airy leads. Monarch comes back on a melting between heaviness and impressive tones, before being softened on the chorus. The contrast created is catchy, allowing to alternate between frantic headbang with more softer parts, then Illusion offers a new fix of quietness. The band draws influences into airy comforting and bright sonorities, creating a web of appeasing quietness that lasts all along the song.
Antagonist comes back to those jerky and energetic riffs, on which musicians add very rich tones. The basis doesn’t weaken, allowing the band to unleash their creativity, as much on the instrumental part as on vocals, without making their demonstration a silly display of technicality. Modesty comes back go more simple tones, but still as heady thanks to convoluted touches that sometimes let place to some purity. The song picks its influences into diversity, but musicians achieve to fluidly link them, then they revive energetic riffs with Dissident. Once again this contrast between rhythmic and chorus is seizing, and allow musicians to indulge in both aspects of their music. The keyboard break is simple but magical, and this progression to the song’s climax is impressive. Last song, Fortune offers a crushing intensity driven by the frontman’s powerful voice, accompanied by a solid rhythmic, sometimes overcomed by piercing leads, making this song an apotheosis.
Soen continues to get speed, taking advantage of its member’s extraordinary capacities to offer qualitative compositions. Imperial is a very well-built album, which knows how to alternate ambiances to let no dead time.
90/100