There are few metal artists that need no introduction, but Sweden's SOILWORK are definitely one of them. Their reputation as one of the country's finest exports (aside from herrings, Abba and porn) is well-deserved. Few bands have melded the aggressiveness of metal with genuinely catchy choruses to such impressive results. Before you start name-dropping the latest metalcore sensation, let's just get one thing straight, SOILWORK - which is not a reference to cultivation, but to working their way up from the ground – have established a solid reputation alongside fellow countrymen like In Flames, Meshuggah & Arch Enemy as well as influencing bands such as US heavyweights Killswitch Engage. Surfacing in 1997 with a five-track demo,‘In Dreams We Fall Into The Eternal Lake’, SOILWORK formed as a quartet before expanding for their first full-length release. ‘Steelbath Suicide’, the band's official debut, saw the light of day in 1998 and immediately caused a major positive stir in the metal underground.

Their mix of modern, melodic and progressive metal has created a distinctive sound spearheaded by the soaring vocals of Bjorn “Speed” Strid. Albums like 2002’s ‘Natural Born Chaos’ (produced by Devin Townsend),the supreme double release ‘The Living Infinite’ and the most recent ‘The Ride Majestic’ (their 10th studio release) have effectively built a dedicated fanbase with every successive release. "The Ride Majestic" was SOILWORK's last album to feature longtime drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who left the band in July 2016 to join MEGADETH and was replaced by Bastian Thusgaard of THE ARCANE ORDER, while touring bassist is now Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE).

‘Verkligheten’ (“reality”) maintains the quality control, being produced by Thomas „Plec“ Johansson and featuring a guest appearances from Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis) on ‘Needles And Kin’ .SOILWORK singer Björn "Speed" Strid, assures that it still breaks new ground for the band though. "It's possibly the most epic and darkest album we've done. And it's also very melancholic, but it's also very sort of uplifting. I'm really happy with it."Asked if the musical direction of the new SOILWORK material is similar to that on the last album, Strid said: "I would say a mixture between 'The Ride Majestic' and [2013's] 'The Living Infinite'."

From the brutal ‘Arrival’, via the mammoth grooves of ‘Bleeder Despoiler’ to the majestically melodic ‘Stålfågel’,‘Verkligheten’ is another worthy addition to the Soilwork catalogue.

1. Verkligheten
2. Arrival
3. Bleeder Despoiler
4. Full Moon Shoals
5. The Nurturing Glance
6. When The Universe Spoke
7. Stalfagel
8. The Wolves Are Back In Town
9. Witan
10. The Ageless Whisper
11. Needles And Kin (feat Tuomi Joutsen)
12. You Aquiver