The Swedes of 'Soen' return after the very good 'IMPERIAL' which I praised in 2021 and 'Atlantis' in 2022 which was special but in every way remarkable since they performed live compositions rearranged and re-orchestrated with strings and two singers. New album, new atmosphere because we know that the Swedes don't like to rest on their laurels: the start of 'Memorial' with 'Sincere' sets the tone with big sound and a melody that immediately sticks in your head while including this softer passage in the second part of the title. This is indeed the guideline of this new, still admirable opus and the moments of relaxation that I highlighted in my review of IMPERIAL' are still present but no longer in the second part of the album. Some will say that the whole thing is more aggressive, but I prefer to speak of contained rage because this powerful and massive sound remains very controlled throughout the album, partly due to impeccable production which offers impressive dynamics.
The first half of the album features compositions as remarkable as each other, each one being quite direct and not exceeding 4 minutes: 'Unbreakable' (see the video above) continues after 'Sincere' with a strong mid-tempo which immediately makes you headbang, then, 'Violence' (see the video here) adds a layer but alternating fairly calm verses with a huge chorus, 'Joel Ekelöf ' giving us a magnificent performance by adapting his singing according to the intensity and with 'Fortress' the tempo accelerates with a new strong hit which highlights the impressive rhythm section of 'Martin Lopez' and 'Oleksii Kobel '. After all this boundless energy, 'Hollowed' comes to deliver a much calmer moment in the form of a magnificent ballad, the Italian singer 'Elisa' and 'Joel Ekelöf' constituting a moving duet and the 'Floydian' guitar solo of 'Cody Ford' adding to this delicate atmosphere. We gently return to a little more power with the title song (see the video here) which unrolls a new catchy melody over a harsh criticism of our leaders who play with the life and death of their compatriots (any resemblance to existing facts and characters...) and which puts much more emphasis on the alternations of intensity, a trademark of 'Soen'. The rest is more in line with what 'Soen' has already concocted for us: first, the catchy 'Incendiary' offers a magnificent acoustic break in the middle of the title, then, 'Tragedian' returns to a mid-tempo ballad which takes us away listening to the singing of 'Joel Ekelöf' and the guitar solo of 'Cody Ford'. And to finish the album, we find in the last two titles these two very distant atmospheres but which for me are the strength of any 'Soen' album: first of all 'Icon' takes us into a rapid cavalcade with riffs of very sharp guitars and again this little calmer break in the middle of the title then, at 180 degrees, 'Vitals' delivers us a magnificent melancholic ballad introduced by a few piano notes accompanied by the soothing singing of 'Joel Ekelöf' and which walks gently until the finale suspended by, once again, a few piano notes: divine!
In summary, the Swedes of 'Soen' continue to deliver wonderful albums combining raw but very controlled energy with atmospheres highlighting a skin-deep sensitivity which of course requires adhering to these big differences but which, for my part, will undoubtedly place 'Memorial' in the top three of progressive metal albums 2023... | |
