Album Review: Soen – “IMPERIAL”

Released: January 29, 2021

I won’t lie, I got unreasonably excited for this release upon seeing one of my favorite social media bass players was joining the Soen crew. “Zlatoyar” Kobel is a crushing bass player with a wide range of talents ranging from jazz standards to the most crushing death metal. A perfect fit for an album written by one of Sweden’s finest progressive metal supergroups. An album that is filled with high-flying vocals, catchy thrash guitar riffs, and a force that was forged in the dark winters of Scandinavia, Soen have written something that is simultaneously their own signature sound, but also sets itself apart from almost any other band in the Swedish metal revolution.

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Originally formed in 2004 by vocalist Joel Ekelöf (Willowtree), Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth), and the titan of bass Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus, Testament), Soen set out to create a visionary world of music, analyzing both themselves and society at large. They put no restraints on the music they could create, and what came out was something both heavy and enlightening, moving and calming. At once the music of Soen is the soundtrack to gentle snowfall and crashing ocean waves in a storm. Over the years the lineup has changed often, but the recipe stayed the same. The current lineup, which still includes founding members Joel Ekelöf and Martin Lopez, have continued the tradition beautifully.

Seemingly taking cues from music created by the likes of Katatonia, Opeth or Sylosis, Soen weave emotions flawlessly on Imperial. Each track starts of with either a rhythm that will immediately hook you, or it allows their soft side to show through as on the track “Illusion”. Personally, I don’t think any track allows the vocal talents to come forward quite as much. While Joel’s talents cannot be overstated, it often can take a back seat to the thunder going on behind him. Here, he is accompanied by a much softer group of hands on each instrument. Use of piano to set the stage begins a journey that brings one deep into their own emotion. It is a ballad to sit atop all ballads, with moving lyrics paired with a powerful voice and moving guitar work. It speaks to the wide versatility of every musician involved in Soen. That they can easily step back from writing such pounding and ever forward moving music to allow themselves to sit back and deeply move an audience with a true “lighters up” type of track is not often found in metal music. It certainly isn’t often enough exercised.

However, it isn’t the slow tracks that keep me listening. They are fantastic, and I love them. But what Soen does incredibly well is blend progressive metal into a voice that is so silky smooth I don’t know if it is capable of growling. The opening track “Lumerian” starts off the album beautifully, and sets the stage exactly as I have come to expect. Astounding double kick drums and a syncopated rhythm greet the ears after a short guitar lick. The key element is that the rhythm dies off long before you want it to. The music always seems to leave me wanting more. Only way to get it seems to be to keep listening to the album, which is fine with me. “Lumerian” is also one of the more dynamic songs. It swings from crushing metal riffs to high flying vocals on a sweet, starry night of a backdrop. Perfectly constructed to make the listener ache for more of every riff, every piece of lyrical poetry, just one more measure of sound that forces one to physically move. Fortunately this expert execution doesn’t end at the opening track, and the masterclass continues for another 7 tracks.

Imperial is the next chapter in what I hope is a long line of releases. Soen doesn’t get enough credit for the music they are making, in my opinion. Blending so many styles in so expert a way is something that certainly deserves recognition by the metal world at large. In a world dominated by musicians playing faster and finding so many new ways to use an instrument to make sound, Soen use what works and what was always there for budding metal musicians. They aren’t using a ton of new techniques, minimal is the slapping, popping, tapping and whatever else musicians use to create an aural exam for listeners to work through and study. This is an album you can sit back and just listen to, without having to work through ten layers of instruments and vocals. Everything is clearly laid out for you to take in, and your mind need not fight it. You can just receive it, float in it, be conscious with it. And after it’s 42 minute play time, you can smash that repeat button and take it all in again.