If it's anything like Imperial, I'll be looking forward to it.

Hell yeah can’t wait

I bet you could say that before but now the song's really sound like each other.

Well, I love it. I'll admit there's nothing here substantially different from what they've done in the past, but it's still a beautifuly crafted album. Great production, great riffs in Unbreakable, Fortress, Memorial, Incendiary and Icon, the ballads Hollowed and Vitals are stunning and I love how Joel seems to be exploring more the raspier side of his voice. The drum fills are top-notch as usual. Perhaps the only thing I'd change would be to remove the song Tragedian, it's a very straightforward ballad and in a album already with two great ones, it adds nothing.

Only listened twice so far but I gotta say this is easily my least favorite yet

It's alright, but considering I thought Imperial was potentially their stronget, I did find this pretty impactless; his vocals are still as compelling as ever, but the songs themselves seemed to lack a certain something, at least on a first listen (I may give it more goes in case it changes my mind, but also I'm not sure I'm sufficiently interested in Soen to do so)

Don't know what people are on about with ratings. I'm loving the album. great vocals, lyrics and instrumentation.

I think Soen is suffering from what all bands do when they're no longer a "new" band. For the first few albums people take what's presented and accept it as the band's identity... from then on people start thinking the band should put out what fans hope to hear, not what the band's own creativity produces.

I can't find any fault with the album. I feel all band members continue to improve in their respective departments and the overall output is hence stronger too.

Sounds like old Soen mixed with dad-rock.

A very solid album with those melodies that characterize Soen this work is noted that has a good production in his lyrics, each Soen album gives you a distant surprise obviously positive, an album recommended for the collector of progressive sound

Written by The Melting Snow on 01.09.2023 at 17:22

Don't know what people are on about with ratings.

They are called opinions, and are thus meaningless. If you're enjoying the album, awesome, but obviously not everyone will.

Disclaimer - I like this band and have not listened to this album yet.

As far as I'm concerned people aren't on about anything. 7.8 is a decent rating. I'll give this thing a spin later tonight.

It's a continuation of Imperial, which isn't a bad thing since I love that album - it's definitely not as enjoyable but equally consistent, meaning across the board there's a lot to like. It would be nice to see them experiment with different structures and song lengths, because globally everything seems very close to the previous albums, mainly regarding the aforementioned structures, but also riffs and solos, and their tendency to have a set tempo for their ballads. Individual highlights include "Fortress" with its twin lead guitar, "Hollowed" with excellent female vocals and effective use of acoustic guitar, and "Memorial", with (as another user stated) Ekelöf using much more grit to his vocals. The midsection of "Icon" is also quite good, it has a much darker and mysterious vibe than most of what Soen do. I also agree that "Tragedian" is the weakest and pretty pointless in proportion to the rest of the album. "Vitals" is a good ballad when it isn't reminding me of Avril Lavigne though.

I'll put it at a low 8 for now, I like it a lot overall, but the songs themselves don't offer quite enough to rank it as high as the excellent Imperial.

Yup, great album, still not a fan of "Violence" but overall this is awesome.

I think this album is great, yes it's a wee bit on the soft side but the performance is solid and the songwriting is great, especially the solo's. The title track stands out for me most, but I can't say there are any tracks here I actually dislike tbh.

A big letdown for me. The band is a favorite and I have loved all their previous outings. This album seems to be very much on a softer side and except a couple of tracks, rest falls under a category 'Soen Generic'. Tried to re-listen lot many times but none of the songs are memorable for me.

Written by The Melting Snow on 01.09.2023 at 17:22

I think Soen is suffering from what all bands do when they're no longer a "new" band. For the first few albums people take what's presented and accept it as the band's identity... from then on people start thinking the band should put out what fans hope to hear, not what the band's own creativity produces.

True. Their first album sounded like a revival Tool comeback album, but they since strayed away from that sound and into their own prog-alt metal sound that could be considered radio-friendly/commercial. But it fits. There's really no other band that creates their sound. But this album is not as great as their previous two. I'd say it's like a twin to Lykaia, but little better. It is a more straightforward approach. And his vocals are raspier than usual, which is not a bad touch. Still a good one

A big shrug of an album, even worse than the previous one, I’d say. I’ve read many comments saying that it’s a supposed grower. The problem with that, for me, is that no track here is enjoyable or intriguing enough to invite more listens. Should I want to listen to music that’s exactly like this, but well-written, I’ll just go listen to Lotus for the millionth time.

Amazing!! It's not that strong at first listen but it gets better and better!! top quality material as expected...

I hope they make a more proggy album down the line still, but this is great fun anyway. The title track is insanely catchy.

"The tyrant stares defiant at his feeble prey
But when the weakened unite their strength
Revenge will lit the fire
Burning all our past away"

Soen as always made a masterpiece

Written by TheCrazyGoat on 07.09.2023 at 07:40

"The tyrant stares defiant at his feeble prey
But when the weakened unite their strength
Revenge will lit the fire
Burning all our past away"

Soen as always made a masterpiece

Yeah, I forgot to mention it, I always enjoy Soen's lyrics.

Scandinavian 3 Days Grace.

Written by MetalManic on 11.09.2023 at 00:50

Scandinavian 3 Days Grace.

You've said that on the review now too. There's almost no crossover between these bands, and tbh 3 Days Grace are very below average compared to Soen

Ok but kind of repetive

First listen, a bit disappointing, very safe, lacks any exciting moments, no oomph, I don't know how to say it, I wish it were more entertaining.

Maybe it will grow on me with repeated listens, but I have my doubts.

Written by 24emd on 12.09.2023 at 07:00

Written by MetalManic on 11.09.2023 at 00:50

Scandinavian 3 Days Grace.

You've said that on the review now too. There's almost no crossover between these bands, and tbh 3 Days Grace are very below average compared to Soen

Not even sure how one gets to compare those 2 tbh.

The best thing about this album is the album art. I love how they kept the snake motif of their previous art with the snake-like curved pipe here.

Found this thread on Reddit, and was surprised how everyone is very negative to the album there, while the reactions in here are for the most positive. They mention the use of autotune; is that present in this album? I didn't think about that when listening through it

Written by Fallen Ghost on 15.08.2024 at 13:38

Found and was surprised how everyone is very negative to the album there, while the reactions in here are for the most positive. They mention the use of autotune; is that present in this album? I didn't think about that when listening through it

From my personal experience, I thoroughly enjoyed Imperial and still consider it one of Soen's finest albums to date. When I listened to this album, it didn’t resonate with me as much as Imperial did, and so it with the folks here as well. So, ratings are justifiable.