Soliloquium - Famine - review
Soliloquium - Famine - review
Tracklist
01. Famine02. 2 A.M.
03. The Healing Process
04. Poison Well
05. Själamörker
06. Weight Of The Unspoken
07. Imposter Syndrome
08. Vigil
09. Porcelain [bonus]
A review by
AndyMetalFreak April 18, 2025
Soliloquium was initially formed in 2011 as a side-project of Stefan Nordström, whose music was influenced by the likes of Anathema, Katatonia, October Tide and Paradise Lost; however, they're now a fully established band who've widened their scope beyond the realms of death doom, incorporating various elements into their style including prog, melodeath, shoegaze, and post-metal, with influences now ranging from those mentioned above to the likes of Swallow the Sun, Ghost Brigade, and Insomnium.
The band now introduces their fifth full-length offering Famine, and joining Nordström (vocals/guitars), Jonas Bergkvist (bass), and Xines (drums) is an array of guest contributions, including Henrik Ekholm, Jari Lindholm, Bianca Höllmüller, Enas al-Said, Chelsea Murphy, and Josep Brunet. Whereas previous album Soulsearching looked forward towards the shimmering light, offering a glimmer of hope and tranquillity through its deeply emotive songwriting and dreamy shoegaze sections, Famine is a bittersweet offering that looks back and reflects on the darkest chapters in your life, allowing for an opportunity to close behind the chapters that you never wish to return to. The general theme also reflects on the personal struggles that Nordström faced during the period of the global pandemic of 2020-2021, a time which he described as being the downfall of his life in many ways. He also went on to explain that Famine captures and conceptualizes the abysmal hopelessness of those two years, and is his way of finally being able to forget and move on.
Famine is quite a lengthy output, with 9 tracks totalling 56 minutes. This is nothing unusual for a subgenre such as death doom, though, which is known for its drawn-out, repetitively structured, slow builds, and deeply emotive songwriting sprawling across dark melancholic soundscapes, which this album has in spades. Musically, Famine takes a step back from the post-metal and shoegaze elements of Soulsearching, and ventures deeper into the band's classic death doom past, but that doesn't mean it's stripped back to the band's foundations entirely.
The title track starts things off in a regular death doom fashion, alternating back and forth between slow and more moderate tempos. The vocals also take the form of both ethereal clean singing and harsh death growls, each emotionally complementing the sections that they accompany. There's a clear influence of 90s death doom here in the deep-toned heavy instrumentation, but I'd also say there's a hint of gothic rock, especially when considering the dark haunting melodic keys and softer sections. "2 A.M." takes a slightly different approach, with a more varied and progressive structure, while featuring some of the album's most memorable moments, most notably a fantastic lead guitar break.
From here, no song sounds the same, although not every song is a hit, despite the diverse songwriting approach compared with earlier releases. There are memorable moments scattered here and there, but overall it seems to lack the consistency of the band's previous albums. There are several underwhelming factors, one being the vocals. Stefan's harsh growls and shrieks are some of the best in the business, but I feel his clean singing has plenty of room for improvement; his raw, emotive passion is undeniable and his style does have a certain dark gothic charm, but it's not his strong suit. Maybe introducing several talented vocalists to accompany him throughout the album doesn't work in his favor, as each of the guest vocalists brings their own special charm to the table.
Famine is melancholic death doom that one must truly feel to understand its concept. With that, it helps to be in the right mood and environment, and come with an open mind if you feel the theme or soundscapes don't reflect you at a specific moment in time.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written on 18.04.2025 by
Written on 18.04.2025 by
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