Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast [2010]

Wow, that's a fucking promising start. Pure grind, but not the evil type. There's definitely a style change in "Late for the Kill..." Hopefully I will hear more of the industrial/techno influence that I loved about the older stuff. "Two Lives Worth of Reckoning" continues with great strength; catchy-as-hell chorus and clean singing; strong songwriting; appealing thrash rhythm; still no techno :(. There's a massive focus on fast-moving melodic guitar lines on this album compared to the more subtle guitar work on previous efforts. The aggression seems to have taken a bit of a back seat on this album, though. On STD, most of the songs felt like the listener was being savagely beaten. Whereas this one feels more like intermittent moshing in between holding a lighter high in the sky while singing along. Most of this change can be attributed to the change in the guitar writing style. There's much more rock and rapid-melodic riffing of the benevolent type on this one than the more thoughtful and plotting riffs of old. I have finally gotten my first real taste of that techno influence that I was looking for in "Deliverance is Mine". "Night Comes Clean" and "King of the Threshold" are a bit weak in their writing (even though "KOTT" is fairly powerful in other ways). There's much less fatigue when listening to this album thanks to more variety between the songs than I have previously experienced in a Soilwork album. Quite catchy most of the way through with only a few songs feeling weak. It's not as insane and brutally heavy as it used to be thanks largely to the guitar riffs, but it's certainly some of their strongest writing yet.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.soilwork.org/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Soilwork - Sworn to a Great Divide [2007]

My feelings on this album: I'm not going to listen to it again to refresh my memory of why I hate this album. However, if I remember correctly, the production was a massive leap backwards, the songs aren't the least bit catchy, and it feels like a lazy attempt at carbon-copying what they've done before.

Rating: 3

http://www.soilwork.org/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Soilwork - Stabbing the Drama [2005]

As expected from Soilwork, the album starts on a powerful track. Second track is just as good. For the most part, the CD is full of good songs that are catchy, energetic, and heavy. The production is great. However, some of the melodic choruses feel forced, and there are times when the album starts to feel mundane since there's little-to-no style-variation between songs.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.soilwork.org/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Soilwork - Figure Number Five [2003]

It's a hell of a lot better than I remember it. It does get a little mundane at some parts, but it's definitely not the boring droll that I had previously believed it was. It's got better songwriting than Natural Born Chaos, with good usage of techno leads. It's also heavier and catchier than Natural Born Chaos. Certainly, a better album.

Rating: 7

http://www.soilwork.org/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos [2000]

The start of the album is fucking strong, just like a lot of their albums. Really good and heavy production with cool techno and keyboard usage. First track is great, but frustrating because of the pause in between a few sections that feels completely unnecessary and really breaks the flow. "As We Speak" changes the tone quite a bit to a nicer feel. Slows it down a smidge, too. "The Flameout" has a pretty neat solo section, but the rest of the song feels repetitive and drawn out. There we go, "Natural Born Chaos" is a much better-crafted song. Overall, the album has quite a few songs that feel like filler.

Rating: 6

http://www.soilwork.org/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.