Artist: Soilwork
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date: 4/2/02
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Title: Natural Born Chaos Artist: Soilwork Label: Nuclear Blast Records Release Date: 4/2/02 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
There are three things that I always think of when I hear about this band: 1. they're Swedish; 2. they have consistently come out with quality, forward-looking albums; and 3. I'll never understand what their name is supposed to mean. Maybe it's really Soulwork done in the accent of Curly from the Three Stooges?
"This album is a logical progression from their last." Anyway, this band has received tons of good press since the release of their Century Media debut, The Chainheart Machine. Most of this buzz has been well deserved, as this band has successfully evolved from one of a number of Gothengberg sounding clones to a melodic death metal band with a sound all its own. The introduction of clean vocals on their last album, A Predator's Portrait, opened up their sound a great deal, it also enabled them to find their own niche, which they've continued to expand on this latest album.
This album is a logical progression from their last. Thankfully, they haven't gotten rid of the harsh vocal lines which seems a constant danger whenever a band introduces clean vocals nowadays (It almost is like a disease. A band experiments with some melodic soft singing, and it reproduces and reproduces until it drives the growls out completely. It's like a virus. Or one of your freeloading friends... or Puff Daddy) . But the clean vocals have definitely been sweetened up a bit. They are dominant in many songs, and while they are sandwiched between gutteral barks, they are so catchy (almost contrived) that they lighten the entire work. This album, despite being heavy in a lot of different ways, almost hits like a rock record. This is a hard statement to defend, as there is no doubt that this is a metal album, but the fact is that I just can't shake the fact that it's so catchy that it reminds me of the olden days of pop metal (granted this material is much heavier, but it seems almost as accessible).
"I keep waiting for this album to grow on me... right now it just isn't doing it for me." This album is really flawless in many ways. It is well written, well produced, and well executed. Unfortunately, I find myself having trouble getting on board this bandwagon, because I just don't really like the direction this band is going. I have to respect them, however, for doing something that is truly all their own. I keep waiting for this album to grow on me, and maybe it will, but right now it just isn't doing it for me. I do think I'll be in the minority in this respect, however.
Death's Review:
I loved A Predators Portrait. I found it to strike just the right balance between catchiness in the songwriting and technical brutality in the riffing. With this next effort from Soilwork, Natural Born Chaos, they push things just a step further toward commerciality. This time, the songwriting just doesn't keep up, upsetting the delicate balance of the last record ever-so-slightly yet slightly enough to markedly detract from my enjoyment of this album.
But that's really the only bad thing I can say. The production here is excellent, and the musicianship is outstanding. And please don't get me wrong, these songs are definitely catchy too, but I guess they lack just enough of the edge we heard before to make me care just a little bit less. This is a criticism I can definitely get past however, as tracks like "As We Speak" and "The Bringer" definitely have me banging my head with reckless abandon.
"The production here is excellent, and the musicianship is outstanding."
For those who don't know, how can I describe modern-day Soilwork? Let's try. The whole record is full of downtuned riffs, and the riffs are often accentuated with keyboards or some electronic element. The vocals alternate from death-style to clean and back again in the same song. There is a lot of precision drumming against staccato riffing. And there is definitely an affinity for a more sugary chorus than most metalheads are used to when hearing even Swedish death metal these days. I suppose In Flames is a close comparison, and so is Arch Enemy, but these certainly don't tell the whole Soilwork story. I'm psyched that many members of the MJ team will be experiencing the band live in a couple weeks at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Massachusetts. I expect to be all fired up by the time Soilwork takes the stage, and I expect them to kick all of our asses. Natural Born Chaos makes me confident that this expectation will indeed be met.
"While I don't like this one as much as the last, it still is really good." So while I don't like this one as much as the last, it still is really good.
Hel's Review:
In some ways, there's nothing is worse than the next record from the band whose last album was number one on your top ten list of the year. I feel pressure, and I feel compelled to be more critical. And it's always easy to be critical. But I try very hard to only be critical when criticism is warranted, and I make every attempt to be as open as possible upon my initial encounter. And so it begins with Natural Born Chaos. Lucky you, you get to jump right over listening to it dozens of times with me, to the end.
The clean vocal sections are back, and they have multiplied. This will be a downer to those who hated it, but perhaps good news to those who enjoyed it. Personally, I like the clean vocals best when used minimally, as the death vocals are some of the strongest around. "No More Angels" is my least favorite track, the chorus sounds forced and it feels like they are trying too hard to make it catchy. But really, this is a single valley among an entire range of peaks, a few of which rival Everest itself. Hey, if Soilwork can force a catchy chorus, I can force an analogy, so get off my back!
"The clean vocal sections are back, and they have multiplied." In many ways this is much like A Predator's Portrait, many of the elements are constant. "Follow the Hollow" continues the rhythm and rhyme game they seem to enjoy so much. "As We Speak," "The Flameout," and "Natural Born Chaos" are a staggering trio of sonic melodic death metal delight. While not as every-second-is-magic as their last, you certainly cannot fault them for continuing to push boundaries and discover what works and what doesn't, and nearly all of it works beautifully, thank you.
I still have my first ever live exposure to Soilwork forthcoming, and I clearly recall the insidious nature of the last album, so I cannot discount the notion that this may yet make it into 2002's top ten. To decide to penalize an entire skull for what basically amounts to a single chorus in a single seems rash, so I am electing to chalk that up to a failed experiment and give the rest of the album the score it deserves.
"In many ways this is much like A Predator's Portrait, many of the elements are constant."
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