Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Soen
Label: Spinefarm Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 53:13
Rating: 4/5
Two and a half years after their studio debut »Cognitive«, Sweden’s experimental Soen, one of the most exciting progressive-metal-leaning bands around (though given all the specifics, let’s rather call them art metal), are back with the follow-up, »Tellurian«.
Plenty of music critics greeted the debut »Cognitive« with mixed feelings, and the band repeatedly fell victim to relentless comparisons with America’s Tool. The band cites Tool as an inspiration, but their own sensibility is clearly far from it, which gives Soen a pedigree of unmistakable sonic and stylistic identity! »Tellurian« is a new step in which Soen dig even deeper into what makes them unique.
On »Tellurian« (which translates as »earthly«), the band has loosened up the arrangements even further and beefed up the progressive streak of their experimental, exploratory side, which was already clearly audible and front and center on their studio debut. The contrasts are pushed even harder here: on one side, motifs inherited from Scandinavian melodic death metal; on the other, an ambient, cerebral drift generated by the sweetness of calmer passages, with Joakim Ekelöf’s starkly melancholic, gazing-inward, coldly detached yet constantly »softly caressing« vocals at the center. The perpetually overbooked bass guru Steve DiGiorgio had to bow out of working with Soen this time, and his shoes were filled by Swedish bassist Stefan Stenberg, who did a great job — you honestly don’t feel the absence of the otherwise exceptional DiGiorgio.
The melancholic atmosphere is dark and brooding! In the calmer passages it likes to evoke the moods of bands like Poland’s Riverside, thanks to the choice of lead melodies by singer Joel Ekelöf, especially in the quieter moments, like the opening chorus melody of Tabula Rasa. This kind of musical kinship in how Ekelöf builds his vocal lines can also be compared to Steven Wilson’s solo work, while the link to the band’s »mother ship« Opeth is audible throughout. The imprint of inspiration from Tool is still there, but you can’t accuse the band of “ripping off” anyone.
»Tellurian« is basically a jazzy, metalized upgrade of the artistry shown on the band’s debut. Soen build on their recognizable stylistic sound, which can be traced back to the final era of Lopez’s time in Opeth. So we’re talking about a radically »softened« and »loosened up« version, conceptually derived from Opeth’s musical legacy of about ten years ago. Somewhere around the time of »Ghost Reveries«. That also answers why Lopez actually had to leave Opeth, who, unlike Soen with their occasionally extremely snarling barbs of riff-driven takeover of the sonic space (an element naturally inherited from the death metal tradition of Scandinavia), have over the past three years turned into purists of progressive rock revivalism, with a completely different musical direction.
On »Tellurian« Soen have added a few things they hadn’t tried before. The backdrop is especially richer, with extra keyboard arrangements. Worth singling out are the ambient veils of mellotron sound (The Words), which push the contrasting flow between moods even further, dictated by the experimental fusion of heavy structures and a drift through cerebral, inward-looking, soft and sweet-sounding passages. The interplay and awareness among the musicians is outstanding, and the album has the clear character of fully realized musical artistry. The production is filigree-detailed, the building blocks of the sound sit in a cleverly defined balance within the sonic picture and are crisply highlighted throughout. In contrasting the sonic picture on the new album, Soen made use of the space especially within the calmer passages, which they effectively filled with organic-sounding acoustic layers, while Lopez’s role as percussionist at such moments is the expected temptation of prog-rock adventures.
»Tellurian« is an album written in highly sensitive artistic brilliance, created by seasoned musicians with a fully formed musical direction and vision. It’s a new, ambitiously measured evolutionary step forward for the band, unfolding through a cascade of unexpected atmospheric turns. This provocative swell of motifs and swing of moods rests throughout on the progressive polyrhythms of Martin Lopez’s jazzy exploration. Ekelöf remains the central magnet, whose attractive and distinctive vocals instantly pull the listener into the band’s musical vision. »Tellurian« is a gorgeous album full of perfected melodies, ambitiously and experimentally loosened up with the exploratory value of progressively and technically complex musical figures. This approach is bound to thrill every music purist and gourmet looking for musical perfection, unusual expression and the allure of artistic provocation.
Line-up
Joel Ekelöf – vocals
Kim Platbarzdis – guitar
Stefan Stenberg – bass
Martin Lopez – drums, percussion
Production
Joakim Platbarzdis
Tracklist
1. Komenco
2. Tabula Rasa
3. Kuraman
4. The Words
5. Pluton
6. Koniskas
7. Ennui
8. Void
10. The Other’s Fall
