Soilwork - 26/02/2004 - Whelan's, Dublin

[Bleakest Harvest]

Soilwork - 26/02/2004 - Whelan's, Dublin
Support from The Forsaken
By Paddy Walsh

On record I have always found Soilwork to be a mixed bag. While they have penned many an infectious and well crafted Swedish Melo-death song in their time, their recent output has left me somewhat cold. Those Maidenesque lead guitars coupled with thrashy riffs of old seem to be have been banished in favour of more accessible fare. All the same, I figured that perhaps it was in the live circuit that their new recordings would shine, as was the case for many a band before them.

Openers The Forsaken had the not so simple task of winning over a crowd consisting of metal's younger demographic with their altogether more brutal rendition of the Swedish death metal blueprint, and they succeed in this task admirably. Although I'm not familiar with them on record, they put in a solid performance on the night, with a good and heavy sound which seemed to do justice to their material. Best described as a less melodic, and more straightforward Swedish death metal band than the headliners, their songs may not have catchy choruses, but are quite headbangable all the same. Closing with a decent cover of Metallica's 'Blackened' (complete with shit snare drum sound for authenticity!), I was left reasonably satisfied by their performance.

Onto the headliners, Soilwork. My aforementioned indifference to their latest offering Figure Number Five was to prove crucial tonight, as they opened their set with the rather lacklustre title track. They then decided to spend most of their set playing songs from that, and previous long-player Natural Born Chaos (which is at least somewhat better). Soilwork don't seem concerned with revisiting the past, which can either be viewed as admirable (a band refusing to pander to the older fans) or risible (a dismissal of their core values). The latter would be perhaps a bit harsh, for they did revisit their back catalogue occasionally with the brilliant 'Million Flame' and 'Bastard Chain'.

However, I can't shake the feeling that there was something else lacking from Soilwork’s performance, and after a while I think I managed to figure out what it was. While their sound was pretty much crystal clear throughout, and their performance virtually flawless, the heaviness of their material failed to shine through, leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste. Even for a band whose recorded output is a bit on the light side you can usually rely that it will sound heavier, and thus more satisfying, live. Not so with Soilwork. It all sounded a tad clinical to these ears, but am I being a bit unfair? I don't think so, for when I go to see a group live, I like to feel like I am getting the band in all its raw glory. Soilwork unfortunately came across as somewhat sterile, although the crowd rather predictably lapped up every second of it. A solid but uninspiring performance.