Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, the band was originally known as Inferior Breed. In late 1996, they changed their name to Soilwork, which means "working from the ground up".
Singer Björn StridGuitarist Sylvain CoudretKeyboardist Sven KarlssonBassist Rasmus EhrnbornFormer bassist Markus Wibom
History
Early years (1995–2000)
The band was formed in late 1995, originally under the name Inferior Breed. Their sound, as explained by "Speed," was influenced by bands such as Pantera, Meshuggah, and Carcass.[3] Upon changing their band name to Soilwork in late 1996, they began to develop a more melodic sound.[3] Soilwork started work on a demo entitled In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake. Before the recording could take place, bassist Carl-Gustav Döös left the group, leaving guitarist Peter Wichers to handle the bass tracks on the demo. In a chance encounter, Soilwork met Michael Amott of Arch Enemy fame, who owned a record store in Helsingborg and was given a copy of their demo.[3] This ultimately led to the band signing with Listenable Records. The band underwent significant changes, which included the arrival of the guitar mastery of David Andersson.
In 1998, Soilwork added keyboardist Carlos Holmberg and bassist Ola Flink. The band recorded and released their debut album, Steelbath Suicide, in May of that year. Soon after, guitarist Ludvig Svartz and drummer Jimmy Persson left, citing "different musical opinions".[4] Persson (now guitar and vocals in Faithful Darkness) was replaced by Henry Ranta, while Svartz was replaced by Peter Wichers' uncle, Ola Frenning.[5] The band toured throughout Europe in support of the album, sharing the stage with bands such as Darkane, Naglfar, and Krisiun.
In 1999, Soilwork recorded their second full-length album, The Chainheart Machine, which was released later that same year. The album received critical acclaim and eventually led to a recording contract with Nuclear Blast, allowing the band to tour with acts such as Defleshed, Cannibal Corpse, and briefly with fellow melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity.[6]
Rise to popularity (2000–2006)
In 2000, after exhausting themselves with touring, Soilwork returned to the studio to record their third full-length album, A Predator's Portrait. The release was well received and brought Soilwork to the forefront of the melodic death metal scene, alongside label mates In Flames.[7] The band performed at Wacken Open Air that year and toured extensively with Annihilator and Nevermore.
Following up on their success, Soilwork entered the studio again in late 2001 to record the follow-up to A Predator's Portrait with Devin Townsend and Fredrik Nordström.[8]Natural Born Chaos was released in early 2002, to much acclaim as well.[citation needed] Soilwork toured throughout Europe to support the album and, for the first time, throughout the United States—first with bands Hypocrisy, Scar Culture, Chimaira, Unearth, and Killswitch Engage during the summer,[9] and then alongside label mates In Flames during the fall.[10] After touring, they began writing and recording their fifth album.
In December 2002, Soilwork entered the studio to begin recording their fifth album.[11] After recording, the band began a European tour with Children of Bodom and Shadows Fall throughout April and May.[12] That same month, Figure Number Five was released. In early June, drummer Henry Ranta left the band to focus more on his personal life and was replaced a week later by Richard Evensand.[13] The band then embarked on another North American tour with In Flames, Chimaira, and Unearth.[14][15] In September, Soilwork toured Japan with Children of Bodom.[16] Merely days after a short mini-trek through Japan, Soilwork also toured Australia briefly.[17] Later that year, they again toured North America with Chimaira, As I Lay Dying and Bleeding Through.[18] After the tour, Richard Evensand left the band to replace drummer Andols Herrick, who had recently left Chimaira.[19] Soilwork initially announced his temporary replacement as Dirk Verbeuren of Scarve.[20] Verbeuren would later become the full-time replacement.[21] In early 2004, singer Björn "Speed" Strid laid down tracks with Italian melodic death metal band Disarmonia Mundi.[22] During April, the band announced that it had extended its contract with record label Nuclear Blast Records.[23] That same month, the band again toured Australia alongside Anthrax, Embodiment 12:14, and Killswitch Engage. In mid-2004, Soilwork toured Japan for a second time alongside Dark Tranquillity.[24]
Soilwork entered Dug Out Studios on September 14, 2004, to begin recording their sixth full-length album, Stabbing the Drama. A week later, the band switched venues and recorded at Fascination Street Studios.[25]Stabbing the Drama was released in early March 2005. The album entered the Finnish charts at number 19 and the Swedish charts at number 14.[26] The band also began to experience minor commercial success in the United States. Stabbing the Drama reached No. 12 and No. 21 on the Billboard Heatseeker and Independent album charts, respectively.[27] The band participated in the 2005 Ozzfest, performing on the second stage.[28] In November, the band toured the United States with Fear Factory.[29] In late 2005, guitarist Peter Wichers left the band due to tour exhaustion and other personal issues.[21] The same month, Strid announced he was working on a second album with Disarmonia Mundi.[30] In May 2006, Daniel Antonsson was announced as the replacement for Peter Wichers.[31] Soilwork spent the summer appearing at festivals throughout Europe. In September, they toured the UK and Turkey.[32] The band later canceled the Turkish dates due to terrorist attacks and bombings that had recently occurred against tourists there.[33] In October, the band toured North America with Darkest Hour, Mnemic, and Threat Signal.[34][35]
Transitional period and continued popularity (2007–2015)
In early March 2007, Soilwork began recording tracks for their seventh album, Sworn to a Great Divide[36]. Late in June, Ola Frenning announced that the album was complete.[37] Soilwork toured in the fall alongside Caliban, Sonic Syndicate, and Dark Tranquillity on the 'Eastpak Antidote' tour.[38] The album was released on October 19, 2007, through Nuclear Blast. The album featured a sound closer to thrash than their previous works, though still incorporating their signature synth elements. The band also took part in an American tour with co-headliners Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage, as well as DevilDriver. The tour began on November 28, 2007, at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts, and concluded at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on December 17, 2007. Dubbed The Clash of the Titans Tour 2007, the tour made a stop at the Nokia Live Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX, on December 8, 2007, to perform for the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. On February 12, 2008, an official statement was posted on Soilwork's website announcing that Ola Frenning and the band had parted ways. His replacement was Sylvain Coudret. In another statement on September 18, 2008, it was revealed that guitarist Daniel Antonsson would be replaced with the return of former guitarist and founding member Peter Wichers, and that Sylvain Coudret of Scarve, who had been performing session work as the second guitarist during the 2008 Summer festivals, became the band's permanent guitarist.[39]
The band returned to the studio in early 2010 to write and record their eighth album, with Strid announcing in a MySpace bulletin on January 22, 2010, that the new album would be titled The Panic Broadcast.[40] On June 30, 2010, the The Sledgehammer Files: The Best of Soilwork 1998–2008 greatest hits compilation album was released, followed shortly by the band's new album, The Panic Broadcast, on July 2 in Europe and July 13 in North America.[41]
On June 26, 2012, Soilwork announced that Peter Wichers had left the band for the second time. Following his departure, Wichers was replaced by David Andersson.
During a 2011 tour, Strid began considering the band's next album as a double album. He sought to challenge himself, opting to release a double album rather than a single one after Wichers' departure. He also aimed to demonstrate that the band could still produce a great album without one of their main composers. By the end of the year, Strid had written two songs and began collaborating with the band in March 2012. Soilwork announced they would begin recording on August 23, 2012.[42]
The album, titled The Living Infinite, was released on February 27, 2013, in Asia, March 1 in Europe, March 4 in the UK, and March 5 in North America.
On September 24, 2014, Soilwork released an EP, Beyond the Infinite, exclusively in Asia. The EP features 5 unreleased tracks from the band's The Living Infinite album sessions.
On December 5, 2014, Soilwork frontman Strid confirmed that work had begun on a new album when he posted a picture on Facebook of himself listening to new demos.[43] Strid also stated that Soilwork were sounding "better than ever".[43] It was also confirmed that Soilwork had teamed up with Testament frontman Chuck Billy's Breaking Bands LLC management company for the album.[43]
In June 2015, Soilwork announced that longtime bassist Ola Flink had parted ways with the band and would be replaced by new bassist Markus Wibom.[44]
Soilwork supported Soulfly on their 2015 We Sold Our Souls to Metal Tour. Decapitated and Shattered Sun also joined the tour, which was scheduled for a 27-concert trek beginning on 30 September and concluding in Albuquerque, NM on 30 October.[45][46][47][48] Then, Soilwork went on a European tour as headliners with HateSphere and French band T.A.N.K.
Departure of Dirk Verbeuren, death of David Andersson and more albums (2016–present)
On 15 July 2016, it was announced that longtime drummer Dirk Verbeuren had left the band to join Megadeth.[49]
On 19 August 2016, Soilwork released a compilation album, Death Resonance, which featured a number of B-sides and rarities from five of their previous albums in addition to two new songs.[50]
On 11 January 2019, Soilwork released Verkligheten, their first album with new drummer Bastian Thusgaard, and their first album in nearly four years.[51][52] On 14 June 2019, the band officially released the Underworld EP, which consists of bonus tracks previously available only on physical editions of the band's recent Verkligheten album.[53]
On 4 December 2020, Soilwork released an EP, A Whisp of the Atlantic, which is composed of songs the band recorded and released from late 2019 to mid 2020, along with the ambitious 16-minute title piece that opens the EP.[54]
Soilwork announced in early 2022 that bassist Rasmus Ehrnborn had officially joined the band and contributed to the band's twelfth studio album, Övergivenheten, which was released on 19 August 2022.[55]
On 14 September 2022, it was announced that guitarist and songwriter David Andersson, who had been with the band for 10 years, passed away at the age of 47.[56] Touring guitarist Simon Johansson, who had been performing with the band since 2019, was made a permanent member on 13 March 2023.[citation needed]
