Soilwork have never been a band to do things by halves. In a genre more typically dominated by short, sharp shocks, they dared to pen a monstrous double album (2013’s The Living Infinite); whilst last year’s Verkligheten saw the band open up their style to include instrumental overtures (the gorgeous title track) and an almost progressive sweep, with musical elements resurfacing across the well-sequenced track listing. As such, whilst A Whisp Of The Atlantic may be the most ambitious individual track the band have yet attempted, it is not without precedent and it seems fitting that, in a year of enforced inactivity (at least on the live front), Soilwork should emerge with a piece that expands their remit to a remarkable extent.
Opening with the sixteen-minute title track, Soilwork initially eschew melo-death for a gorgeous, progressive sweep that combines grand piano, clean guitar and synth. Drawing from the likes of Katatonia and Opeth for a beguiling introduction that makes the most of Bjorn “Speed” Strid’s stunning clean voice, the track is a sumptuous, deftly-layered opening that does little to prepare the listener for the blistering performance that follows. Put simply, the expanded palette has done nothing to dim Soilwork’s power. Indeed, if anything, the challenge of developing so multihued a track seems to have lit a fire under the entire band. With the beauty of the introduction giving way to a taut groove that sits somewhere between more typical Soilwork and Slipknot, David Anderson and Sylvain Coudret trade riffs and solos with a dexterity that will have air guitarists in raptures. Yet, just as you have the measure of the piece, so the mood changes again and the toughened metal groove gives way to a passage of pummelling death metal as savage as anything to which the band have yet put their name. It is this remarkable ebb and flow that characterises the piece (and explains the enigmatic title choice) and it is a testament to the artistic vision at the heart of the band that allows coruscating death metal and pitch-perfect jazz passages to rub shoulders with one another without sounding forced or out of place. Hell, I’ll go further, A Whisp Of The Atlantic is hands down the best thing to which Soilwork have ever put their name and one of the most remarkable pieces of music to have emerged this year.
Having utterly decimated the listener, the rest of the EP feels rather more like bonus content. Which is not to say that the songs are weak, but rather a comment on how thoroughly all-encompassing the title track proves. Nevertheless, Feverish is aptly titled, the band attacking the piece like an assault course as it hurtles past in a fraction of its run time. Here, Bastian Thusgaard emerges with the plaudits as he charges around his kit like a man possessed. The string-laden Desperado is very much Bjorn’s, as he tears into the vocal performance with all the energy and authority we have come to expect, and his range has to be heard to be believed as the band unleash a firestorm around him. Death Diviner sees the band peel out an addictive groove, complete with straight-faced synth patches and a Devin Townsend vibe, only for a mid-song Floyd passage to wrong-foot the listener and allow the band to bring it all to a ferocious head in a storm of guitar-led pyrotechnics. The EP concludes with The Nothingness And The Devil, a strident blast that could be described as Soilwork-in-excelsis – with all the melody, power and precision that that band have made their trademark over the years. As such, it feels like a parting gift for the fans that have stayed with the band so long, and it marks a stunning end to a truly brilliant EP.
We all have to make choices when faced with something as utterly unexpected as a pandemic. Do we, for example, hunker down and wait for the storm to pass, or do we adapt to circumstances and make use of the time to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone? In A Whisp Of The Atlantic, Soilwork) have clearly opted for the latter and, in the process, delivered a remarkable piece of music that, frankly, leaves their peers in the dust. Beautifully recorded and performed with such passion and power that it sends the adrenaline coursing through the veins, A Whisp Of The Atlantic is a masterpiece and an utterly essential purchase. 10/10
