The Chainheart Machine - nine tracks of neck snapping Extreme Metal from Swedish bangers Soilwork. Heavy riffs, powerful leads and obnoxious vocals. Ingredients for damn fine thrash metal bordering on Prog with occasional traces of Core, reminiscent of label mates Arch Enemy and Strapping Young Lad. Even Björn "Speed" Strid's harsh vocals evoke the scratchy wailing of Lad's Devin Townsend. Another winner from Century Media Records and one to own for all modern metal maniacs.

The Chainheart Machine attacks the listener with feverish intensity and never lets go.

Need I say more?

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Soilwork, the Band
Wasn't too long ago when Soilwork's first and currently unavailable CD, Steelbath Suicide, fell into my lap. It was unassuming and innocent since I had never even heard of Soilwork. One listen and this headbanger was hooked. Yet I craved more from this band. Lucky for me, Soilwork released their dynamic follow-up, The Chainheart Machine, early in 2000 and after a couple of quick clicks at CDNow.com, the disc was mine.

Soilwork consists of six thrashers: Speed (vox), Peter Wichers and Ola Frenning (all guitars), Ola Flink (bass), Henry Ranta (drums) and Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg (keyboards). They jumped into the fray back in 1997 and released their debut in 1998 which pushed the limits of the "Gothenberg sound" (Arch Enemy, In Flames) to the limits. Hopefully The Chainheart Machine will turn even more heads and break a few necks along the way.

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Heart of the Machine
This album is a sheer display of thundering aggression that never lets up. From the opening words of the title track, you know where this one is going from the outset. Strap yourself in and hang on for a wild ride of frantic thrash metal.

"I am the sledgehammer messiah waiting for sins to be born,
And if you stop for a moment you can hear the machines are playing your song"

Each track is a ferocious exhibition in speed riffing and hellish screaming, each not to be outdone by the former. Imagine a heavier and much faster old school Dream Theatre without the soft melodies and minus James LaBrie's sexy voice. Insert Speed's wicked shrieks; make the keyboards invisible, add an element of thrash, and you have Soilwork's latest effort. And like Dream Theatre, what really makes these songs so appealing is that each can stand on it's own without any vocals. These guys are excellent musicians with a knack for tight and intense compositions.

Song highlights include the stop and go chops of "Bulletbeast" followed by the dual guitar grind of "Millionflame" as Speed shouts, "I reach, I feel you're lost / Millions of Flames in your eyes / I command the gods of time / Make this dream never end."

"Generation Speedkill" assaults your ears with gritty rhythms as the lyrics unravel the power of suggestion entertainment can hold over today's youth. As the name suggests, "Neon Rebels" describes rebellion as the foothold of the future behind a wall of pounding drums and chunky guitars.

"Room No. 99" ends the disc with a galloping jaunt of sweeping leads mixed with disjointed chords and a thumping bassline. A finale of orchestral strings and a chorus of machine guns close the album ending the aggravated experience with the right touch.

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Break The Chains
By the time album reaches the sixth track, "Possessing the Angels," you get the feeling you've heard this before. And that is probably the only downside to this album. All the tracks are so much alike it's easy to get lost and forget which track you're listening to. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy bands simply for their style. Soilwork fills that capacity with the same bum rush of speedy chords and screaming vocals over and over.

I think the next step for this band is to break up some of the monotonous riffing with slower pacing and more accessible singing. Thank the powers that be for lyric sheets otherwise I'd have no idea what they were shouting about. Although The Chainheart Machine continues where Steelbath Suicide leaves off, it only advances Soilwork a few steps forward in terms of providing distinctively new material. I still favor their exciting debut over this one.

Steelbath Suicide is more straight-ahead heavy metal that leans towards thrash. And it's not nearly as angry or in your face as Chainheart Machine is. I hope Steelbath gets re-released, as it definitely deserves attention. Overall Chainheart Machine is a great CD and I recommend it to metalheads who like the modern thrash style looking for something new. It's a staple of the Extreme European Metal sound.

Some of you may recall my fondness for the Century Media label. It's their stable of acts such as Soilwork and enthusiasm towards this genre that keeps me coming back for more. Century Media caters to the contemporary metal fan covering all facets of the style from Death to Aggro to Goth to Power to Prog to Experimental. I encourage all metal fans to discover more of what this label has to offer including Soilwork among many others (www.centurymedia.com).

Cheers!

Track Listing:
1. The Chainheart Machine
2. Bulletbeast
3. Millionflame
4. Generation Speedkill
5. Neon Rebels
6. Possessing The Angels
7. Spirits of the Future Sun
8. Machine Gun Majesty
9. Room No. 99

Ever had a Freak threaten you with a virtual red-hot poker pointed at unmentionable places? This one's for you, baby.

Where's my cookies?





Recommended: Yes