Soilwork is back with their twelfth studio album, which represents the band in their growth and their current phase of life, which is marked by a time period that probably no one on this planet will forget so quickly. Unlike the albums before, the creation process of Övergivenheten was very lengthy and a representation of the emotional state of the guys from SOILWORK. Recorded at Nordic Sound Lab in Skara, Sweden again with producer Thomas “Plec” Johansson, who also produced the last two projects, the album was written and recorded over three sessions between January and December 2021. There was no hurry to finish the album, which meant on the other side that the band was able to reflect on their music and savor the process of creating the album.
The band are also set to return to Australia in November so we caught up with frontman Björn “Speed” Strid about it all in our latest interview.
How work on the new album “Övergivenheten” started during the pandemic:
Bjorn: When covid hit we were done with the touring cycle for Verkligheten, our previous album and I sort of welcomed the break – not that I wished for a pandemic to come rolling in – but I needed a break and David (Andersson, guitars) meanwhile was very inspired and had a lot of creative juices flowing so he kept writing and he wrote a lot of stuff and we also released an EP of course “A Whisp Of The Atlantic” which was a nice experiment. That was very much his creation but I needed some time off and was really the first time in 20 years that I stopped and got perspective on things. So it was quite nice, or needed I should say and then the second year that was pushing it [laughs].
On the progressive path the band have taken over the years and how that relfects strongly on the new album:
Bjorn: There’s a lot of variety on the album, it’s very diverse and unexpected twists and turns. I think we have become very good at having a playful approach to our albums and our songwriting and usually some very good things come out and I’m really proud to say that I really feel that we are staying relevent in the music scene, we’re not trying to rehash old sins so to speak.
On memories from previous tours in Australia:
Bjorn: Well it was quite special when I got to bring my Dad with me on tour in Australia, we also went to New Zealand as well and we went to Korea and Japan on that tour and he came with us, that was a special moment. So that was a special father and son trip right there, ebing on tour and my dad was helping out and being one of the crew guys as well so that was fun!
Check out the full interview
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bjRS6HrIi5E
Listen to Podcast version on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KiSax1
Get Övergivenheten here: https://bfan.link/overgivenheten
Get tickets here: https://hardlinemedia.net/soilwork
