The Chainheart Machine

The Chainheart Machine isn't so much a major embellishment or evolution upon the style of the debut, but rather a 'tightening' or 'cleaning up' of all Steelbath Suicide's elements into an even more effective array of proggy, thrashy melodic death metal which seems so energized and inhumanly efficient that you'd think they were hardwired to some glowing tank of testosterone. I cannot deny that this album rules and remains one of the best they've ever released, and I think I can pin that down to two specific elements. First, the production is a little cleaner, punchier and therefor more potent than the debut, and while its predecessor sounded fine (and still does), this mix is more able to rein in all the weapons at Soilwork's disposal. Secondly, the new drummer Henry Ranta brings an added level of muscle to his performance which both honors and surpasses his forebear, while contributing to just how pinpoint accurate these tunes are.

Every freaking song on this record puts in the work, throttling you with explosive riffs and melodies, an incessant battery of grooves and fills, and some sort of epic break that makes you want to flail around a moshpit of wire-strung angels, like the point in "Millionflame" where the propulsive verse riff peels away to that groove and the great, controlled leads erupt. Like Steelbath before, it, this one is definitely one of the closer efforts to that Slaughter of the Soul sound that obviously influenced it, and to that end it is quite the competitor with its bevy of more plotted-out, intelligent rhythm guitar riffs, a total modernization of thrash for the 90s and oughts. It's still one of Speed's more constrained performances, but I think here he sounds a little more vicious than on the debut, and also he's mixed a little better. It might be that this would be the first Soilwork album I'd point out if somewhere were pursuing more in that mid-90s popular style, but don't mistake it for a clone, it still goes over the top in musicianship, and so many of the ideas applied to that core death/thrashing construct feel fresh and compelling and remain so to this day, even where it goes into a dumber, bluesy groove like the depths of "Machinegun Majesty" and its screaming solos.

The faster moments on this record even set up to inspire one of Speed's earlier side projects, Terror 2000, which arguable takes the propulsion a little too far, but still itself produced some catchy cuts on each of its records. There are a few points where I'm listening to this one, thinking to myself that this or that specific riff might have helped birth that whole project (though it debuted the same year as this). The synthesizers continue to blend in seamlessly, although I think they are starting to adopt some tones and pads that are more often equated within the prog metal scene. Lyrics are also quite interesting, I like when all these European bands in melodic death or black metal were putting together all these new compounds like 'Chainheart', and that's all over the place with the song titles here and even some of the lyrics, with are otherwise these intense emotional outbursts which fit the modernity of the band's style well. I'd say the downside is that it also bridges them over into the radars of the more nu-metal oriented crowd, to which they did crossover slightly at one point, but quickly re-emerged from. But there's never any question of sincerity, and the quality of the performances and songcraft here really speak for themselves. My second favorite Soilwork album!

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I know it's a little much to give this album a perfect score, but I can't say anything except positive things about it. However, I may be biased because melodic death metal is my favorite genre in metal. They seem to fall under this category early on in their career changing some over the years. But this album is a landmark release from these Swedish metallers. A good follow-up release dominating over 'Steelbath Suicide' and my all-time favorite Soilwork album in their entire discography. The energy is full throttle throughout the whole album. There wasn't a song on there that I disliked.

The title-track, "Neon Rebels", "Millionflame" and "Spirits of the Future Sun" are my favorites. They tune their guitars down to B I believe, and they're fast the whole way through. The energy is rampant. How these guys put forth such an effort on here is amazing. The energy they have and the original riffs. Blast! What a wild guitar extravaganza in these songs just shining in metal glory. Their later releases don't compare to this one maybe a close call is 'A Predator's Portrait'. That's about it, I see this release as flawless. The vocals compliment the guitar whole handedly. There were really no clean vocals at all!

The only thing that was not that substantial was the length of the album. It clocked in about 40+ minutes. I would've had liked to hear more length or more songs on here. It still reigns supreme in terms of originality, precision and uncompromising energy. These guys just suffered a loss in David but he was not featured on here as he joined the band I believe in 2012. What a tragedy, though. I'm surprised that the average scores on here was at 79%. I always liked this album the most but the critics are the way they are, even in my text here. However, I felt that this was a pinnacle release by the band.

I ordered this CD to show further support for the band and music in extreme metal altogether. Soilwork has so many peaks and valleys in their discography I'll always view 'A Chainheart Machine' as their best. The music, the vocals, the leads, and overall sound met perfection. You can doubt me well just listen to the album. The riffs, leads and vocals are sublime. I'm glad that this is a part of my collection. Old Soilwork is dead, long live old Soilwork! Pick this up a physical copy don't just cheap out and stream it. It's a critical time for the band, they just lost a brother, show them gratitude!

An improvement from the debut, 'The Chainheart Machine' cranks up the power and makes a point to be more focused. And there are only traces of it here, but it lays down the foundations for great things to come. Where the debut album merely supplied hefty rations of harmonized melody, at times a little stagnant, this one steers the melodic element towards a more compelling and even redeeming direction. On the title-track opener, the heavy verse riff is now not only abrasive but also intense and commanding and the crescendo buildup throughout the song feels a lot tighter and more efficient than on the average song off the previous release. The pre-chorus seamlessly establishes the melodic bedrock in clear anticipation of a greater moment to come; the epic and majestic chorus; where all the emotion of the song pours out freely. There's a vibrant spirit and special feel to the start of the album already, and it shows the band has honed their craft.

A track like 'Millionflame' also demonstrates enhanced song-writing ability with a harmonized twin lead intro with that Soilwork signature all over it. It's like the melodies are now more descriptive. The pre-chorus is typical of the band's unique sorrowful melody - and so many bands use the exact same methods but fall short of coming up with that dramatic melodic feel these guys manage to always deliver.

The tracks are relatively concise and the average is about 4min over the 9 songs. This gives the album that nice compact format, wherein each track takes a little bit of the listener's time to showcase a thoughtfully crafted intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, solo, and then just move onto the next. The tracks are busy on an album that is undeniably action-heavy ('Neon Rebels', 'Possessing the Angels', 'Machinegun Majesty' of the thrashier type). There's no lingering or needless repetition during the tracks, and the album never feels redundant, which may not always be said about melodic metal generally, where bands sometimes like to beat the listener to death with sections repeating on a loop. Short - melodic, intense - and sweet. Just right.

Of course, there's a strong emphasis on lead guitars whether it's the twin harmonies or the consistent soloing on each track, which perhaps takes a little bit of the focus away from the song-writing and natural flow of the tracks at times. They would be more discreet and selective with that aspect on later albums, but bear in mind this is them at their most youthfully technical. So they're still a tad reckless with their enthusiasm for leads. The soloing could be described as split between neoclassical and pentatonic blues, with original phrasing in between. And to go along with the wild soloing, there's a fairly prominent blues/hard rock influence in the riffs, blatant on a track like 'Generation Speedkill'. The band always seem to have a few of those uptempo, more hard rock-oriented festive tracks on each album so this is just standard practice here.

All in all, this album represents a necessary increment from the debut towards the goal, which is arguably reaching the utterly unique sound of 'Natural Born Chaos' as peak Soilwork. This album compared to the debut is a bit more atmospheric and deep, and produces more emotionally engaging moments where the first was too vague in that regard. It also gives better direction to the melodies. It's still relatively generic overall, with only a few full tracks distinguishing themselves from the status quo in the genre during the year 2000.

Ah, Chainheart Machine. A gem from bygone days.

Picture this: You've heard of Soilwork, the kings of melodeath, and their supposed greatest album, The Chainheart Machine. You want to know how the loud and abrasive sound of death metal can be combined with melody and actually work. So you go and listen to Chainheart Machine.

From the moment the album opens, and the industrial synths lead into the ear-splitting title track, you are presented with the feeling: "This is supposed to be melodic death metal? This is not very melodic!"

Indeed, it is not very melodic during many points. Wichers and Frenning deliver bone-crushing riffs that are simple, but complex at the same time. They're the kind of riffs that make you think to yourself when you hear them: "How did I not write this?" And then, there are the occasional melodic sections, during which the riffs resemble something from a black metal song. A little derivative, sure, but it fits. They are both beautiful and terrible at the same time. And the guitar solos... every time a solo comes around, a certain sadness overcomes you as you realize that Peter Wichers (and Ola Frenning) are no longer in the band to deliver these incredible solos. So it's ironic when possibly the best solo on the album is heard on "Machine Gun Majesty", where Mattias Eklundh shows up to handle lead guitar duties. Still, it's definitely not something to miss. Also, something has to be said for the guitar tone. Holy shit, this might be the greatest metal guitar tone to ever go on tape. It's full of mids, but not so much to where it goes Meshuggah and grates on the ears. It's not full of low end and muddy sounding, like Metallica's "Master of Puppets". It's just... perfect. You have to listen to it yourself to believe it.

On this album, Speed Strid's voice is at its finest. These were the days before he lost his signature scream and became another half-assed metalcore growler. His voice on this album could be compared to a black metal shrieker, but it's not the laughable Smeagol-esque wailing that's characteristic of bands like Gorgoroth. It's high-pitched, to be sure, but it's also tasteful. He manages to preserve his formant spectrum, and you can understand him about half of the time. Also, needless to say, this album is entirely devoid of clean vocals, being made in the era before Strid had to ruin every single chorus with a sickeningly melodic vocal line.

Henry Ranta's drums completely dominate every track. The man is a machine. His precision is unrivaled, and his speed is incredible. His hypnotizing work on the ride bell maintains both timing and tempos that near 240 beats per minute. His drum patterns are complex, but simple at the same time. He relies a lot on old standby metal patterns like thrash and blast beats, but introduces his own stuff too. His drum parts are playable by your average metal drummer, unlike Dirk Verburen's super-thick progressive groove metal patterns. Add Ranta to the list of people that Soilwork will never be able to replace.

Soilwork's abstract lyrical themes have always been incomprehensible, and they remain that way on this album for the most part (with the exception of Bulletbeast, possibly Soilwork's only song with stereotypical "metal" lyrics: "Thrilling! My pulse will go up and YOURS WILL GO DOWN!"). "Generation Speedkill" hints at government propaganda & oppression. Other songs seem to be written from Satan's perspective. Sometimes it seems obvious what the song is about, but there always seems to be a deeper meaning behind it all. It provides for an interesting pastime, though, for you can spend hours poring over the lyrics, trying to decipher meanings. Indeed, the mark of a good poet is when your work is so poetic that nobody else can understand what it truly means.

I've spent enough time talking about what I like about this album, but as all albums must be, there are things wrong with it, too. For starters: the keyboards. It's like they don't even exist. You can't even hear a trace of them, unless there's a specific section devoted to them. Pity. There are some excellent (albeit half-audible) soundscapes on "Generation Speedkill" and "Machine Gun Majesty", and a crunching industrial synth intro to the title track (and also ending the hidden track on Room Number 99). When you do hear the keyboards, though, there's a certain lack of originality as far as sounds go. Pretty much all it is is just a simple sawtooth-based pad with a chorus and wet reverb. So original. The parts are really good, though. What you can hear of them, that is.

Also: the bass. It's like it doesn't exist, either. You can sense its presence, if you will, and if it were taken away, you'd notice, but not once did I hear a single fret slide, string slap, or pick noise. So many metal albums have inaudible bassists, and this one is no exception. I don't see why, though. It's really easy for me to make a bass audible in the mix. There is a breakdown toward the end of "Millionflame", though, where the bass gets a short solo. The tone is horrible. It literally sounds like they just did a DI, put a bit of overdrive on top of it, and then did nothing else. I can see why it's not audible in the mix. Ola Flink is a great bassist, but he never could create a good audible bass tone.

As far as arrangements go, there is a bit of reliance on formulas going on, but at least the arrangements on this album aren't as predictable as the ones on Stabbing the Drama.

Overall? This is indeed a great album. It is literally the definition of melodic death metal. Heavy and full of attitude, but also perfectly balanced with majestic and beautiful elements, too. I believe the phrase I used earlier was "beautiful and terrible". This is Soilwork at their peak, before Nuclear Blast made them into yet another generic groove/metalcore band. It is sad that only three albums like this from this band exist, but we need not dwell on them gradually going farther down the In Flames path. Let us just be grateful for now for albums like this. I enjoyed it. I think you'll enjoy it, too.

... And this one’s supposed to be their best, huh?

Soilwork is what some consider being the Testament of Gothenburg/Melodeath bands; they always seemed to be somewhat of a third tier act, despite many hailing them as one of the most noteworthy groups of the subgenre. To me, they were always one step back when compared to others… In the ‘catchy guitar melodies’ department, they lose to In Flames (of all bands), in vocals, they lose to Dark Tranquillity (and many others, for that matter), in atmosphere, they’re light years away from stuff like early At the Gates and even in sheer intensity (something the fanboys brag about this album), they get their asses handed to them by the likes of early Arch Enemy. So what’s left of Soilwork? Why, one of the best lead guitar departments of the whole subgenre, of course! But I’ll get to it shortly.

See, Gothenburg bands tend to work around a template, a formulae, if you will. Every now and then, such bands will try to figure out a way to build some kind of personality to fit their sound, or even change such sound altogether. In Flames went ‘downtuned Iron Maiden with some dude screaming’ to Melodeath/Screamo/Numetal, Dark Tranquillity went all baroque and poetic only to turn all prog-ish and modern, At The Gates went from doomsday’s soundtrack to become a source of inspiration for sassy metalcore bands, and so on.

Here, these guys basically got the formulae from “Whoracle” (Repeat the goddamn riffs forever and cram some catchy leads here and there as not to induce sleep), replaced the deadpan riffing with some groove/thrash stuff and called it a day.

The problem is: the “intensity”, as people put it, is what kills this album instead of what makes it shine. Almost everything here is fast and thrashing and speedy only to come to a halt for the chorus or solo to chime in, so what’s the point? Vocals also lack variation, with Strid going for a monotonous high pitched scream for the entire album. Say what you will about his cleans, but to endure 41 minutes of incessant ‘yaaarghing’ isn’t that much of a sweet listen either. The drummer sounds a tad mechanical too, but at least he puts some effort when it comes to fills. The bass is... just wait for it... Inaudible (Oh, I wish I could win a penny for every time this gets written).

However, the true saving grace of “The Chainheart Machine” is the aforementioned stellar lead guitar playing. Pretty much every track has a hugely cool soloing section that grabs you way more than the rest of the song. Take “Bulletbeast” for an example; an awkward thrasher that packs an annoying chorus, but man, does that soloing nails it. Another example is “Possessing the Angels”, which is pretty much a slightly less repetitive “Bulletbeast”, but holy crap what an awesome mid-section, and so it goes.

The general feeling is that they took way more time focusing on the powerful leads and half-assed the rest, including the songwriting. I’m sorry but, for me, heavy metal should not work that way. I believe it is clear Soilwork acts best as a unit when they write simple, straightforward songs that don’t meander too much (and they actually pulled it off later on their career, unfortunately at the expense of heaviness and the sweet solos), and almost every song here feels like it could be trimmed a lot. Too much repetition and lack of dynamics reign on this album.

Highlights go to tracks that have a heightened melodic flavor and better songwriting ideas; “Millionflame” being my favorite, packing an awesome (if short) chorus, a kickass intro, a piledriving main riff (that unfortunately gets repeated too much) and a massive lead section, complemented by wicked groove/trad metal riff at 03:17 that had me headbanging. That’s how you do it, folks.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the album suffers from hackneyed ideas and an overall lack of cohesion. Like a drunken rhinoceros running in circles… It is attention-grabbing and intense, but after a while you’ve grown dead tired of it. Not so good for a record that is generally considered to be kickass. Had it not been for the excellent lead work, this would get a 40%.

Highlights: The Chainheart Machine, Millionflame, Generation Speedkill, and pretty much every solo spot.

This review was originally written for http://www.MetalNeverLies.com

The Chainheart Machine (2000) is one of the first, and one of the best efforts seen from Soilwork. A lot of people have lost respect for Soilwork, because they lose a little more of their death metal roots with each release, but not me. I have a few reasons why I'll always respect soilwork, one of those reasons is this CD. If you've only heard this band's newer material, you may be in for a surprise when you give this disc a spin. It's heavier, angrier, and closer to the line of death metal, yet it's still catchy.

That's a winning formula right there: Heavy, yet still catchy. Soilwork pulls off this sound well, especially with this release. Starting with the title track, you'll notice a few things immediately: the vocals are great. The drumwork is pretty interesting (More interesting than a lot of Melodeath drumming nowadays), and the riffs are simple, yet still very enjoyable. If you're a fan of guitar solos, this album features some of Soilwork's best guitar solos of their career. “Bulletbeast” is the next track. It's thrashier than the first track, and the guitar solo is even better. However, it's not as catchy. Still a great song. “Millionflame” for me is the highlight of the album. I love the opening riff and the drumming for the intro. Vocals are great just like the rest of the CD, and it's a song that will make you want to sing along. From about 2:10 up until 3:50 is my favorite part of the song. We get 2 guitar solos (great solos, but not as great as some others on the disc), and we get a cool bass groove. The vocals after the bass groove are pretty wicked as well. “Generation Speedkill” is a great song too. “Neon Rebels” is good for it's catchy opening riff and cool mini-guitar solo to start off the first verse. Well, every song is good on this album, and they change up the sound enough so that the songs don't all sound the same.

“Spirits of the Future Sun” is the a 6 minute long song with more catchy riffs. I would have to say that although Soilwork never had the most impressive musicians, they never failed to write catchy riffs and great songs. “Machinegun Majesty” features in my opinion, the coolest guitar solo of the album. I wish that the band still played guitar solos like they use to because these solos are seriously really cool. “Room no. 99” finishes up the album. It's a slightly slower song than most of the album, but it's still pretty interesting. The chorus is another one of those moments where you'll want to sing along once you learn the words: “Cuz I'm back in Room number ninety nine!” There's a hidden track at the end of the song too, but it's nothing special.

If you've only heard Soilwork's newer material, you definitely owe The Chainheart Machine (2000) a listen. If you're not a big fan of Melodeath, this CD might still be something you would be interested in. This is a great album because it features some of the bands best guitar solos, catchiest riffs, and has a great, thrashy atmosphere about it.

Due to Soilwork's cooperation with In Flames in the clips for Trigger and Rejection Role, I picked up the newer Soilwork first. I loved it, especially albums such as Stabbing The Drama, which is still one of my favorites. Later on, I picked up Soilwork's earlier work, which is also a lot heavier than the rest, which seems to be a trend nowadays, start out heavy, but become softer along the way.

Setting out with the ravenous title track of this album, there is a lot less melody, but it still has this typical catchyness, such as in the chorus of The Chainheart Machine, and the brilliant guitar solo that follows. This is also one of the things I really do miss in the new Soilwork, it still sounds good, indeed, and the music features decent solo's, but as good as the solo's on the old album, especially on The Chainheart Machine, it might never get again. Although, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, as long time guitarist and main composer Peter Wichers has rejoined Soilwork after 2 years of inactivity.

Just at the moment where I thought the solo's couldn't get any better, Bulletbeast kicks in, with an even better solo than its predecessor. Negative is that this song misses the catchy and melodic chorus that the title track did have. The song Millionflame has a nice melodic riff, but nothing notable further on. The next four songs are decent, but nothing special, notable is though, that the length of the songs increases a bit, as the song known by the name of Spirits Of The Future Sun counts a mighty six minutes. Mighty? Well, not that mighty, but I always seem to enjoy long songs better than short ones. Exceptions prove the rule.

After these four, another mighty solo is played in the form of Machine Gun Majesty. But just like Bulletbeast, this song again lacks the melodicness of The Chainheart Machine. Ending track of this album is Room No. 99, which opens with a heavy riff, and seems a bit rawer in the verses than the other songs. The chorus is a bit more melodic than the rest, but not as notable as in The Chainheart Machine. The solo is a lot different from the other ones you can hear on this album, as this solo by far isn't as heavy and up tempo as the rest, but more like a bit of a breakdown.

So for anyone who finds newer Soilwork albums a bit too mainstream(to avoid confusion, I don't!), and like a bit heavier, but with still melodic moments, this will be a good album. For those who are already at their top of heavyness with Stabbing the Drama or Sworn to a Great Divide, I suggest just to stick to those albums, or wait for a new album.

As much as I love to revel in using melodic death metal as my whipping boy for what's wrong with an awful lot of modern metal, exceptions to the rule will always exist. Those who manage to somehow dodge the usual pitfalls associated with their respective genre. Or at least mostly, which brings us to 'The Chainheart Machine'; I know it's hard to believe but once upon a time Soilwork played music worth listening to. This is a great album, not an outstanding one since it's still firmly rooted in the realms of melodic death metal but it definitely has it's shining moments in which the band transcend the mediocrity that is the norm.

The title track is the beacon of light for the entire album and is without a doubt the best song that Soilwork have and ever will write; simple but fast riffing, some furious double bass and drums fills and guitar leads that harken to the days of yore! Even the fruity chorus riff is completely over-ridden by the vocals being ridiculously catchy; "I rise! I rise! You fall! You fall!” Contrary to popular belief, metal isn't always about crafting riffs with about five-billion tempo changes and playing in time signatures that give irrational number fetishists raging hard-ons. This is so insanely simple but effective and is a template that more melodic death metal bands should follow really.

The rest of the album however does feel like it is more or less composed of derivatives of the title track; the same style of riffing is perpetuated from the start to finish but the set pieces within each song are switched up for good or bad. I'd berate Soilwork for being so audacious but I'd rather hear "The Chainheart Machine' repeated nine times then deal with a slew of songs that continuously barf insipid keyboards into your ear canals while Strid whines incessantly as would become the standard on following releases. Songs such as "Machine Gun Majesty" keep it interesting with some tasteful bass drum triplets, another catchy chorus with a crap riff and a dump truck load of trade-off solos; fantastic. "Millionflame" has lead work in the introduction that can only be described as scintillating, not unlike admiring a wall length stain-glass window in the late afternoon.

"Spirits of the Future Sun" and "Room No.99" are the only the only tracks where the formula is deviated from significantly and as such they feel lack-lustre. The former sporting some mediocre riffs which are immediately redeemed with some impressive, if somewhat mid-paced solos traded between the guitarists. The latter is the lowlight of the album simply going through the motions with some groove-based riffery that drags on and on and on... but at least they had the decency to make it the last song thus it avoids cocking up the album's entire flow. It's cute to see them attempt longer songs but Soilwork's strength lies in their instrumentation rather than their song writing which is passable at best.

Well so far I've managed to give sloppy blow jobs to at least a couple of a songs on this album and even the tracks I didn't enjoy were given attention that was positive for the most part. In fact the only discouraging thing I've remarked on was retracted slightly because it made the album no worse or better. So what makes this album less than awesome? The melodies. They're completely forgettable and more often than not they come in between riffs or supply a bridge that leads into solos you'd much rather hear instead which gives them something of a shameful existence. Plus the riff department phones it in something shocking by chucking some awful riffs underneath said melodies only further driving them into the ground.

So when all is said and done 'The Chainheart Machine' is an adequate release; it's the kind of album that will rouse either jubilation or indifference. It's just that inoffensive and simple. I suppose one could find Strid's barked vocals to be trite and grating but who listens to this type of music with the intention of admiring vocal approach, with the possible exception of Demilich? I digress, this is most definitely not the be-all and end-all of melodic death metal but is still worth a spin or two if only to witness a band fall so very far, so very fast.

A real nice album, this is. It opens with its more thrashy-deathy title track, and progress back into the normal genre the band plays in. Nice working thru riffs and such, the guitars seem concentrated and top notch, especially in a genre where bands tend to lay the smack down... simplified. Drumming is excellent, but frentic to cover the riffs. At times it slows down a bit, but it always keeps in pace- never TOO fast or TOO slow, it just keeps at a solid built speed, sometimes slowing to create solos which come out just as well as the riffs they're built on.

Now the vocals are good too, this was Strid's prime. After this he put in too much "Melody" into his vocals- just like how the band began going nuts with the synths, creating less raw aggression and padding it down with heavy keyboards, and not in the Symphonic way, either. But thats a story for another review.

What we have here is more thrash then anything, in remeniscense of Darkane's Rusted Angel, or in my eyes the two sound a good bit alike. Other spots it reminds me of less thrash, more your general melo-death, not saying thats bad, but the band does thrash alot better.

Whether to test Soilwork, or to just go out and get a nice little album to listen to, this is worth it. Find it, buy it, then either love it, or hate it. I'm all set for the former.

Soilwork is one if not the best Gothenburg band IMO and I truely believe they beat the flying piss out of In Flames, the main reason is because they are much more upbeat and, you won't fall asleep to their music. It flows nicely and is never fucking boring which is something that In Flames tends to do alot (moreso with their new shit). But I can indeed see some resemblence in the two respected bands. The main difference between the two is Soilwork has more intense thrash influece than Soilwork. Soilwork still has melody hooks galory which is something that makes them have such a distinct sound. The drumming on Chainheart is also something to be commended on, it just ripps with the best, Henry Ranta sure knows what hes doing behind the kit. The guitar riffs tend to be very infectious as well, they stick in your head like a tumor. Although i'd say this album is not as good as Predators, NBC, or Figure N5, this one is definatly an essensial album for any metal that has an open mind and an open heart. Any intense music fan will love this album, just as I do. The guitar solos are also quite competent, and Speed vocals have never been this angry ever before. Chainheart Machine is quite complex stuff here at times and manages so pass as something along the lines of early Dark Tranquility. Check this out for yourself you won;t be sorry you did.

Best Tracks: The Chainheart Machine, Million Flame, Neon Rebels, Spirits of the Future Sun, Room No. 99

Once every decade or so an album suddenly appears in a genre that has nearly lost its way, and it completely blows away everything everyone else has to offer. This is the case for the 1999 melodic death metal offering "The Chainheart Machine" by Gothenburg based band Soilwork. The talented Swedish sextet assaults our ears with lightning fast guitar riffs, machinegun speed drumming, and emotional howls of rage and pain on a landmark album of epid proportions. This sophomore outing proved that there was hope in the increasingly unoriginal and derivative sub-genre of Gothenburg melodic death metal of the mid to late 90s. While bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity stuck to the tried and true pre-Metallica Black Album riffs, fluffy synthesizer effects, and thrashy growls, Soilwork delivered something entirely new and dark to the floundering scene. "The Chainheart Machine" still stands today as a brutal, intense, fast, and remarkably musical foray into a genre almost extinct.

Lead guitarists Peter Wichers and Ola Frenning are the true driving force behind Soilwork's music, and it couldn't be shown better than on "The Chainheart Machine." Their dual rhythmic attack of soaring solos, inhuman riffs, and raw musicianship really set the foundation for this album, and there has not been an equal performance since. The uncle-nephew duo play a breed of unique metal that sounds like a cross between Joe Satriani's speed and talent and Tony Iommi's dark, heavy style, with some Jimmy Paige blues mentality thrown in for good measure. Songs like "Generation Speedkill", "Machinegun Majesty", and "Spirits of the Future Sun" protray an innovative and original brand of guitar work that is hardly ever found in metal, much less the collective Gothenburg sound. In fact, Wichers and Frenning are more influenced by the pre-Zeppelin electric experimentation of bands like The Who, The Kinks, and even Yes than the late-80s thrashing of Metallica and Slayer, which automatically sets Soilwork apart from every melodic death metal band out there. "The Chainheart Machine" stands as Wichers and Frenning's finest and fastest hour, with riffs and solos flowing at wrist-breaking speeds.

Bjorn "Speed" Strid delivers a great performance on "The Chainheart Machine." His tortured scream is a welcome change in a genre filled with unnaturally low and often times silly death growls. His lyrics are pretty standard angst-ridden ballads about pain and sorrow, except he writes with a poetic flare not too common in a genre that can trace its roots back to an album called "Kill 'Em All." Nevertheless, the almost beautiful eloquence of his lyrics is immediately shot to pieces once he starts screaming, and boy does he scream well. His howling perfectly accentuates the frenetic intensity of "The Chainheart Machine", and would later become a trademark detail of Soilwork's ever changing style of metal. Strid's sense of tonality and musical flow really shine in his inaccessible-at-first-glance vocals. He screams with vindictive passion, often leaving one emotionally exhausted after listening to the entire album. "The Chainheart Machine" does not only show Strid's raw, intense power as a death metal vocalist, but also his more attractive side of poetic lyricism and a skilled, in tune sense of performance.

Henry Ranta's job is tough. If anything, melodic death metal is known for its abundance of super talented drummers, but Ranta does nothing but meet all the expectations, and excel past them. He plays with the ultra-fast brutality of Gene Hoglan and Jaska Raatikainen, but also has a sense of beat and rhythm hardly ever found in all the genres of metal. "Spirits of the Future Sun" is a perfect example of this, as Ranta settles into a high energy, funk-metal groove. The album's title track is another example, albeit a little faster a more death metal-ish. Ranta's unique hybrid of drumming really adds a musical edge to the often harsh sound of Soilwork's music, and "The Chainheart Machine" is a great example of both styles at work.

An unfortunate aspect of nearly every metal band to ever record music is the unrecognized and often times blatantly ignored bass work. Sadly, Soilwork is no different. To experience Ola Flink's amazing performance one must resort to reading the liner notes, and imagining the composition at work. It would be untrue to say Flink's bass work adds to "The Chainheart Machine", considering it's virtually unheard. But he is still amazing, nonetheless, even if his riffs must be experienced on a composition paper rather than through the earphones. Another surprisingly unimportant aspect to "The Chainheart Machine" is Carlos Holmberg's synthesizer. Gothenburg metal, and on a broader scale all European metal, has come to rely on the synth effects and keyboard augmentations to really add to the music. "The Chainheart Machine", however, does not give the synthesizer much attention, often times reducing Holmberg's job to simply adding atmosphere with a few keys or so. The synthesizer is a worthy addition, and Soilwork would later come to use it a lot more. But on "The Chainheart Machine" it's simply a neat, miniscule detail drowned out by the power of the vocals, guitars, and drumming.

"The Chainheart Machine" truly is an amazing work of art. It breathed life into a dying genre, and it still stands up against newer styles and sub-branches as one of the finest metal albums in the history of the genre. It's an intense, timeless, and adrenaline pumping experience through innovative, superhuman drumming, unique vocals, and an amazing and legendary showcase of guitar work.

I like this album. A lot. The songs are everything a metalhead can ask for: thrashy riffs, incredible drumming, insane double bass, very well- constructed and melodic solos, and vocals that are so frightening and aggressive that they make you want to go and hide. The album begins with the blistering "The Chainheart Machine," which foreshadows the excellence that the listener will soon experience. Fans of thrash will take a liking to this album immediately, as a lot of the songs have a tempo similar to this track. The twin guitar nirvana that is Peter Wichers and Ola Frenning could not be better. They don't shred too often, but their solos are so infectious! Henry Ranta's drumming is absolutely off the wall. 'Nuff said!

Next, we have two of Soilwork's all time best songs, "Bulletbeast" and "Millionflame." The former stays true to the thrash formula, and paves the way for amazing leads. "Millionflame" sounds so pleasant (yet awesome) in the beginning that it makes you wonder if they may actually let up a little bit, but an incredibly heavy riff kicks in and is backed by double bass that is again off the wall. Other standout tracks are "Neon Rebels," which contains all the essential elements of a great Soilwork song, and "Possessing The Angels," which simply blew me away when I first heard it. It has one of the best solo sections I've ever heard a Swedish metal band churn out. And when I heard Strid scream things like "Condemn Me! Punish Me!" I was just like, man this is awesome. Finally, "Room No. 99" is also one of my favorites, and it closes out the CD quite well, strong riffs and excellent solos.

But hell, what are you doing reading this review. Buy this album, foo's! And if you already have...um...listen to it!

Soilwork improves a bit on this album - not a lot, just a little. They tend to be at times far more coherent, with entire long passages highlighted by decently understandable riff passages that flow into each other in a way that makes sense. Of course, there is still a LOT of very horribly executed hardcore influence on this album, which makes it no more than mediocre. But, that is what you get when you go Gothenburg. A lot of bad ideas combined with a few good ones.

First, the good parts... they actually have some pretty decent choruses at times. The opening track, "Chainheart Machine", has a great one. "I rise! I rise! You fall! You fall!" They actually got a really good idea of melody in there. Then, throw in the midpaced thrash riff at around 1.41, and .... then of course one will illustrate what is very wrong with the song too: the drum and vocal dominated core-ish passage immediately after it. Note the alternation of good riffage with hideous noise. There is a lot of hideous noise in this album.

Now, the other highlight. The soloing. Holy fuck, sometimes these guys are almost Tipton and Downing. Listen to that main solo in the title track. Fucking nuts. If they pared down the first verse, the random coreish bullshit interlude part, and the kinda boring outro, they would have an awesome song.

Well, kids, it goes steadily downhill after that. "Bulletbeast"'s main solo isn't nearly as exciting, though the riffage under the verses at least manages to carry the song forward, without being all that annoying. Also, the slow part in the middle of the song is kinda detached completely from the fast parts, and just doesn't flow together well. However, there is a nice transition between verses and chorus. "Why! Why!" Not bad.

Millionflame is quite possibly the highlight. Well, perhaps just the intro. This fucking rules - there are no complaints here for the lead guitar department. And even the first fast riff is great as an intro, but as an under-the-verses riff it is not nearly as good. Turn up the drums, put in the vocals, and it gets lost. And then, when the drumwork starts going in and out (make up your mind!) the song loses me. Also, the vocals are quite highly annoying on this album - they just do not make sense when combined with the rather well-done melodic guitars. Very harsh and generally lacking in form and ability to convey emotion - just some distorted barking that takes away greatly from the music. Now, mind you, I have nothing against death vocals, but use them in the proper context please! See: Possessed or something.

From here on, it's really nothing that hasn't been covered before, except for the above average between-verses riff of "Spirits of the Future" - somehow, they crank up the groove and the intensity at the same time, coming up with a riff that is half Iron Maiden gallop, and the other half thrash metal. Nice job, but too bad they can't keep it up. Too often, good intro ideas tend to fade into really bad execution - it tends to be the drum work that masks forgettable riffing... the drums are really turned up WAY TOO LOUD in the mix. Also, the vocals. The guitars tend to get very badly lost when they are not playing leads. A lot of the time, under the verses, it is just a constant rumble. Not good.

Well, it's better than the previous one. There are no really horribly whiney breakdowns (the closest I can think of is the groove riff in the chorus and main solo of Machine Gun Majesty, and that actually works well!), and the sense of cohesion is much better. However the production is much more distorted and harsh, and for this band that just does NOT work. The guitars are definitely not emphasised sufficiently. Also, the songs do tend to completely run together after a while - other than the intros, there tend to be very few really memorable riffs. They should concentrate more on that, and the excellent lead guitar, and perhaps they could have a winner here.