Sworn to a Great Divide

Sworn to a Great Divide is a work on which SOILWORK brought together low chugging riffs, electronic processing and the varied singing of Björn “Speed” Strid. The switching between fierce parts and clean melody gives the songs great pull. It is a record that pushed the modern melodic death cultivated up to the previous album even further. On the title track “Sworn to a Great Divide” and “Exile,” “Breeding Thorns” and “20 More Miles,” aggression and catchiness stand in balance. Songs like “I, Vermin” and “Silent Bullet” breathe the band’s full expressiveness too. It skillfully binds a metalcore-like modernity with lyrical, Gothenburg-derived melody. Balancing weight and melody at a high level, it is a rewarding record conveying the band’s fullness.