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The Second Soilwork release of the year, The Early Chapters is a mini-CD released not on the band’s current label Nuclear Blast, but on the imprint that was home to Steelbath Suicide and The Chainheart Machine: Consequently, we get and EP entirely of material from the early, and widely considered best period of the band. The disc’s music had originally been released on compilations and tributes, or as Japanese bonus tracks for the first two albums. Although there is no new music from the band on The Early Chapters, much of the material here has never been available outside of a few countries. A cover of Deep Purple’s Burn opens the mini-album and the band do it more than justice. With a Hammond organ keyboard part, female backup vocals to contrast Speed Strid’s screams, and occasional breaks into speed-metal fury, the band manage to make this not sound simply like Soilwork playing a Deep Purple song, but rather that both bands had collaborated on the piece. Despite the spectacular guitar solo and excellent performances by each member, the song tends to drag after the first three minutes, given that despite it’s near six minute length, it only has three of four distinct parts. One of the highlights comes up next, Disintegrated Skies. This frantically paced death metal song harks back to the Steelbath Suicide/Chainheart Machine era, and it absolutely kills. Disintegrated Skies is everything we miss about the band: the super fast double bass drumming, and guitar solo harmonies. The second cover song on the mini-CD follows. Soilwork’s rendition of Mercyful Fate’s Egypt, taken from the Japanese version of The Chainheart Machine is less of a creative leap for the band, and more a straight cover. Regardless, it is another excellent track. It’s much speedier than the original version, and occasionally substitutes guitars for King Diamond’s insanely high vocal parts. Up next is a demo version of Shadow Child, which would later appear on A Predator’s Portrait as Shadowchild. The production, and Strid’s voice make this version sound as though it came from much earlier in the band’s career. It also has a much darker feel than what it would later evolve into. Closing the mini-CD is a live track of The Aardvark Trail, a song from Soilwork’s debut. Although this is a treat in that none of these songs are performed live by the band anymore, the quality of this particular recording is awful, and can be likened to the treble assault productions of many local band’s first demos. While there are technically only three songs on this release that haven’t been heard in one form or another by most people, those three are true gems of Soilwork’s early career. Given that it can be picked up for virtually nothing, The Early Chapters is a worthwhile purchase for any metalhead. |
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Killing Songs : Burn, Disintegrated Skies, Egypt |
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