Album review: Soilwork "Figure Number 5" (check it out, really!)

Soul of Ice

Rusted Angel
Jul 29, 2002
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Well this is the first Soilwork I have gotten because I found this cd at my radio station and decided to burn it. I was stunned by how good it was. I heard some of their earlier stuff and it just did not do anything for me, but this release...wow. So i bought the CD from www.theendrecords.com for $13.50

Im not too familiar with the band so im not going to try and give a backround.

The music: guitars are a bit downtuned, but not really a nu-metal sound with some solos sprinkled in here and there. Generally a heavy driving sound, but still very melodic and catchy (that is the word of the review). Drumming is pretty cool. Double bass used tastefully and so is the snare drum (not a tat-tat-tat sound). Keys are cool providing a nice atmosphere for the music. The music really reminds me at times of old pantera (cowboys and vulgar)

Vocals: not quite death metal vocals, more like hardcore i would say. Very much like Phil from pantera as well. Clean vocals as well sung very well in my opinion. Makes for all an interesting listen with the different aspects of all the vocal approaches used. Very very good vocal melodies.

Lyrics: rhyming - so very catchy, and decently written

Every song is good but definitely stand out tracks over other tracks. Tracks 1-7 are amazing particularly overload, figure number 5, and departure plan. 8-10 are alright but definitely are not the highpoints of the album. Distortion Sleep is the best of those three. But the most amazing track on the whole album is number 11 "Downfall". This song is just very melodic, catchy, sung very well, very cool lyrics and melodies and an amazing chorus.

My one complaint with the album is that it sounds a bit samey throughout, not varying too much. They found a formula and it works for them in my opinion.

i give the album an 8/10

Definitely worth checking out!
 
Yeah, Soilwork are a cool band. I've gotten into them like a few months ago, yet what has kept me from them at first was the "hype" going around. I'm not 100% familiar with the band - yet.

Anyway, "Natural Born Chaos", in my opinion, is the better album. "Figure Number 5" is not as good as expected. The track "Overload" is definitely my fave track off of the album by far. Others: "Brickwalker" and "Departure Plan".
What I miss on this album are strong songs such as "Mindfields", "The Flameout", "Blackstar Deceiver" and "As We Speak".

What I really like about this band is the aggressiveness in the vocals mixed with the overload of keyboards and melodies.

A buddy said a resemblance to Fear Factory was there. I say, when I first listened to the band, the resemblance to the band "The Krupps" sprang to mind.

OT: Icicle... I had massive puter probs, incl. a wrecked monitor... I'm back ;)
 
I think of this album as Natural Born Chaos with half the energy and effort, and the formula is becoming a limiting factor for this band. The traces of nu-metal aren't helping either. That said, there are a few songs like Overload that prevent this from being a disaster.
 
Figure Number Five is absolutely horrible. It's a joke of an album for Soilwork. The Chainheart Machine was the album where Soilwork really got things going, and then they reached a pinnacle with Predator's Portrait but it's been all downhill since then.
 
EXACTLY my thoughts Bastrd. I just got Chainheart a few days ago (listening to it now) and I can't believe the band that put out something this heavy, technical, and energetic would put out something as boring and uninspired as FNF. I thought NBC was ok, but I was really didn't think that was the direction the band was taking. I was way off... I honestly can't find one thing about FNF that I like better than Chainheart or Predator's Portrait.
 
I agree with Bastrd and The Yngster on this... Figure Number Five seriously is the project of Selloutwork, not Soilwork. Both FNF and NBC are very catchy indeed, but don't contain good riffs, solos or good song structures. Very commercial.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommened with sugar on top, Steelbath Suicide, Predators Portrait and Chainheart Machine for all you new fans. Those albums are equipped with everything great melodic death had to offer. Great riffs, harmonizations, SOLOS, and SONGS, and it was just very heavy. You will hear a very different HENRY RANTA, a different PETER WICHERS, a different SPEED, and different OLA...buy those now and download the bonus tracks...chop chop. Long live greatness.
 
Soilwork wrote all the material in a very short amount of time, they claimed that they just wrote what came naturally. This sounds like pure laziness to me. If I come up with the first riff that comes naturally, its not very good. But if I sit down and work at it, I can write much more interesting riffs.
 
I agree with Yngster and bastrd. If you like easy listening melodic metal, this is a very good album, but nowhere near the first 3 albums.
 
if FnF had been released by some other band, NOT Soilwork, i would like it much better, but considering their far better previous releases, FnF is a letdown. they are definately following in In Flames' footsteps