Soilwork - "Death Diviner"

        It pains me to admit it, but I was late to the Soilwork party. When Verkligheten was released is roughly when I hopped on board. Even to this day, you can probably find me playing air guitar to "When The Wolves Are Back In Town" when I'm attempting to make dinner. The biggest shame is I haven't found the time to jump into their back catalog (which is 11 albums thus far) as deeply as I'd like. I was pleasantly surprised to come upon this track, which is the closing track to a new release titled The Feverish Trinity. The band describes this trinity as: "[celebrating] the Babylonian Death Goddesses that once made the world a more feverish and exciting place." There's a trailer titled "Behind The 'Feverish' Trinity (OFFICIAL TRAILER)" which can be viewed here. It promises to be quite enjoyable for Soilwork fans. 

Today we'll be focusing on the (seemingly) last track of this project, "Death Diviner". The intro immediately took me back to riffs written by Tool, which for this writer wasn't too exciting. But as the rest of the band filtered into the mix, it shifts from "Jambi"-esque/"Lateralus"-esque to something that feels very much like Soilwork. With the backbone of the bass line and the punchy drums "Death Diviner" gets the head bouncing. The vocals are excellent. They sit in the mix perfectly, even during that huge chorus. The solo at ~3:39 is excellent as well.

        Were I to be honest, the thing I really enjoy about this track is that it feels like a Doom Metal track sped up. The riffs, vocals, and that somber middle section starting at ~3:03 give this song a definite Doom feeling were it to be performed slower. Don't get me wrong, I think the song definitely works as it is, and should remain that way, but there are elements that take me to the land of Doom, which is of my favorite genres. That's one of the things I've grown to enjoy from Soilwork, they thread the needle between genres tastefully. A little smear of Thrash here, a dab of Doom over there, and a little brush of Groove tucked in the back, and yet it still feels like a very honest offering from a well-established band. It keeps them sounding fresh without taking away anything (at least from the perspective of a newer fan). 

        The lyrics are pretty great as well, opening with "got my blessings from a death diviner. Cut my shackles with the force of life that slipped away oh, and left me drained." It starts the track off with a great hook. The contrasting ideas of blessings from a being of death, and being freed by something that drains away life force is worth mentally chewing on. What I really enjoyed though, was the chorus: "When the skies remained an empty threat above me, but the weight of everything that came to pass brought me down to kneel before the death diviner in the hopes she would make me free at last." Back by some pounding double kick drums, this chorus caught my attention. I look forward to listening to the previous two tracks to gain more context for these lyrics.

        As of writing this, there doesn't appear to be an official release available, but the band hinted that it should be coming soon in the comments of the YouTube video: "Thanks everyone for checking in during the premiere! We are so happy that you like Death Diviner 🙏🏻 Stay tuned for exciting news soon... ✌🏻" If this track piques your interest, stay tuned for more.


You can find the video for this song here
You can find Soilwork's website here
Soilwork's Twitter is here


        I'd also like to add two honorable mentions for you to check out. If you're into Doom Metal, Sorcerer has a new track out called "Age Of The Damned" and you can find it here. There's a strong Candlemass vibe to it and it's definitely worth checking out. If you're into Hardrock/Sludge Valkyrie has a new track out via Relapse Records titled "Feeling So Low" that can be found here. Valkyrie features former Baroness guitar player and vocalist Pete Adams, and this track is also worth a listen.