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Soilwork are a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. Formed in 1995, the group originally consisted of vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid, guitarists Peter Wichers and Ludvig Svartz, bassist Carl-Gustav Döös, and drummer Jimmy Persson. The sole constant member is Strid, who is joined in the current lineup by keyboardist Sven Karlsson (since 2001), guitarist Sylvain Coudret (since 2008), drummer Bastian Thusgaard (since 2016), bassist Rasmus Ehrnborn (since 2022) and guitarist Simon Johansson (since 2023).
Soilwork formed in late 1995, [1] originally under the name Inferior Breed. [2] The band's initial lineup featured vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid, guitarists Peter Wichers and Ludvig Svartz, bassist Carl-Gustav Döös, and drummer Jimmy Persson, [3] although Döös left before the band had recorded. [4] After releasing their first demo In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake, the band were joined by new bassist Ola Flink and their first keyboardist Carlos Holmberg for the recording of their debut album, Steelbath Suicide . [5] Svartz and Persson were subsequently replaced by Ola Frenning and Henry Ranta, respectively, for the recording of 1999's The Chainheart Machine and 2001's A Predator's Portrait . [6] Just before the recording of the band's fourth album Natural Born Chaos in late 2001, Holmberg was replaced by Sven Karlsson. [3]
In June 2003, shortly after the release of Figure Number Five , Ranta left Soilwork to "dedicate more time to his personal life". [7] He was replaced for the rest of the year by Richard Evensand, [8] who toured with the group until leaving in January 2004 to join Chimaira. [9] He was replaced the next month by Dirk Verbeuren, initially on a temporary basis, before he became a full-time member in December 2005. [10] The new lineup released Stabbing the Drama in early 2005, before Wichers left that December, claiming that he was "worn out from all the touring". [11] The guitarist was replaced for a string of European festival appearances in spring and summer 2006 by Daniel Antonsson, [12] and later for shows in the UK in September by Andreas Holma. [13] A third guitarist was trialled during shows in the US towards the end of the year, [13] before Antonsson took over permanently in time for the recording of Sworn to a Great Divide in early 2007. [14] Also in the summer, Peter Wildoer had been forced to substitute for Verbeuren for a few shows. [15]
In February 2008, the band announced they had parted ways with Frenning, claiming that he "resisted the demands of the road and found it difficult to come to terms with the amount of touring scheduled". [16] For shows following the lineup change, Frenning was temporarily replaced by David Andersson followed by Sylvain Coudret. [17] [18] That September, the band announced the return of Peter Wichers, who took his place in the lineup back from Antonsson, with Coudret taking Frenning's place on a permanent basis at the same time. [19] The new lineup released The Panic Broadcast in 2010, before Wichers left for a second time in June 2012 due to "creative differences". [20] He was replaced by David Andersson, who had filled in for Wichers during a string of shows in the spring of 2011 (which eventually led to his departure). [21]
With new guitarist Andersson, Soilwork released The Living Infinite in 2013 and Beyond the Infinite in 2014, before announcing the departure of Flink after 18 years in June 2015. [22] He was replaced for the tour in promotion of The Ride Majestic by Markus Wilbom. [23] The following July, Verbeuren also left Soilwork to take over as Megadeth's drummer, with Bastian Thusgaard taking over in a touring capacity. [24] He became a permanent member in April 2017. [25] In January 2017, Taylor Nordberg took over from Wibom on bass, [26] who had left late the previous year to focus on "other commitments". [27] The band's 11th album Verkligheten followed in 2019, before Rasmus Ehrnborn joined as their first full-time bassist since 2015 in January 2022. [28] Ehrnborn debuted on Övergivenheten , which was released in August 2022. [29]
In September 2022, David Andersson died aged 47. [30] The following March, Soilwork announced their return with new guitarist Simon Johansson, who had filled in for Andersson at shows since 2019. [31]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Björn "Speed" Strid | 1995–present | lead vocals | all Soilwork releases | |
Sven Karlsson | 2001–present | keyboards | all Soilwork releases from Natural Born Chaos (2002) onwards, except The Early Chapters (2004) | |
Sylvain Coudret | 2008–present (touring 2008) | guitars | all Soilwork releases from The Panic Broadcast (2010) onwards | |
Bastian Thusgaard | 2017–present (touring 2016–17) |
| all Soilwork releases from Verkligheten (2019) onwards | |
Rasmus Ehrnborn | 2022–present |
| Övergivenheten (2022) | |
Simon Johansson | 2023–present (touring 2019–23) | guitars | none to date |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Wichers |
|
|
| |
Ludvig Svartz | 1995–1998 | guitars |
| |
Jimmy "Judas" Persson | drums | |||
Carl-Gustav Döös | 1995–1997 | bass | none | |
Ola Flink | 1997–2015 | all Soilwork releases from Steelbath Suicide (1998) to Live in the Heart of Helsinki (2015) | ||
Carlos Holmberg | 1997–2001 | keyboards |
| |
Ola Frenning | 1998–2008 | guitars | all Soilwork releases from The Chainheart Machine (1999) to Sworn to a Great Divide (2007) | |
Henry Ranta | 1998–2003 | drums | all Soilwork releases from The Chainheart Machine (1999) to The Early Chapters (2004) | |
Richard Evensand | 2003–2004 | none | ||
Dirk Verbeuren | 2004–2016 | all Soilwork releases from Stabbing the Drama (2005) to The Ride Majestic (2015) | ||
Daniel Antonsson | 2007–2008 (touring 2006) | guitars | Sworn to a Great Divide (2007) | |
David Andersson | 2012–2022 (touring 2008, 2011; died 2022) |
| all Soilwork releases from The Living Infinite (2013) to Övergivenheten (2022) | |
Markus Wibom | 2015–2017 (touring only) | bass | none | |
Taylor Nordberg | 2017–2022 (touring only) |
|
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Wildoer | 2006 | drums | Wildoer filled in for Dirk Verbeuren at three shows in the summer of 2006 due to "increased flight costs". [15] | |
Andreas Holma | guitars | Holma performed a string of shows in the UK while the band was auditioning for Peter Wichers' replacement. [13] | ||
Morten Løwe Sørensen | 2008 | drums | Sørensen filled in for Dirk Verbeuren at two shows in Estonia and Latvia in February 2008 due to "visa issues". [32] |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
1995–1997 (as Inferior Breed until 1996) |
| none |
1997 |
|
|
1997–1998 |
|
|
Late 1998–late 2001 |
|
|
Late 2001–June 2003 |
|
|
June 2003–January 2004 |
| none |
February 2004–December 2005 |
|
|
March–August 2006 |
| none |
September 2006 |
| |
October–November 2006 |
| |
Early 2007–February 2008 |
|
|
February–April 2008 |
| none |
May–August 2008 |
| |
September 2008–June 2012 |
|
|
June 2012–June 2015 |
|
|
June 2015–July 2016 |
|
|
July 2016–January 2017 |
| none |
January 2017–January 2022 |
|
|
January–September 2022 |
|
|
March 2023–present |
| none to date |
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, the band was originally known as Inferior Breed. In late 1996, they changed their name to Soilwork, which means "working from the ground up".
Steelbath Suicide is the debut studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It was released on 20 May 1998 through Listenable and Century Media labels. It is the only album to feature guitarist Ludvig Svartz and drummer Jimmy Persson.
The Chainheart Machine is the second studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It is the first Soilwork release to feature guitarist Ola Frenning and drummer Henry Ranta.
A Predator's Portrait is the third studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It was released on 19 February 2001, and was reissued on 15 October 2013 in the U.S. and 18 October 2013 in Europe. This is the last album to feature Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg on keyboards. According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album sold 6.326 copies in the US as of 2002.
Natural Born Chaos is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album sold 2.267 copies in the US as of 2002.
Figure Number Five is the fifth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. The record was released on 22 April 2003 through Nuclear Blast label. On this release, the band introduces more elements of alternative metal into their melodic death metal style. This would be the last album with Henry Ranta on drums before he left the band after its release.
Stabbing the Drama is the sixth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. The record was released on 28 February 2005, via Nuclear Blast label.
Dirk Verbeuren is a Belgian musician and the current drummer of American thrash metal band Megadeth, amongst other projects. He previously was a member of the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork.
Sworn to a Great Divide is the seventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. The album was released on 19 October 2007 for Europe and on 23 October 2007 for the US, both through Nuclear Blast. Everything aside from vocals was recorded at Not Quite Studios in Helsingborg. This is the only album to include Daniel Antonsson on guitar who replaced founding member Peter Wichers after his late 2005 departure. It is also the last album to feature long-time guitarist Ola Frenning who left Soilwork in February 2008.
The Early Chapters is the first EP by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It was released by Listenable Records on 20 January 2004. It features two cover songs of the bands Deep Purple and Mercyful Fate, the original demo recording of "Shadow Child," the bonus track from their second album, plus a live song which was a bonus track from their first album, Burn and Disintegrated Skies are Japanese bonus tracks on their first album, Egypt was a bonus track on some versions of The Chainheart Machine.
Peter Wichers is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and record producer best known as one of the founding members of melodic death metal band Soilwork. From 1995 until late 2005, when he announced his departure from the band, and again from 2008 until 2012 he was the lead guitarist and songwriter, especially on their Stabbing the Drama album.
Out of the Dark is a two disc compilation album from Nuclear Blast Records to commemorate their 20 years as a record label. Produced by Peter Wichers, who is also the only songwriter on the album, it features a variable collection of "All Stars" much in the same vein as Roadrunner United. The album includes 11 different singers, with Wichers playing bass and guitar, and drums by Dirk Verbeuren and Henry Ranta. It also includes a second disc which includes 10 songs from thrash metal, death metal and black metal bands signed to Nuclear Blast. While its "twin" album Into the Light focuses more on the power metal side of the label, Out of the Dark is rather devoted to the genre of melodic death metal.
Terror 2000 is a Swedish thrash metal band from Helsingborg.
The Panic Broadcast is the eighth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, released 2 July in Europe and 13 July in North America, 2010. The album marks the return of long-time Soilwork guitarist and founder Peter Wichers, who also took on the role as the album's producer, though Wichers would leave Soilwork in 2012. The album also features the debut of guitarist Sylvain Coudret who replaced longtime guitarist Ola Frenning in 2008. Mixing was done by Jens Bogren. According to Nielsen SoundScan, The Panic Broadcast sold around 5,257 copies in its first week of sales in the United States. The album debuted at #88 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it their highest-charting album in their entire career at the time.
The Sledgehammer Files: The Best of Soilwork 1998–2008 is the first compilation album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, released in 2010 on Avalon Marquee Records.
The Living Infinite is the ninth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, released on 27 February 2013 in Asia, 1 March 2013 in Europe, on 4 March 2013 in the UK and on 5 March 2013 in the US. It is the band's first double album. It is also the first Soilwork release to feature guitarist David Andersson; founding guitarist Peter Wichers left Soilwork for the second time in 2012, making this the second album to not feature him. This also marks the band's last album with longtime bassist Ola Flink who parted ways with the band right before the recording of the next album The Ride Majestic.
Beyond the Infinite is the second EP by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It was released by Victor Entertainment on 24 September 2014. It contains five unreleased tracks from The Living Infinite sessions and was mixed and mastered at Fascination Street by Johan Örnborg. This release is for Asia only and no plans have been made to release the EP in current form outside of Asia. The tracks have since been included in the 2016 compilation album Death Resonance.
The Ride Majestic is the tenth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It was released on 28 August 2015 and is the first album to not feature longtime bassist Ola Flink who left before the recording of the album and also the last album to feature longtime drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who left the band in July 2016 to join Megadeth.
Live in the Heart of Helsinki is the first live album and video by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It was recorded live on 21 March 2014 at the Circus in Helsinki, Finland. The DVD was produced by Jouni Markkanen, directed by Ville Lipiäinen and mixed by Kimmo Ahola. It was released in 2CD+DVD and 2CD+BD formats.
Verkligheten is the eleventh studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, released on 11 January 2019 via Nuclear Blast. It is the first album to feature drummer Bastian Thusgaard as the replacement of longtime member Dirk Verbeuren. The album's release also marks the longest gap between Soilwork studio albums to date, with their previous album, The Ride Majestic, having been released nearly three and a half years earlier.