Soen’s Imperial is a record that pursues some of the changes foreshadowed on Lotus. And that little ecosystem of choices can work well with these adjustments, or it can start to cascade.
Martin Lopez
Soen – “Rival” Premiere and Lotus Review
“Surprise! Today we’re giving you an AngryMetalGuy.com first: an exclusive song premiere! You may have heard the news that Swedish progressive metallers Soen will release Lotus on the 1st of February, 2019 on Silver Lining Music. Well, I’m incredibly stoked to present to you two exclusives today. First, we have an exclusive listen to album’s first single “Rival,” which you’ll find embedded here. Furthermore, to give this song premiere that distinctive AMG feel you’ll find my full length, in-depth review of Lotus below.” Aw, snap! A song premiere!? Soon Angry Metal Guy will be referring to the readers as “little people.”
Soen – Tellurian Review
“Soen’s Cognitive, which was released in 2012, was the band’s debut and it bore a striking resemblance to the work of Tool and, to be fair, A Perfect Circle. Despite this undeniable likeness, the record was chock full of fat grooves, great writing, beautiful vocal performances from vocalist Eklöf and amazing performances from all the musicians—but especially metal’s best bassist (Steve Digiorgio if there’s any doubt) and one of metal’s best drummers (Martin Lopez). I’ve often felt a bit guilty for labeling Cognitive as too derivative, because despite the sound it has been a regular on my playlist since then—and I would hate to be responsible for pigeonholing a band before they had time to develop; great debuts are few and far between.” But the operative question is: can Soen step through Tool’s shadow and come out the other side?
