지난 몇 년간 이 '강력한' 음악씬에서 가장 중요한 밴드로 자리해 온 SOILWORK 는 자신들의2001년 작 "PREDATOR'S PORTRAIT" 를 통해 자신들의 돌파구를 마련 하게 되었다. 앨범의 대부분은 격노한 사나움이 담겨있지만 물론 동시에 다양한 음악성또한 보여주고 있어 이들의 정상을 향한 질주는 ANNIHILATOR 와 NEVERMORE 와 같은 밴드들의 서포트 투어를 통해 시작되었음을 의미했고 이들의 공연을 본 모든 이들의 반응은 놀랄 만큼 훌륭했다. 동시에 자신에 있어 최고의 공연은 바로 WACKEN OPEN AIR 2001 이었는데 2만 명이 넘는 관중 앞에서 환상적인 무대를 가졌고, 이들의 관련상품은 단 3시간 만에 모두 동이 났을 정도였다.
PETER WICHERS 와 BJORN "SPEED" STRID 듀오의 천부적인 작곡 능력은 훌륭한 곡들을 완성했고 이들은 마침내 HAMMERFALL, IN FLAMES, DIMMU BORGIR 등으로 유명한 STUDIO FREDMAN 에서 "NATURAL BORN CHAOS" 를 작업하게 되는데, 여기에는STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, STEVE VAI 밴드의 DEVIN TOWNSEND 가 함꼐 프로듀서로 동행 하였으며 이들은 SOILWORK 라는 밴드를 정상으로 이끌 변화의 발걸음을 창조했다. 비디오 클립으로 제작된 "AS WE SPEAK" 는 MTV2 와 유럽의 여러 채널에서 방송되었고 수 많은DVD 컴필레이션에도 수록되었다고 하는데 이로 인한 팬들과 언론의 반응은 가히 폭발적이었다.
이러한 성공의 가도에 이어 이들은 HYPOCRISY, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 와 함께 미국, 캐나다 공략에 나섰는데 이는 이들의 첫 북미투어이자 이전 어느 때 보다 성공적인 공연이었으며 이후 같은 해 여름, 일본으로 건너가 3번째 3회 헤드라이닝 공연을 가졌다. 독일의 SUMMER BREEZE FESTIVAL 참여는 물론, IN FLAMES, PAIN 과의 유럽투어도 계속해서 잇따랐고, 이 공연의 대부분은 매진사례를 이룰 정도였으며 이 투어중 스톡홀름 공연은 무려 3천명이 운집했을 정도였다.
SOILWORK 는 투어기간 도중 새로운 앨범 "FIGURE NUMBER FIVE" 의 곡들을 완성해 나갔는데, 이에 대해 보컬 BJORN "SPEED" STRID 가 말하길… "사람들은 우리들이 어떻게 이렇게 생산적일수 있는지에 대해 놀라곤 합니다만 이것이 바로 우리들이 일하는 방식이고 우리에게 '영감이 고갈되었다' 라는 말은 절대 있을 수 없습니다. 우리는 우리 자신들이 투어하는 기간은 물론 팬들에게서 얻는 반응에서 수 많은 아이디어와 영감을 얻고 있고 이번 새로운 앨범에는 강렬함과 멜로디, 헤비함이 가득한 우리들만의 사운드를 확신 시켜줄 모든 것이 담겨 있습니다. 장담하건대, 가짜따윈 없습니다 오로지 진정한 훌륭함만이 있을 뿐이죠."
이번 앨범의 녹음은 3곳의 다른 스튜디오에서 각각 녹음되었는데 믹싱 작업은 STUDIO FREDMAN 에서 이루어졌고 "FIGURE NUMBER FIVE" 는 다시 한 번, SOILWORK 를 새로운,한 차원 상승된 단계로 이끎은 물론, 오는 4월, CHILDREN OF BODOM 과의 유럽 투어에 이어, WACKEN OPEN AIR, BLIND GUARDIAN FESTIVAL 출연을 확정 지은 상태라고 하는데 올 해2003년은 SOILWORK 에게 가장 흥미로운 한해가 될 것은 자명한 사실인 듯 하다. .... ....
I'm the result of an ageless redemption A body with a heartless convention A face with a smile that's been shut down for years Facing the facts of my generation...
cause I'm a sinner, a winner, my blood is getting thinner T might as well get another life cause I've been there I know what's been said and I know what's been done Don't you tell me I'm the only one, cause i...
I will be there looking for something Coming straight out of nothing Just killing time Facing those wall so black, so vile I really am waiting for nothing Coming straight out of something Just killing time Facing those wall so black, so vile
Now put your trust in a solid machine Filled with words that have necer been seen A plague to insatialbe souls left to die
Charged with mankind's raw energy I rumble, I strumble My memory starts to crumble I can't refuse what's haunting my dreams Have I stumbled? On my way to a created perfection I penetrate the gates of rejection
I will be there looking for something Coming straight out of nothing Just killing time Facing those wall so black, so vile I really am waiting for nothing Coming straight out of something Just killing time Facing those wall so black, so vile
There's no determination, echoes of a failed gallery There's yet extermination, inside us all screaming
I will be there looking for something
I really am waiting for nothing Coming straight out of something Just killing time Facing those wall so black, so vile I will be there looking for something Coming straight out of nothing Just killing time Facing those wall so black, so vile
Still I'm spreading my disease You'll work it out this time Hell no, I won't retreat Two times won't make it happen Three times won't make it go Overcome, make it run I insist to make it flow
Now I'm chasing what I've learned You won't be blind this time Getting back what they have burned Two times won't make it happen Three times won't mage it go Overload, still it grows I resist and make it flow
[Chorus:] Trusting the ways of my vulnerable heart A million times before I get things right. So fragile it hurts when I just fall apart.
Still I won't get what I deserve, Your search for dreams may falter Paying back won't make it turn Four times won't make it happen Five times won't make it go Overrule, from a tool that brings me everlasting pain
Those thoughts are ruling my valuable time In search for shelter I draw the lines Won't you give me another break to examine My growing and countless mistakes
Tell it to me now, Close your eyes 'Cause they don't feel a fucking thing You gotta memorize what you felt When you lost your wings Your line is mesmerized, Condition's paralyzed Your chance to live is emphasized Nor a truth nor a lie
Burn your flag, figure The disciples of God want you to die
[Chorus:] Figure Number Five Caught in the hands of a human lie Figure, Figure Number Five Give it up, Never stop till he hits the ground Figure Number Five The fifth wheel in a cynical time Figure, Figure Number Five They won't stop, they won't stop 'Til he hits the ground
Their eyes are shut side by side And you can't do a single thing They will cease their time passing by Sucking blood out of kings
It's such a drag, I can't do nothing always there I feel my welfare's burning...
I feel it coming, My thoughts are running Cause I can't do nothing about it I'm turning, Turning away from filth On my journey, Stepping aside From the breed that is burning How did you get so unbearably stupid? How did you get your demons to rest? One final option, A senseless adoption Of a self-made confidence
Chorus: Bow, to get rid of this Bow, another fear to kiss Bow, this is my soulful departure Walk the lifeline with no regrets Wasting it all on what you cannot get Forever painful and so goddamn deranged Make no difference don't make a sound Make your choice out of what you've found Forever painful and so goddamn deranged
Cause I might as well choke Listen to the sound Cause I can't do nothing about it Another round of their hysterical laughter Plaguing my ears, causing my tears
Let's give another hail to the ones That finally failed Holding on to the trust 'til the very end Facing their very last stand.
Claiming he's an innocent soul Son of a silent force Under pressure but all so cold I better light the torch Cause he's able to do it again degrade and suffocate Getting the useful support from his passive friends
How can you just proceed you little callous fuck You just walk the streets like a not knowing breed
[Chorus:] Give me a sign and I'll do just what I'm thinking right away How can she ever forget, so suffer and start to regret It will come around cause you know that she'll be thinking of you... I feel so powerless. Can't face my hollowness
You've had your time. Gonna walk that line Like a living travesty, endlessly bound to your sins. I'll hunt you down in time. You're just a feeble swine How can I compromise when all you do is deny
This pain will last forever, never growing old Nobody will ever answer, how you could be so cold
You're taking care of your instincts No matter what you do Your life could be so much better When everything is through The demons that refused to let you go They left with empty hands You got to give it a try Don't put an end to your life Cause that's where you choke your last sigh
Chorus: You gotta rise with me! Cause you're so vulnerable... Me! No need for sympathy now... Yet so admirable... Say...
Your passion for art is your well hidden cure Cause that's where you have a plan Escaping could be such a movement now In your fragile heart all so true
Underneath the surface He's bound to be back for more Keep your eye on the trigger man His hands are shaky, Trying to find the score Well, I see you have another friend To drag down the hall Watch him bleed on this freakshow Monday Watch him crank the sirens tearing up his soul
Chorus: And there it goes He's so close to a remedy A painful host of his time And he'll never show to the world How his life's supposed to be Drenched by the dark in his mind
Now there's nothing But silence surrounding him Providing the contents of his unique Misanthropical friend Well (won't you tell) If there's ever gonna be A state for your well-hidden art Watch him breed on this freakshow Monday Watch him crank the sirens tearing up his soul
He believes in silence He believes that this is the end He can't hear the sirens cause Silence is the greatest sleep of them all
Brickwalker won't you cease your time Instead of ruin daily lives Against the grain they stand Against the grain they fall Paint them a picture of their fate Face their fearless looks so pale It's so goddamn beautiful...
You've already put your hands on their fate Your mind is clear and your speech is free Your doors are shut and they won't see With your cynic presence they'll shiver 'Til the break of dawn
Come on, come on, come on They're so expendable
Chorus: We're all so fatal, we're all too able we'd like to have a break... SAY We're all so tragic, illogical magic We'd like to turn the page... SAY
So, watch them cross the yard of time Do not fail don't cross that line Inside, they will leave tonight Vanish through the sky
Don't throw the page Don't throw it all away! Gotta turn the page Just lead thy pain astray!
Who dares to care when affection's all we need? Who dares to bare what the others have to feel? I put my trust in a prominent machine Feel no pain and don't you dare to make a scene, no
The search for truth's just moving' on Everybody want a priest Denying the sound of a restless soul Keep your eye on where you've gone I don't think that you belong Escaping reality won't set your judgment free
Who'll hide to find the ultimate belief? Who'll ride the kind of perpetual disease? I thought that still every breath I take is free I was so wrong they'll make a profit out of me
When you've lost your power You drag yourself down in times like these You are here to devour Now you feel so numb
Who dares to care when affection's all we need? Who dares to bare what the others have to feel? I put my trust in a prominent machine Feel no pain and don't you dare to make a scene
When you've lost your power You drag yourself down in times like these You are here to devour God, I feel so numb
So eternal, cold infernal, so dispersal One more time So eternal, cold infernal, so dispersal It rules your mind
When you've lost your power You drag yourself down in times like these You are here to devour Now you feel so numb
When you've lost your power You drag yourself down in times like these You are here to devour Now you feel so numb
In my town where the system sleeps Nobody gives a damn It`s up to you how to hide to flee Their hunger never ends Hateful design builds the structure divine A territory cold as ice An endless empire with cynic desire Born of a broken spell
Feeling like a guttersnipe standing in line Deciding his lifestyle by rolling the dice One will stand another will fall down Find your way out from the constant lack
You gotta get yourself a picture of what is going on Cause their lips are sealed now Their honesty never to be found Hateful design builds the structure divine A territory cold as ice An endless empire with cynic desire Born of a broken spell
Your pride is just a symbol another hidden excuse for being such a savior distorting your sick self abuse
I bet you've had another downfall It's time for me to get it right You're taking it [5X] too hard Don't hesitate to paint your walls with blood It's in me it's in you, Don't you hold back the truth Cause I can't feel nothing without A confession from you
We couldn't go on like this, you know We shared a moment that refused to grow
Chorus: Cause I know we meant to never be afraid But I knew...impossible... We made our visions look like Something that would stay So it's true we closed the deal...
I said to you don't make it worse now It's time for you to make it right I let you rule my world back then, you know I was blind, couldn't find I was blind, couldn't find The true essence of our lifetime Without a confession from you
You're saying to me How could you do such a thing Cause I've paid, every mistake Building a void impossible to replace
Absorbed in life's eternal wheel feel the energy flow within energy in which you most certainly need no one can bring you down! a chance to be spinning in dreams exists in your inner fantasy!
I wanna search beyong I wanna search for inner peace I wanna dig a hold deep down to find my inner need!
Welcome to a bright engage face the light of inner rage energy in which you most certainly need no one can bring you down! inhale a breeze of passion and sink deep into the well of life
I wanna search beyong I wanna search for inner peace I wanna dig a hold deep down to find my inner need!
Energy in which you most certainly need no one can bring you down!
Absorbed in life's eternal wheel feel the energy flow within
Taken by suprise in an early starshined night with my thoughts I blur into their minds of knowledge
I glanze updon the obscure date well, I see a million of lights flashing inside the weakminded soul so intelligent I see the gift to my inner dreams ascript to solve the HIV exposed
Then they flew so fast into the other world then they flew.....so fast into
Taken by suprise in an early starshined night with my thoughts I blur into their minds of knowledge into their minds of knowledge
I glanze updon the obscure date well, I see a million of lights I glanze updon the obscure date well, I see a million of lights
I count them all this must be number ten Am I right is it over again? my body shivers and shivers again I nail their faces to the wall Oh...those sweet pictures do you realize what youave done? pictures cause thatas what you are there is no truth in what you say! scars! cause that's what you create there is no love left! there is no truth in what you say!
[Chorus(2x):] Skin after skin sin after sin loose or win skin after skin sin after sin my brain oh drowned in sin
(a dedication to the metalgods of the 80's) In the night when you feel those electric desires neverending noise from chains and the world is on fire! right!
Steelbath suicide enter the other side steelbath suicide on wheels of steel we'll ride
Sleeping tight as the lead is pounding in the air leave this world only metal is fair! right!
Steelbath suicide enter the other side steelbath suicide on wheels of steel we'll ride
Steelbath suicide enter the other side steelbath suicide on wheels of steel we'll ride
자신의 몸을 갉아먹으며 허기를 푸는 것과 다름없는 꼬리에 꼬리를 무는 추종은 결핍을 불러오고 결국 소멸로 이어지고 만다. 90년대 중반 스웨덴을 중심으로 일었던 '예테보리 사운드'의 붐은 무수한 아류밴드들을 탄생시켰고 그들 중 상당수를 '스스로' 퇴화시켰다. 그럼에도 그 의미를 재정의 하며 절망에 빠지지 않은 생존자들이 있고, 선구자들의 복제품까진 아니면서도 씬의 진부함에 대한 반감으로 함께 묻힐 뻔했던 상황에서 과감한 변신을 통해 패배자가 되기는커녕 성공가도를 달리게 된 자들도 있다. 익스트림 계열에서 출발해 오버를 지향한 밴드들이 새로운 사운드를 위해 메틀다움을 버리고 그 자리를 다른 것으로 대체하는 경향을 정면으로 받아치는 동시에, 트렌드에의 추종과 수용의 차이를 모범적으로 보여주며 대안을 제시한, 그...