Övergivenheten

“It’s a little bit of a heaven-and-hell situation,” Soilwork vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid tells Apple Music about the Swedish metal band’s 12th album. Translated from their native tongue, Övergivenheten means “abandonment”. Which sounds depressing, but Strid says that’s only half the story. “Personally, I had to abandon a few things in order to get to where I am today,” he explains. “So, abandonment can also be something positive in the end. But I wouldn’t say that it’s a conceptual album around abandonment or anything like that.” As for the heaven-and-hell aspect, Strid points out that he and Soilwork’s other main songwriter, guitarist David Andersson, are in very different places in their lives. “In these latest years, I’m in a very good place,” he says. “But it’s been quite a journey. David, on the other hand, has had some really dark years mentally. So, it’s really hard for us to find a mutual vision, musically, when we’ve been on, like, practically different planets mentally. I felt I had to bring the empowering stuff, the uplifting stuff, whereas David dug deep for the darker songs.” Below, Strid comments on each track. “Övergivenheten” “It starts with a banjo, and this was actually the last song written. I knew we had something special with the main melody—it’s just something that really sticks with you. It’s so melancholic and beautiful. We literally went to church to record those choirs in the beginning, which David arranged. And then, we also had a guy playing that banjo for the intro. It has almost like a Scandinavian spaghetti western vibe to it.” “Nous Sommes la Guerre” “The title is French, and it means ‘we are the war’. I just want to clarify—it has nothing to do with the ongoing war in Ukraine. This song was written before that, and I believe David is more talking about his inner war that’s been going on. I think most of his lyrics are dealing with that. The melody here is bigger than life itself. It’s really special. It sounds a bit like The Nig