Soils of Fate
Encyclopedia
SOILS OF FATE is a death metal
band from Sweden
. Mostly known for their unique "Ultra Groovy Slam Death Metal-style". The band was founded by Henrik Crantz (also in Stabwound) and Magnus Lindvall in Märsta
, outside Stockholm
, in early 1995. They are considered to be the first "Slam Death Metal" band from Sweden, and even groundbreaking in Europe.
SOILS OF FATE has through the years influenced numerous bands worldwide and gained legendary status among many fans. In 1998 Danne Lövqvist at Close-Up Magazine put SOILS OF FATE amongst the most brutal acts coming out of Sweden. SOILS OF FATE has been covered by the amazing Japanese slammers VOMIT REMNANTS
on their debut album (SOILS OF FATE demo song "Faces Of The Deceased" was covered).
SOILS OF FATE toured Europe in 2001 being the headact of the "Fuck Terrorism Tour". They entered the stage in America in 2003 at the first annual Maryland Death Fest, sharing the stage with the rest of the worldwide elite in death metal.
To understand some of the greatness of this Swedish act, the words taken from the review article at the "SLAM-MINDED Brutal Death Metal Blog"
may give you a glimpse of what they have created so far:
"Soils of Fate - Swedish Slammers
Playing with the groove of twenty Devourments, the vocals of a rapping Matti Way-circa Cranial Impalement, and the almost exact style of music as Japan's Vomit Remnants, SOF are Sweden's answer to everyone else's slamming goodness. But just what makes them so good? Listen in...
1. The groove. This band would be nothing without a solid rhythm section, but listen to the varied and catchy drumming of both Nicklas Karlson and Jocke, who drummed on older releases (the band has since integrated drummer-for-every-band-ever, most notably Dying Fetus, Kevin Talley on the skins; how's that for star power?). The older drummers switch fluently from blasts to slower rolls and great kick patterns, as well as quirkier fills given the song.
2. The vocalizations. This guy is sicker than anything Disgorge has done since She Lay Gutted, so to compare him to anyone lesser than Matti himself would be a total insult. This guy spews out some of the most sickening gutturals in the genre. It even sounds almost funny when he "raps" (I usually categorize the music as what old-school hip-hop would sound like if it were metal instead), but he delivers all lyrics(?) with conviction.
3. The aesthetic. OK, so this isn't a part of their actual sound, but this lets these Swedes stand out. True crime slam death? I've died and gone to fuckin' heaven! Song titles like "Murder, Inc." and ".44" definitely give off that air of organized mob-crime very well, and the music sounds tailor made for people in the mob, inflecting the vocals and guitars with the brutality you need to be a cold, calculating killer and villain.
This band gets a solid A from me. They never fucked up their legacy (fingers crossed!), every song they made ruled, and they could probably do more stuff like this in the future, only possibly better...they ARE really consistent (both albums have the same general style, but you can definitely tell songs apart; there's a good deal of personality inherent, lacking in a lot of slam bands and in most of the BDM scene as a whole). Cheers to SOF."
Or as brutalfritzy put it back in 2006 on the Encyclopaedia Metallum review: "...and to this day I have not found one single band that has reminded me much of them - I'd say this band really created something unique and original."
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Mostly known for their unique "Ultra Groovy Slam Death Metal-style". The band was founded by Henrik Crantz (also in Stabwound) and Magnus Lindvall in Märsta
Märsta
Märsta is a suburb of Metropolitan Stockholm, a locality and the seat of Sigtuna Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 23,416 inhabitants in 2008. The town is situated close to Stockholms main international airport, Arlanda. Even if its origins go back to around 500 AD Märsta is a wide spread...
, outside Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, in early 1995. They are considered to be the first "Slam Death Metal" band from Sweden, and even groundbreaking in Europe.
SOILS OF FATE has through the years influenced numerous bands worldwide and gained legendary status among many fans. In 1998 Danne Lövqvist at Close-Up Magazine put SOILS OF FATE amongst the most brutal acts coming out of Sweden. SOILS OF FATE has been covered by the amazing Japanese slammers VOMIT REMNANTS
Vomit Remnants
Vomit Remnants is a Japanese death metal band, founded in 1997. In December 1997 they recorded the demo In the Name of Vomit, and a year later recorded Brutally Violated. In 1999, they played at the Ohio Deathfest and did various European shows...
on their debut album (SOILS OF FATE demo song "Faces Of The Deceased" was covered).
SOILS OF FATE toured Europe in 2001 being the headact of the "Fuck Terrorism Tour". They entered the stage in America in 2003 at the first annual Maryland Death Fest, sharing the stage with the rest of the worldwide elite in death metal.
To understand some of the greatness of this Swedish act, the words taken from the review article at the "SLAM-MINDED Brutal Death Metal Blog"
may give you a glimpse of what they have created so far:
"Soils of Fate - Swedish Slammers
Playing with the groove of twenty Devourments, the vocals of a rapping Matti Way-circa Cranial Impalement, and the almost exact style of music as Japan's Vomit Remnants, SOF are Sweden's answer to everyone else's slamming goodness. But just what makes them so good? Listen in...
1. The groove. This band would be nothing without a solid rhythm section, but listen to the varied and catchy drumming of both Nicklas Karlson and Jocke, who drummed on older releases (the band has since integrated drummer-for-every-band-ever, most notably Dying Fetus, Kevin Talley on the skins; how's that for star power?). The older drummers switch fluently from blasts to slower rolls and great kick patterns, as well as quirkier fills given the song.
2. The vocalizations. This guy is sicker than anything Disgorge has done since She Lay Gutted, so to compare him to anyone lesser than Matti himself would be a total insult. This guy spews out some of the most sickening gutturals in the genre. It even sounds almost funny when he "raps" (I usually categorize the music as what old-school hip-hop would sound like if it were metal instead), but he delivers all lyrics(?) with conviction.
3. The aesthetic. OK, so this isn't a part of their actual sound, but this lets these Swedes stand out. True crime slam death? I've died and gone to fuckin' heaven! Song titles like "Murder, Inc." and ".44" definitely give off that air of organized mob-crime very well, and the music sounds tailor made for people in the mob, inflecting the vocals and guitars with the brutality you need to be a cold, calculating killer and villain.
This band gets a solid A from me. They never fucked up their legacy (fingers crossed!), every song they made ruled, and they could probably do more stuff like this in the future, only possibly better...they ARE really consistent (both albums have the same general style, but you can definitely tell songs apart; there's a good deal of personality inherent, lacking in a lot of slam bands and in most of the BDM scene as a whole). Cheers to SOF."
Or as brutalfritzy put it back in 2006 on the Encyclopaedia Metallum review: "...and to this day I have not found one single band that has reminded me much of them - I'd say this band really created something unique and original."
Line-up
- Henrik "Henke" Crantz – vocals, bass (1995–present) (also in STABWOUND, US-tour 2004)
- Magnus "Mange" Lindvall – guitar (1995–present)
- Fredrik Widings - drums (2007–present)
Former members
- Kevin TalleyKevin TalleyKevin Talley is an American death metal drummer. He has performed with Dying Fetus, Misery Index and Chimaira, and he is currently the drummer for the bands Dååth, Six Feet Under and Nothnegal.- History :...
– session drums on Crime Syndicate (2003) (also in Dying FetusDying FetusDying Fetus is an American death metal band from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Formed in 1991, the group is known for their outspoken political views, and for being one of the few death metal bands who follow a political nature. Earlier lyrics showcased the common death metal trait of explicit violence...
, Misery IndexMisery Index (band)Misery Index is an American deathgrind band formed in 2001 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, by Jason Netherton on vocals and bass guitar, Mike Harrison on vocals and guitar, and Kevin Talley on drums. From 2006-2010, its line-up consisted of Netherton on vocals and bass guitar, Sparky Voyles...
, ChimairaChimairaChimaira is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1998, the group is a notable member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology...
, etc.) - Joakim "Jocke" Friedman – drums (1998–2001)
- Niklas "Nicke" Karlsson – drums (1995–1997)
- Henrik "Trevor" Kolbjer – guitar (1996–1998)
- Ruben Rosas – additional vocals on Crime Syndicate (also in DevourmentDevourmentDevourment is a death metal band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1995, the band has split up and reformed three times and none of the original members remain. The current lineup is Mike Majewski , Ruben Rosas , Chris "Captain Piss" Andrews and Eric Park...
) - Jason Trecazzi – live drums (2003)
Discography
- Pain... Has A Face (demo, 1997)
- Blood Serology (demo, 1998)
- Sandstorm (full-length, 2001)
- Crime Syndicate (full-length, 2003)
- Highest In The Hierarchy Of Blasting Sickness (Best of/compilation, 2005)
- Insider Music Video (Videotrack included in the 2005 compilation CD)