Decibrity Playlist: Soilwork (Part 1)

Given that Soilwork unleashed its first double album (and ninth overall), The Living Infinite, earlier this month, it’s only appropriate that the long-running Swedish outfit passed along a double playlist. Up first: a collection of tracks from drummer Dirk Verbeuren, each offering an insight into his diverse tastes (Prince is becoming quite a fixture in these playlists—just ask Early Graves and Inter Arma). Also be sure to catch Soilwork on its massive North American tour—with so many dates, there’s a good chance the band is headed your way. You can listen along to Dirk’s playlist here.

Prince’s “If I Was Your Girlfriend” (from 1987’s Sign “O” The Times)
The first double album I heard. I can still put this on and enjoy every second of it. A double record has to take you places and Sign “O” The Times certainly does that—to me, it’s clearly one of Prince’s most adventurous recordings. The arrangements and sped-up vocals on “If I Was Your Girlfriend” strike me to this day, although it’s hard to pick a standout song. Words can’t do justice to Prince’s immense musical genius, so I’m not even gonna try—hearing His Purpleness cranking out infectiously catchy and smart tunes like “Screwdriver” 35 years into his career says it all!

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Napalm Death’s “Circumspect” and “Errors In The Signals” (from 2012’s Utilitarian)
30 years down the line, Birmingham’s finest are as relevant as ever. Just go see them tear up a nearby club if you have any doubts—these guys display more sincerity, hunger and energy than most of their peers. 2012’s Utilitarian is yet another faultless album in a career that has seen them invent grindcore, then experiment with industrial and rock, then blend their wide range of influences to create their very own genre of mind-bending noise. 25 years after buying Scum and scratching my head wondering what the hell I just spent my hard-earned money on, Napalm Death is still my favorite band.

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Squarepusher’s “Drax 2” (from 2012’s Ufabulum)
When I need a break from metal, one of the genres I always end up navigating to is dark, rhythm-driven electro as created by Black Lung, Autechre, Scorn, Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin and Squarepusher. I find Tom Jenkinson’s latest to be a return to form. The twisted computerized tones of his classic albums Go Plastic and Hard Normal Daddy are back with a vengeance on Ufabulum, which also successfully incorporates the more melodic side of Jenkinson’s most recent work. This stuff is super exciting to me; I get a lot of rhythmical inspiration from it. Drummers should check this out for sure.

Beastie Boys’ “Pass The Mic” (from 1992’s Check Your Head)
Whenever I hear this song, the grooves and words inevitably get stuck in my head for days. Hip-hop and rap are what first sparked my interest in drums, and the Beasties, along with Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy and LL Cool J are the masters of catchy rhythms in my book. Anyone with a feel for rhythm just has to get infected by a tune like “Pass The Mic”. The funny thing is, out of all artists, Beastie Boys are the ones that opened me up to extreme metal thanks to Kerry King’s legendary guitar solo on “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. And these guys rocked their instruments too. The real deal, I’m tellin’ ya!

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Meshuggah’s “Behind The Sun” (from 2012’s Koloss)
I don’t know how they do it. Every time Meshuggah releases an album, I’m blown away, again. Koloss has their most amazing production ever—that instrument separation is just ridiculous!—and, especially, some of their best tunes. The opening riff to “Behind The Sun” is so catchy and enveloping I’ll happily listen to it on repeat. That Meshuggah inspired a subgenre of metal all their own is only normal. You can’t beat the originators though, especially when they’re in otherworldly shape like on this record. “Djent” or not, this is quintessential metal. Eat it up!

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*Stay tuned for Part 2 featuring Björn “Speed” Strid next week

**Photo by Hannah Verbeuren

***Order a copy of The Living Infinite here.

****Soilwork tour dates (with Jeff Loomis, Blackguard, The Browning and Wretched):

03/28/13 Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
03/29/13 The Exchange – Regina, SK
03/30/13 The Distillery – Calgary, AB
03/31/13 Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
04/01/13 The Generator – Prince George, BC
04/02/13 Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC
04/03/13 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
04/04/13 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
04/05/13 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
04/06/13 WHISKY A GO GO – Hollywood, CA
04/07/13 Rocky Point Cantina – Tempe, AZ
04/08/13 The Rock – Tucson, AZ
04/09/13 Las Vegas Country Saloon – Las Vegas, NV
04/11/13 In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
04/12/13 Gothic Theater – Englewood, CO
04/13/13 The Beaumont Club – Kansas City, MO
04/14/13 The Firebird – St. Louis, MO
04/15/13 Trees – Dallas, TX
04/16/13 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX
04/17/13 Jake’s – Lubbock, TX
04/18/13 Lucky Mule – Abilene, TX
04/19/13 Dos Amigos – Odessa, TX
04/20/13 Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX
04/22/13 House of Rock – Corpus Christi, TX
04/23/13 Geo’s – McAllen, TX
04/24/13 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
04/26/13 State Theater – St. Petersburg, FL
04/27/13 Freebird Live – Jacksonville, FL
04/28/13 The Casbah – Charlotte, NC
04/29/13 Kingdom – Richmond, VA
04/30/13 Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
05/01/13 Mexicali Live – Teaneck, NJ
05/02/13 The Chance Theater – Poughkeepsie, NY
05/03/13 Broadway Joes – Buffalo, NY
05/04/13 Al Rosa Villa – Columbus, OH
05/05/13 Music Hall – London, ON
05/06/13 Station 58 – Syracuse, NY
05/07/13 The Palladium – Worcester, MA

*****We update one Spotify playlist for each new Decibrity entry, so feel free to subscribe to that here. Past entries include:

Intronaut
BATILLUS
Inter Arma
Helen Money
Misery Index
Ancient VVisdom
Holy Grail
Rotten Sound
Ancestors (Part 1) (Part 2)
Kowloon Walled City (Part 1) (Part 2)
Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride) (Part 1) (Part 2)
Early Graves
All That Remains
Bison B.C.
A Life Once Lost
Fight Amp
Witchcraft (Ola Henriksson) (Magnus Pelander)
Vision of Disorder
Grave
Anders Nyström (Katatonia) (Part 1) (Part 2)
“Best of” Rush (Part 1) (Part 2)
Dawnbringer
Ufomammut
Shadows Fall
Horseback
Greg Mackintosh (Paradise Lost) (Part 1) (Part 2)
Torche
“Best of” Meshuggah
Astra
Pallbearer
Barren Earth
Shane Embury (Napalm Death) (Part 1) (Part 2)