I first heard about this album about six months ago from Wikipedia whilst searching for when this band's next album had a working title. I realized that with The Living Infinite as a title there is no room for improvement, it is a perfect title and fits the theme of the album, which is the ocean and how our society rises and ebbs likes the tides themselves. Can the actual content itself match the awesome title? You bet your fucking ass it can. This is Soilwork's magnum opus; a huge double album that mixes their earliest and latest musical styles. Every single song on this album can stand on its own and nothing seems to be simply filler until the next big song. Everything the band has learned over their career has culminated into this: One massive, powerful, ass-kicking metal album.

A few standout features of this album fans may already be aware of, but newcomers should know that this album has plenty of absolutely fantastic guitar solos, purely uplifting vocals, hardcore roaring, and deliciously melodic rhythms. This is just plain good metal. Soilwork knows what their fans like, and they have delivered it twenty fold. The style of this album is like a mix between Natural Born Chaos and Sworn to a Great Divide with touches of Figure Number Five and Stabbing the Drama readily apparent later in as the album progresses. Now saying that, every masterpiece has some flaw that only adds to its allure. A couple of the songs seem like they could have been placed in a different order, such as the last song Owls Predict, Oracles Stand Guard. Great song, but it seems like an odd song to conclude your melodic album with. It is heavy and fast, striking thunderously into your ears as you are aurally assaulted, but ultimately it just seems like an odd choice for the very last song. The song Realm of the Wasted has a very odd chorus that is catchy but takes some getting used to. One other song is Let the First Wave Rise, which needs to be fucking longer. Its too short! These are minor nitpicks on an otherwise perfect product.

Now for the standouts. The song I first heard when viewing the preview for this album was Rise Above the Sentiment. Let me go ahead and say this song is fucking magic. It is so perfectly orchestrated, the chorus so magnificently soothing, that it has become one of my all-time favorite metal songs. The Living Infinite is a two part song which really speaks to me, everything about it just feels right. The Windswept Mercy opens like its from a completely different band, delivering an unexpected surprise to your ears as it changes to classic Soilwork. Long Live the Misanthrope kicked my tail the first time I listened to it, I was just blown away by the power and intensity it contained. I proceeded to listen to it about ten times in a row after that. Drowning with Silence has lyrics so awesome I'm pretty sure my balls grew bigger just by hearing them spoken. "I can laugh in the face of god, because I won't be loved in the end." Come on man, that's some deep stuff. Antidotes in Passing is blissful and serene, like the wind blowing lightly across the surface of the ocean, letting up on your ears for a moment while it prepares to deliver more bad-assery. Finally we have Parasite Blues, a song so utterly mind-blowing that I had to study each part of the damn thing to fully understand its message.

Now for my favorite songs: Memories Confined, This Momentary Bliss, Tongue, The Living Infinite Parts 1&2, Let the First Wave Rise, Vesta, The Windswept Mercy, Whispers and Lights, Long Live the Misanthrope, Drowning with Silence, Antidotes in Passing, Leech, Loyal Shadow, Rise Above the Sentiment, and Parasite Blues.

The verdict: GET OFF YOUR ASS AND BUY THIS SHIT NOW!

Albums like this come around every once in a great while, a testament to the influence of Gothenburg metal and its brilliance. Soilwork has completely outdone themselves this time, proving that losing a key member didn't slow them down one bit. They are not stagnating, nor are they failing. This band is growing and innovating, something that challenges many older bands today who are struggling to remain relevant in their respective genres. If you love melodic metal then you owe it to yourself to give this baby a try. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to it while I play Heart of the Swarm.