Good

Nation: Sweden

Album Genre: Gothenburg Metal

Pros: This 6th release from the Gothenburg behemoths Soilwork, is a return to a harder side of their discography reminiscent of Steelbath Suicide in that it takes on a faster, aggressive approach in comparison to the last two albums Natural Born Chaos and Figure Number Five. However, despite the deliverance of their harder side once again, the band is still continuing in the direction of changing their sound to that of a more commercially driven object. With the success of other melodic driven metal bands like Killswitch Engage and In Flames, Soilwork seems to be attempting to capitalize on their success with some of their own (which has already started to happen in the last few years). Despite the fact that the band is driving itself in a commercial direction, I will say that Stabbing the Drama is still a well executed chunk of metal. The drum work is some of the best the band has ever executed, and generally the songs are still faithful to the fundamental Soilwork sound.

Cons: I don't like the direction that Soilwork is heading in. These guys are well known to be close brotheren to their Swedeish counterparts in In Flames. Ever since In Flames changed their sound to a more radio friendly sound with less death metal-ish aggression, the true fans have been exposed to a watered down exposure to something that is simply not what the band once was. I see Soilwork clearly heading in that direction with the usage of cleaner vocals more often (especially in the choruses), as well as simpler chords and more drop tuned guitars (i.e. Nu-Metal). I think what truly gives this album it's score, is the simple choruses that the band employs. The choruses are specifically designed as watered down crowd pleasers. Stuff like that sells records, especially nowadays. Unfortunately this is the definition of a sell out....Soilwork are slowly becoming true sell outs, thus joining In Flames. Oh well, I guess all we can do is enjoy them while they last as a real metal outfit.