Customer Reviews

Souls Highway

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this band is how it mixes the low register, goth-inspired voice of Erik Molarin and the soulful and emotive tones of co-lead singer Lotta Hoglin. Yep! Dual lead singers, and they pull it off perfectly.

If I had to give this band one tag, I suppose it would be "goth". They certainly don't dive as deep into the doom and gloom as say Type O Negative, but then again I wouldn't play this music to lift my spirits. They have a nice mix of slow and moderately paced songs. At times, the often crunchy dual guitar attack brought back memories of 80's era Judas Priest/Accept/Black Sabbath. Beseech incorporates plenty of interesting musical treats to keep the songs from dragging. I get the feeling these guys (and gal) put a lot of thought and hard work into making this stellar CD.

By no means am I into Swedish hard rock, but I sure am glad I took a chance and bought this CD!

By Mark Bridgeman

Beseech have built on their previously well-performed, but not-always perfect, releases with a collection of 10 tracks of lush, soulful songs of melodic doom. Much of this has to do with the larger role female vocalist Lotta Hoglin has had to play in these recordings, trading lines with the charismatic tones of Erik Molarin, forming an enduring vocal team that not only enriches each track, but manages to also provide them with the necessary focus. 'Souls Highway' is the album that 'Black Emotions' promised us.

The songwriting here is direct, with no wasted passages (read: filler) - they get to the point melodically, each almost anthemic in their catchiness. The refrains and choruses stick in your head, haunting you.

Main songwriters Klas Bohlin and Robert Spanglund have sculpted individual pieces that will, if the metal world knows what's good for it, go on to be seen as classic examples of writing. The title track particularly is one to take notice of; its chorus shines out from a gorgeously-melancholic whole. Very rarely am I as enthusiastic about one track as I was when I heard it.

Melancholy plays a large role in the entire album, partnered with dark melodies and tight arrangements. There are touches of 80s britpop, of sounds similar to Opeth's quiter moments, and Katatonia-esque doom, brought together as a sounds that is at once uplifting, yet also inwardly sorrowful.

At the end of the day, 'Souls Highway' is a collection of songs from the heart.

On the digipack there's also a grand version of ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme Gimme', painted with the Beseech palate. Marvelous.

Excellent gothic, melodic doom metal album by a group that demands attention! I love the male/female contrast between Erik Molarin's deep vocals and Lotta Hoglin's beautiful, soaring vocals. You'll find little growling and no screaming on this CD, only emotional lyrics backed up by crunching yet soulful guitars and melodies. It's always refreshing to find metal bands that don't feel the need to yell, and can manage to get their point across via excellent, original songwriting and great vocals backed by great instumentals! The lyrics are heartfelt, straight forward, thought provoking, and catchy.

"Soul's Highway" provides a great combination of slower, more emotional songs with some more up-beat songs with pounding rhythms. Some standout tracks include:

Track 1 "Illusionate"- Amazing opening track! Gorgeous vocals from Lotta Hoglin backed up by some growling by Erik Molarin and awesome crunching guitars. Alternates between slow and melodic and hard and pounding.

Track 2 "Between the Lines"- Chorus sung by Erik in a deep and sorrowful voice, while the verses are sung by Lotta. Lush musical layers consisting of great guitar work with underlying mellow industrial-type beats.

Track 5 "Endless Waters"- Lotta's vocals take more of a backseat to Erik's deep voice. Some cool keyboard and guitar work, especially near the end of the song. Very catchy lyrics!

Track 8 "A Last Farewell"- Alternating male/female vocals and excellent keyboards. Simple, yet effective lyrics.

This is the first album that I've bought by this group, and it definitely will not be the last. I haven't been able to stop listening to this CD since I bought it! Beseech certainly deserves more attention here in the states than they've gotten thus far. Anyone who is a fan of bands such as Lacuna Coil, Type O Negative, Symphony X, and even Collide should definitely check this group out. This is above average Swedish metal, and that's saying a lot! You will not be disappointed!

Only heard of the name of this band before. I'm so glad I bought this cd it is awesome!. The male female vocals work extremely well together. Lyrically the mood is dark and heavy, with some of the music a little menacing. Just what I like. A beautiful album.

...to be counted as an amazing album. Beseech have come a long way since their gothic beginnings and Souls Highway has many interesting ideas on it. Unfortunately, many of these fall short in execution. Alot of songs are repititive and predictable, done in the format of verse/chorus/verse/chorus. It dosen't help that some of the lyrics are pretty lame as well. Also sometimes, like on the title song, they just go with an idea that was never good in the first place. Now that the negative is out of the way there IS alot to like about this album. Beseech do a good job of sounding original. Plenty of bands mixing female and male vox these days but not many sound like this. The girl singer takes a more traditional metal approach to singing somewhat remiscent of the Gathering or Lacuna Coil, not the opera like singing of Nightwish or Epica or stuff like that. The guy singer sounds a bit like Pete Steele of Type O Negative, though not as good. The rest of the band are talented at making the keyboard-laden metal that characterizes the cd. If your a fan of this type of music you probably won't be disappointed, though there are much better things out there. Leave's Eye's and Alas make somewhat similar music but do a hell of a better job at sounding coherrent and are just better in almost every aspect. I would recommend getting those instead.