Sworn to a Great Divide

Soilwork

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 23, 2007)
• Original Release Date: October 22, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000VT2OHC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,243 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good redemption, October 30, 2007

By	Eric (USA) - See all my reviews

Firstly, it's very clear that the Steelbath Suicide-Chainheart Machine days are over so save your money and look elsewhere if that's the type of music you're looking for. This album and those ones are incomparable for the most part.

I just got this album in the mail today and after listening to it a few times, I feel that Soilwork have redeemed themselves from Stabbing the Drama (which I thought was a poor excuse for a Soilwork album). Sworn to a Great Divide is a mash of melo and aggressive music and the majority of songs have at least some clean vocals in them. My problem with Stabbing the Drama was that I found almost all of the songs to be not catchy, boring, and lacking the overall quality of Soilwork's previous work. This album majorly improves on those aspects. I'd put it over Figure Number Five as well since there were only 5 songs I liked on that one. Sworn to a Great Divide is more melo and relaxed than Natural Born Chaos but the quality is still there and I believe it lives up to its Soilwork name. This is the first album since Natural Born Chaos where I enjoy more than half of the songs on it.

If you enjoy any of Soilwork's newer work, you should definitely buy this album.


Songs I liked:

2. Exile
3. Breeding Thorns
4. Your Beloved Scapegoat
6. I, Vermin
7. Light Discovering Darkness
10. Sick Heart River
11. 20 More Miles
12. Martyr

The 4 songs I didn't list, I give them a rating of "eh" and "so-so". Their sounds are mostly reminiscent of the songs on Stabbing the Drama which I didn't like. But hey, if you liked that album then you'll probably like those ones too.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweden's finest have returned, October 23, 2007

By	Michael "F*** off!" (FL United States) - See all my reviews

When chief songwriter/lead guitarist Peter Wichers exited Soilwork, it was a question of how the writing would be affected. Also, whether it would still be a strong lineup after bringing in new guitarist Daniel Antonsson. No worry here. The production is as solid as it was on Natural Born Chaos, you have all of the best elements from the previous albums, and a strong vocal performance from Bjorn (whose vocals were produced by Strapping Young Lad's Devin Townsend). If Stabbing The Drama wasn't the album for you, this might not be either. Give it a listen.

The limited edition comes with a bonus track, and a bonus dvd with footage from the making of the album, Exile music video, and a full live bootleg.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More great metal from the Swedish masters, October 23, 2007

By	Michael J. Bedi "Metalhead" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been a fan of Soilwork since their 2002 album "Natural Born Chaos". Maybe it's because it was the first one I heard that it's still my favorite, but since then I've picked up all of their other studio albums from "Steelbath Suicide" to "Sworn to a Great Divide", and I can honestly say they're all great. This latest album is no different, and I would recommend it to both fans and newcomers. If you could only buy one Soilwork album, I would say it'd have to be "Natural Born Chaos", as that still stands in my mind as their best work, but "Sworn to a Great Divide" is a solid entry into their catalog and anyone who likes Swedish Melodic Death Metal (and really, who doesn't?) will like this. Highlight tracks on this album include "Exile", "Your Beloved Scapegoat", and "As the Sleeper Awakes".