UMUR
"Death Resonance" is a compilation album by Swedish melodic death metal act Soilwork. The compilation was released through Nuclear Blast Records in August 2016. Soilwork´s latest studio album at this point was "The Ride Majestic (2015)", which is their 10th full-length studio album, so Soilwork had plenty of material to chose from. "Death Resonance" is not a "best of" compilation though, but instead a rarities collection of tracks recorded between 2005 and 2016.
The compilation opens with two completely new tracks, which were recorded exclusively for this release in "Helsinki" and "Death Resonance". Both are high quality compositions, but since Soilwork´s standards are so incredibly high, I´ll allow myself to call them good but not as great as their best material. "The End Begins Below the Surface" is a Japanese bonus track off "The Ride Majestic (2015)", and again it´s a quality composition, but nothing too special when taking the band´s full discography into consideration. The five tracks off the "Beyond the Infinite (2014)" EP follow and to my ears they are the highlights of the compilation. High quality compositions which were left off the double album "The Living Infinite (2013)", but which could just as well have been included on that album as these aren´t what you normally associate with leftovers/B-side single tracks. A track like "My Nerves, Your Everyday Tool" is so damn catchy it´s almost a criminal act, that it was left off the full-length album.
Then follows several Japanese bonus tracks off "Stabbing the Drama (2005)", "Sworn to a Great Divide (2007)", and "The Panic Broadcast (2010)". Among them a re-recording of "Sadistic Lullabye", which is found in it´s original version on "Steelbath Suicide (1998)", but in this version it was included as a Japanese bonus track on "The Panic Broadcast (2010)". The tracks off "Stabbing the Drama (2005)", "Sworn to a Great Divide (2007)" are remixed. All tracks are quality material, but few stand out as anything out of the ordinary for Soilwork. And that goes for both the quality of the material but also stylistically, where there are very few surprises if you´re already familiar with Soilwork´s melodic death metal style and lead vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid´s distinct aggressive snarling and clean vocals.
Some tracks feature more interesting sound productions than others, but they are all very well produced, featuring powerful, clear, and detailed productions, which suit the material perfectly. Upon conclusion "Death Resonance" is yet another high quality release by Soilwork, and while not all tracks on the compilation are equally interesting (or at least don´t stand out much in the band´s discography) a 4 star (80%) rating is still deserved.