Review by Krys on January 25, 2001.

Does anyone in Sweden have a regular job or all the guys just sit around, play their instruments and form new bands? It seems like there are 10 bands on one street block! What amazes me is that most of them are damn good ones. If you thought that melodic-death-trash bands like In Flames, Arch Enemy or Dark Tranquillity are safe on the top of this genre then think again. Here comes Soilwork.

These 6 young thrashers are ready to take over. After their impressive 1998 debut album "Steel Bath Suicide" which brought a lot of attention to this band, they come back with their sophomore installation "The Chainheart Machine."

And… I’m speechless. It’s a jaw-dropping, adrenaline-pumping masterpiece that will blow your mind with a force compared to a close range blast from the shotgun. What they did on this album is just un-frickin'-believable. Sharp and precise guitar harmonies, unbelievable dynamics and great sense of melody combined with force and harshness of Death metal will satisfy everyone who ever listened to anything harder than George Michael. They just showed that the Gothenburg Sound can be played with even more excitement and at higher level than the rest of their peers do.

The masterful production by Fredric Nordstrom and Studio Fredman cooks up an intelligent and intense potion that will put these guys in a spotlight of their own.

Are you still reading this review? It’s a masterpiece! Go get it, now!!! At the pace they are progressing, I’m beginning to fear the intensity and musical genius of a third release!

Rating: 10 out of 10