On February 1st, 2019, Swedish-based progressive metal group, SOEN, will release their fourth album, Lotus, via Silver Lining Music with pre-orders available on November 16th. Having spent the last six months digging deep into the muddy depths of their emotions, the nine songs comprising SOEN‘s Lotus are intoxicating, addictive aural therapies, questioning much of today’s darkness while juxtaposing them with moments of great escape and hope.
“We are all very fortunate to have this place where we can go and explore thoughts, perspectives and emotions which everyday life maybe does not have the room for,” says Martin Lopez, one of SOEN‘s founding members. “There are definitely things that we say, and places we go, in SOEN which would be very hard to express without us coming together and creating music.”
Produced by David Castillo and Iñaki Marconi at Ghostward Studios and Studio 6 between July and October 2018, the album marks the first recorded SOEN work of new Canadian-born guitarist Cody Ford, whilst the center-point of the album remains those trademark, snap-heavy, progressive SOEN riffs. Songs such as “Rival,” “Covenant,” and “Martyrs” are dissertations on modern societies, fraught with poetic, finitely designed confusion and chaos, yet as the name Lotus suggests, there is still strength, beauty, and purity to be extracted from what at times seems like an endless cycle of human regression.
“Lotus” Album Artwork
“The world right now is undeniably a very strange, tense place,” says Lopez. “I think the songs clearly reflect that, but they also reflect that we must now be stronger than ever in challenging, confronting, and dealing with the pandemonium life throws at us all.”
The lavish Lotus artwork features nothing other than an enigmatic and engaging copper-reflective pyramid, offering elements of the sixth sense and greater consciousness before gate-folding open to reveal a girl touched by the copper aura. “We each have our own personal ideas as to what it means,” says Lopez, “but we’d much rather discuss what others think, what our audience thinks, what the media thinks… I think it’s extremely important that we all communicate with each other and take the time to fully conceive our own meanings and interactions with life and creativity.”
“Ultimately,” concludes Ekelöf, “Lotus is about rising from whatever darkness, or dark places, you might find yourself. And its inspiration comes from a deep motivation to not just settle for the situation you might find yourself in. Lotus is about changing life — both your own and your surroundings for which we must all take responsibility — and make them better rather than letting darkness pacify you and take you down.”
SOEN will be bringing Lotus on the road with them as they tour Europe starting in March 2019, which will herald an exciting new chapter of skin-shedding, soul-searching, and self-realizing SOEN journs for all who dare to commit to the ride. For ticket info visit the band’s Facebook page. Additional European dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
SOEN:
3/12/2019 John B – Oslo, NO
3/13/2019 TBC – Copenhagen, DK
3/14/2019 Logo – Hamburg, DE
3/15/2019 Roadrunner – Berlin, DE
3/18/2019 Backsatge Werk – Munich, DE
3/20/2019 Colos Saal – Aschaffenburg, DE
3/21/2019 Helios – Cologne, DE
3/22/2019 De Effenaar – Eindhoven, NL
3/25/2019 O2 Academy Islington – London, UK
3/28/2019 Salamandra – Barelona, ES
3/29/2019 Caracol – Madrid, ES
3/30/2019 Hard Club – Porto, PT
3/31/2019 RCA – Lisbon, PT
4/03/2019 Z7 – Pratteln, CH
4/04/2019 Legent Club – Milano, IT
4/05/2019 Orion Ciampino – Roma, IT
4/06/2019 Sonic Room – Fabricia, IT
SOEN:
- Joel Ekelöf / Vocals
- Martin Lopez / Drums
- Lars Åhlund / Keys, guitar
- Stefan Stenberg / Bass
- Cody Ford / Lead guitar
