Though rooted in metal, Soen evolved into a standalone modern prog tour de force via second album Tellurian, released in 2014. Just ahead of the launch, then-guitarist Kim Platbarzdis told Prog about their challenging artwork, profound lyrics and love of Pink Floyd.
The first thing you notice about heavy Swedish band Soen’s second album Tellurian is the striking album artwork, depicting a rhinoceros wearing a crown, a monocle and human clothes, seated at a table, about to feast on an array of food platters of miniature people in salads and on skewers.
“There are two vegetarians in the band and for me this role reversal theme is quite natural – any animal eating any other animal,” says guitarist Kim Platbarzdis of the artwork created by Mexican artist José Luis López Galvá. “It’s a bit of a wake-up call.”
He continues: “We wanted to find a new dimension, an artist who creates something with a purpose. Everyone can think what they want about the image, but I think it puts the ordinary concept of things on edge, and this is a great starting point for the new album.”
Soen – completed by ex-Opeth drummer Martin Lopez, Joel Ekelöf on vocals and newest member Stefan Stenberg on bass – are certainly outside the realms of the ordinary. Tellurian is heavier than their 2012 debut Cognitive, but what shines through once again is the smoothness of their technical proficiency, a quality which has often linked them to Tool (the album was mixed by Tool collaborator David Bottrill). And with Lopez, there are of course similarities to Opeth. But Platbarzdis hopes fans can see beyond such comparisons and appreciate Soen as a standalone band.
“I can hear the influences, just like everyone else,” he says. “If you were told to listen to our music because you like Tool, that’s definitely a positive. But if you listen to our music just for the Tool similarities, you’ll miss out on the experience, and that’s a shame. Personally, I like Tool a lot; we all do in the band. I’m not bothered about being compared to them. However, I do think that it could cloud people’s judgement of the rest of our material.”
He needn’t worry: Soen are undeniably their own beast. And though they err on the heavy side, their prog quota is strong. “The music is dynamic and hard, but I wouldn’t call it metal. We make prog rock with metal influences, and hopefully heart and soul as well.”
Indeed, he emphasises the importance of a certain classic prog band: “We have very different tastes and backgrounds, but we have some common denominators, and one of those is Pink Floyd. We even cover some of their songs from time to time – it’s something everyone in the band could agree on!”
It’s been said that prog is the thinking person’s music, and the idea certainly relates to Soen: through dense melodies and profound lyrical themes, they delve far beneath the surface when it comes to concepts and perceptions.
New track Tabula Rasa contains lyrics like, ‘There’s no innocence since we think therefore we are,’ and ‘I will fight the system,’ referring to political imbalance, a theme they also explored on their debut album. (The lyrics are included in the Tellurian packaging after requests following the release of Cognitive.)
“I don’t believe there’s an absolute truth – we’re all facing our objective realities,” Platbarzdis says, “and with that comes the interpretation of the lyrics in our songs. If the lyrics mean something to you, that’s your mind telling you what it is. However, not everyone sees it that way.”
Soen have also received positive feedback on their powerful visual art. One example is the beautiful, greyscale sombreness of their video for Savia from the first album, in which the members appear as silhouettes surrounded by clockworks, foetuses and swirling patterns.
Their video for Tabula Rasa depicts disgruntled people running towards the camera carrying banners and drawing graffiti on grey walls, portraying social discontent and unrest. “I’m really happy with it,” Platbarzdis says. “The visual aspect is very important for the band. It frames everything and gives you a basic setting for how to interpret the music.”
The addition of new bassist Stenberg – who originally joined as touring keyboardist –has also influenced Soen’s musical development. “With Stefan in the band we started looking at the material in a different way, because we had an added new dimension,” says Platbarzdis.
“It’s not just guitar and bass sounds now – there are a lot of melodic instruments going on. It’s bigger and fuller. We have definitely evolved. We knew exactly what we wanted to do and what we didn’t want to do.
“Of course, there’s always a new set of challenges. We wanted to get the album out this year, so we had a very strict deadline, and that was probably the biggest issue we had. There was a clear view of how to do things, and we took a much more advanced journey this time.”
The journey is set to continue. “I believe that when we create music, we tap into something greater than we know. There’s something there that we receive and put down through instruments and voices. When things come to us naturally, I try to capture them and make them the building blocks for a song. The message is already there – we’re just brushing it off like archaeologists.”
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