Soilwork’s first concert album/DVD, Live In The Heart Of Helsinki (Nuclear Blast) is everything it should be. They cover songs from every album and yes, there’s about 3-5 more songs I wish they had included. What’s there is good enough for me. This is the second recording with the guitar tandem of David Andersson and Sylvain Coudret, and they perform older tracks like ‘Bastard Chain’ and ‘As the Sleeper Awakes’ with conviction and the passion of the original players. With 23 songs here, I’m extremely impressed how strong Bjorn Strid’s voice sounds. His power is intense regardless if its a song like ‘Overload’ or ‘The Chainheart Machine’. He is joined on the mic by Revamp/Nightwish singer Floor Jansen on ‘Let this River Flow’ and Sonic Syndicate’s Nathan James Biggs on ‘Black Star Deceiver’.

The production on here is superb, visually and sonically. No one gets lost in the mix here, keyboard maestro Sven Karlsson and bassist Ola Flink are upfront and as clear as everyone else. With all the extra drum cams of Dirk Verbeuren it’s worth it alone to watch him casually run through the his insane performances of the songs. I’m really happy with this release. It truly pays homage to the bands’ almost twenty-year long career. No album is forgotten here, and I wish more artists would remember that in general. You never know what was a fan’s first album and this right here satisfies all that. Plus, The Circus Club looks and sounds like a place you’d want to see a show.

Live In The Heart Of Helsinki is available as DVD/2CD and Blu-Ray/2CD and the following tracks:

DVD/Blu-Ray/CD:

01. This Momentary Bliss
02. Like The Average Stalker
03. Overload
04. Weapon Of Vanity
05. Spectrum Of Eternity
06. Follow The Hollow
07. Parasite Blues
08. Distortion Sleep
09. Bastard Chain
10. Let This River Flow (feat. Floor Jansen)
11. Long Live The Misanthrope
12. Tongue

CD 2

13. Nerve
14.The Chainheart Machine
15. The Living Infinite I
16. Rise Above The Sentiment
17. Late For The Kill, Early For The Slaughter
18. Rejection Role
19. Black Star Deceiver (feat. Nathan J. Biggs)
20. As The Sleeper Awakes
21. Sadistic Lullabye
22. As We Speak
23. Stabbing The Drama

DVD/Blu-Ray bonus material:

Documentaries:

01. Spectrum Of Eternity: A Brief History Of Soilwork
02. Behind The Scenes Of The Living Infinite

Drumcam Videos:

01. Long Live The Misanthrope
02. Rise Above The Sentiment
03. Spectrum Of Eternity
04. Tongue

8.5/10

WORDS BY OMAR CORDY