The Living Infinite

Untitled

The Living Infinite is the ninth studio album from Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, released on 27 February 2013 in Asia, March 1, 2013 in Europe, on March 4, 2013 in the UK and on March 5, 2013 in the US. It is the band's first double album, and is believed to be the first double album in the melodic death metal genre. It is also the first Soilwork CD to feature new guitarist David Andersson; founding guitarist Peter Wichers left Soilwork for the second time in 2012, making this the second album to not feature him.

Commented vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid on a new album:

It's been an intense summer and at this point, me and the boys are hibernating in pretty much every corner of the world and putting our next album together. Many songs are yet to be written but the inspiration is flowing! People can expect a continuation of the intensity and presence of The Panic Broadcast, only taken to a higher level. That's the mindset. We will do some touring next year as well, before hopefully entering the studio sometime in the early fall. The album title is already set: The Living Infinite. Chew on that for a bit and don't spit it out until the music is invading your ears, folks!

Strid began to think of the band's next album as a double album during a 2011 tour. He wanted to challenge himself, instead of releasing a single album after Peter's departure. He also wanted to show that the band could release a great album with one of their main composers gone. He wrote two songs by the end of the year, and began writing with the rest of the band in March 2012. According to updates from Soilwork's official Facebook page, twenty-seven songs were written and recorded for the double album, of which twenty were selected for the release.

The songs "Spectrum of Eternity", "This Momentary Bliss" and "Rise Above the Sentiment" were released as singles, with a music video also released for "Rise Above the Sentiment."

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Blabbermouth
Decibel Magazine
Hellbound
Sputnikmusic	4.3/5

The album received high acclaim. Trey Spencer of Sputnikmusic gave the album a "Superb" rating of 4.3/5, praising the album's heavier sound, dynamic songwriting and melodic, progressive content. Calling it Soilwork's "strongest, most consistent album to date", he stated that the band "have simultaneously stepped back to their past while maintaining their current sound, but they have also diversified their formula more than ever before – and they did so without a single filler track." However, writing for Decibel Magazine, Adrien Begrand stated that "the primary flaw of The Living Infinite is its lack of variety, the cookie-cutter nature of the songwriting wearing thin after the halfway point".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Björn "Speed" Strid and David Andersson, except for where noted

Disc 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Spectrum of Eternity"	4:01
2.	"Memories Confined" (Strid, Sven Karlsson)	3:25
3.	"This Momentary Bliss"	3:45
4.	"Tongue"	4:20
5.	"The Living Infinite I" (Strid)	3:50
6.	"Let the First Wave Rise"	2:55
7.	"Vesta" (Strid)	4:20
8.	"Realm of the Wasted" (Strid, Sylvain Coudret)	4:31
9.	"The Windswept Mercy" (Strid)	4:16
10.	"Whispers and Lights"	5:11

Disc 2

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Entering Aeons" (Strid)	2:34
12.	"Long Live the Misanthrope"	5:31
13.	"Drowning With Silence"	4:28
14.	"Antidotes in Passing"	4:16
15.	"Leech" (Strid, Coudret)	4:22
16.	"The Living Infinite II" (Strid)	5:44
17.	"Loyal Shadow" (Strid)	2:34
18.	"Rise Above the Sentiment" (Strid)	4:03
19.	"Parasite Blues"	5:17
20.	"Owls Predict, Oracles Stand Guard" (Karlsson, Ola Flink)	5:30

Credits

Soilwork

• Björn Strid – vocals
• Ola Flink – bass
• Sven Karlsson – keyboards
• Dirk Verbeuren – drums
• Sylvain Coudret – guitar
• David Andersson – guitar

Guest

• Justin Sullivan - backing vocals on "The Windswept Mercy"