Soen
Tellurian

It's true, I was the one who gave 5 stars to their debut album "Cognitive". But I can say that in these two years I have listened to that record again and, like many other works, I have come to a reformulation of my opinion. It's an album I've reassessed negatively, even if in their shameless flirtation with A Perfect Circle and thus Tool, "Cognitive" had its own reason, especially in terms of quality. That's why I was waiting with a hint of impatience for the new "Tellurian", preceded by a cover that is not only ugly but also completely unrelated to the music offered by the group. But what is in the new chapter of Soen?

The Soen tried: they attempted to distance themselves from the label of "Tool clone band", but without succeeding. In the end, it can be said that they succeeded in producing an ugly album, without really moving away from the dark rhythms of Maynard Keenan's band. The first sensation at the end of listening to the cd is that of a solo album by the singer Joel Ekelof. The tracks have no variation in their architecture and it is always and only Ekelof's voice dominating, clearly present throughout the length of the songs. Instrumental escapes are non-existent, extremely flat songwriting. In this respect, Steve Di Giorgio's departure was certainly felt. Added to this is the forced slowness of most of the tracks: mid-tempo where Ekelof "theatricalizes" his singing, and the sensation is of a band that can't make it, as if a marathon runner had to run with a lead chain on his ankles. Everything wants to sound complex, decadent, poetic, but the result is a set of masked progressive metal tracks where, aside from the musicians' expertise, there is very little else to note. The lead single "Tabula Rasa" was already quite indicative in this sense.

"Tellurian" is a work that appears perfect from a production standpoint (Spinefarm Records), where all the musicians move within precise, perhaps even too precise, frameworks. It has the impression of a mannered record, which in addition to the usual Tool and A Perfect Circle also winks at Opeth (emblematic is the incipit of "Koniskas"). Perhaps it couldn't have been otherwise, given the presence of Martin Lopez behind the drums. An album that therefore takes heavily from this and that, just like the previous one, which, however, had a decidedly superior overall quality and songwriting. It is probably one of those classic albums to which the label of "work that requires multiple listens" should be attributed, but the substance is that, aside from the usual mannered riffs and a theatrical and decadent singing, Soen is the symbolic emblem of a reality that seems to have unabashed recycling as its only source of "salvation".

1. "Komenco" (0:37)
2. "Tabula Rasa" (5:25)
3. "Kuraman" (5:25)
4. "The Words" (6:19)
5. "Pluton" (7:27)
6. "Koniskas" (4:59)
7. "Ennui" (5:21)
8. "Void" (8:31)
9. "The Other's Fall" (8:43)