MetalSucks

Watching Peter Wichers play with Soilwork last month at New York’s Highline Ballroom was like witnessing a homecoming of sorts. Sure, it wasn’t the very first show back for Wichers, a founding member and key songwriter who recently returned to the group after a four-year hiatus, who had already been playing with the band for weeks on tour with Darkane, Warbringer and Swallow the Sun. Still, it just felt so right. Without Wichers, Soilwork was like a lumbering beast doing its best Soilwork impersonation… but it wasn’t quite Soilwork. Sworn to a Great Divide was a decent album, but “decent” was exactly as far as it went. Before the show I caught up with Wichers to ask him about the circumstances leading to his return to the band, balancing life on the road and life with a family, what it’s like to play someone else’s material in your band, his production work on the Nuclear Blast Allstars project and Warrel Dane solo record, and what the future holds for Soilwork. Our chat, after the fold.

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A press release arrived last night after the gates of the MetalSucks Mansion had been shuttered announcing pretty much the best news ever: founding guitarist Peter Wichers has rejoined Soilwork. Wichers had departed to pursue a career in producing, working on such records as the Nuclear Blast all-star Out of the Dark compilation and Warrel Dane of Nevermore’s solo record Praises to the War Machine.

This news is particularly refreshing because without Wichers, Soilwork had been lumbering along as an imitation of its former self. Wichers was always the primary writer and creative force behind Soilwork until his departure in late 2005, so his return should come as welcome news to any fans who thought 2007’s Sworn to a Great Divide was lackluster effort (presently company excluded — I thought Sworn was a passable if even decent effort, but that it lacked that special touch). To make matters worse, second guitarist Ola Frenning quit earlier this year, removing any guitar links to the band’s glory days. With Wichers’ return, his replacement Daniel Antonsson has been let go and drummer Dirk Vervueren’s bandmate in Scarve, Sylvain Coudret, has been tapped for second guitar.

This great news comes just in time for the band’s massive North American headline tour with Darkane, Warbringer and Swallow the Sun! YES! Full list of tour dates after the jump.

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How many of you snoozed on Praises to the War Machine, the excellent solo CD released this past Spring by Nevermore crooner Warrel Dane? The Peter Wichers (ex-Soilwork)-produced effort, while not necessarily living up to the best of Nevermore, was a damn fine disc. As perhaps the album’s slowest number, “Brother” wouldn’t have been my choice for a video to represent the whole album — but it does capture the ethos of the disc pretty well while indulging in some of the finest metal cliches known to man (Warrel sitting in a leather arm chair surrounded by candles in a dark room = unequivocally METAL). Interestingly (and Dane deserves major props for this), the movie footage cut into this video is real stuff from his childhood, relating to the [depressing] subject matter of the song.

-VN

Praises to the War Machine, the first solo effort from Nevermore / Sanctuary vocalist Warrel Dane, is one of the releases yet to come out this Spring that I’m most looking forward to. The effort was recorded and mixed by ex-Soilwork axeman Peter Wichers who also plays guitar and bass on the album; Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren plays drums on the record as well. Praises to the War Machine is now available for streaming in its entirety on Warrel Dane’s MySpace. Also, check out the handy-dandy widget, below!

The result? Praises to the War Machine sounds something like Soilmore or Neverwork, not that this is a bad thing at all. The production and guitar tone are Wichers’ trademark, but Dane’s vocals add a dynamic to the music that’s distinctly Nevermore. If you’re a fan of either, you’ll likely dig this release. If you’re unfamiliar with Nevermore, you a) are a nincompoop, b) should check out several of their songs here. And I’m guessing most of you know Soilwork pretty well.

Praises to the War Machine drops April 28th in Europe and May 13th in the U.S. on Century Media.

-VN