Soen - Cognitive

Soen Cognitive cover
Soen
Cognitive
Spinefarm Records
2012
8.5
Although Soen took its first shape back in 2005 by the drummer Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth, ex-Amon Amarth) and the guitarist Kim Platbarzdis… it was 5 years later, in 2010, with the arrival of the vocalist Joel Ekelof that the band became active again. Meanwhile, the bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Sadus, Testament, Autopsy, Control Denied, Futures End etc.) joined the band… making the line-up even more impressive.
 
It is intriguing how intricate, distinct and contemporary this album is… yet atmospheric and melancholic as a whole but also with numerous heavy and complex melodic orientations… it forces you into a toneless mysterious maze where you can only find the way out through repeated listens without breaking the 10piece song-puzzle that’s touching you deep inside and adding various colors in this gloomy place. I cannot easily escape it… although I sometimes try it… it keeps coming back to me… can’t leave me in peace… and it’s hard to control it… after a while, it is like an invisible tune-leech that gets stuck in your head… making it impossible to let go.
 
Influenced by several metal and rock genres and from bands like Fates Warning, Riverside, Porcupine Tree, Tool, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Anathema, Katatonia, A Perfect Circle & Devin Townsend, they are making the musical blending kind of inspiring, progressive and full of experimentation… while the performances are simply magnificent… every guy here paints this “inner psycho” canvas with his unique abilities… leaving you too little space to move. David Bottrill (Tool, Coheed and Cambria, Silverchair, Smashing Pumpkins, Muse etc.) has given the appropriate space the music needs to breathe without compressing the final result. Moreover, the production is remarkable and crystal clear. Sometimes, it is better to leave the music to speak for itself… without trying to explain something that’s hard to describe… without falling into clichés. “Cognitive” has some mental as well as empirical extensions… but could it possibly unveil the music secret for itself…?