Soen - Sincere

If you like your metal progressive and smart, then oh boy do we have a treat in store for you today.  Soen hail from Sweden, and their initial line-up when they hit the scene back in 2010 included former members of Opeth and Testament, amongst others, so we already knew we were in for something interesting.

Their debut album Cognitive was certainly that.  Whilst it caught a bit of criticism initially, with some claiming that they sounded too similar to Tool (like that's a bad thing - if anything it definitely scratched the itch during the long wait for Fear Inoculum, and it's a solid album that's well worth your time), over the course of a further five albums the band have really managed to evolve their sound and made it their own.

So I've picked this band because their latest album, Memorial, dropped recently.  Not only did it put them back on my radar, but it's been one of three albums this year that I haven't been able to stop playing or talking about (so consider this one something of a three-parter, as picks and a suitably gushy write up about the other albums are on the way).  Unlike shots of tequila, I don't throw the term "perfect album" around very often, but I'd say if you're at all into progressive music, this one will hit you right in the feely bits.

Of course that made it a bit difficult to pick a stand out track to showcase this week.  So after much deliberation, I uttered a mild curse word and opted to just go with the opening track - "Sincere" since you could literally throw a dart at the track listing for this one and hit something worth listening to.  Enjoy!