Soilwork album inspired by tragedy

Soilwork mainman Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid says The Ride Majestic was created amid tragedy within the band.

The album is set for release on August 28 via Nuclear Blast and follows 2013’s The Living Infinite.

And in the first in a documentary series about the recording process, the singer reveals how difficult it was to create their 10th album.

He says: “By the time we entered the studio in Stockholm in January, a member of the band had two deaths in his family, and another had a parent hospitalised with serious conditions.”

A couple of weeks into recording Strid says he received a call from home telling him his grandmother didn’t have long to live. He adds: “She was one of my best friends and always fell asleep to Soilwork. I decided to leave the studio and travel six hours south to say goodbye. It was one of my hardest journeys.”

He continues: “Naturally, all of those tragic events had a huge impact on this record and the way we approached it. Death was more real than ever and we all channeled it into this record.”

The Ride Majestic is available to pre-order, and the band recently released a lyric video for the title track.

They’re currently on a world tour.

The Ride Majestic tracklist

01. The Ride Majestic 02. Alight In The Aftermath 03. Death In General 04. Enemies In Fidelity 05. Petrichor By Sulphur 06. The Phantom 07. The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic) 08. Whirl Of pain 09. All Along Echoing Paths 10. Shining Lights 11. Father And Son, Watching The World 12. Of Hollow Dreams 13. Ghosts And Thunder

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.