ALBUM REVIEW: Soulbound - ObsYdian

German Alt-metal band Soulbound have been around since 2009 and released there first album Towards the Sun in 2011. Since then they have released two further albums Myliennium in 2016 and Addicted to Hell in 2020. 

Their musical style is a mix of metal, electro, nu metal, amongst others. This sounds on paper as it probably a bit of a mess but I think they have taken mostly the best elements of these many types of metal and blended them in the main very well. 

Signed to Metalville in 2020, this will be their second album on this label. Produced by Chris Harms of Lords of the Lost, the opening track is an unnecessary instrumental intro.  I don’t particularly care for intro tapes at live events so not really a fan on an album. The first track proper Burn starts with singer Johnny Stecker shouting "Burn, mother fucker" on a reduced volume before the band kick in. The driving drums of Mario Klause and bass of Jonas Lang , guitars from Felix Kiemisch give an industrial metal feel with an underling electro synth from Patrick Winsler pulling the sound together. They set out their stall right away, influences are very much founded in 90s industrial and nu-metal. You can hear shadows of Disturbed and Powerman 5000 in the music and Static X in the vocals. That said, the sound is very much its own, as it has taken the best bits from these bands and blended them into something of their own. Insane, Forever in the Dark, are all great songs reminiscent of early Die Krupps or Emigrate, down tuned guitars and bass give a nu-metal feel and the electro synth lift the songs and give them hints of Lord of the Lost and Suicide Commando. Stecker's vocals for me sound very much like many of the 90's new metal bands,  especially David Draiman from Disturbed, which is no bad thing. There are a few slower tracks heartless and remain part one and two which don’t work for me but I think fans will love them. My favourite tracks are Paralyzed and Saint Sinner which are more Lord of the Lost in flavour, more of a pop / industrial metal groove, which suits the band well. 

Overall, I like the album having seen lord of the lost a number of times I think Soulbound will shine in a live setting. Their-songs are up beat and deserve to be listened to, there is nothing really that you haven’t heard before but sometime a bit of pop synth metal is what’s needed. Its a style that’s been around for decades now, and thanks to bands like Lord of the Lost,  it's finally becoming a bit more mainstream and accessible. I hope they tour the UK soon so I can check them out live.

Review by John Caffery.