Soen // Reliance // Album Review

What a way to start a new year, the first review for me and what an amazing start in the form of Soen and their seventh studio album, Reliance.

I must hold my hands up at this point and admit that I have dabbled in the world of Soen before, but never really delved into the discography, so I have come to this album almost blind, but now I feel rather daft.

As the chugging guitars kick into gear at the opening of ‘Primal’, I was immediately nodding along, and then this clean vocal that almost feels the opposite of what I would expect to hear comes in, and whilst an unusual combination, it works fantastically.

You won’t need me to tell you the band is Swedish; it is obvious in the sound. The Progressive Metal five-piece blend the heaviness of Scandinavian Metal with the uplifting sound of Prog, and in some songs, it feels quite Power Metal-heavy, with undertones of something quite sinister.

As the album progresses, there is a real feel of anthemic tracks that sound massive and transport me to a gig or festival, just soaking them in. Basking in the blend of heavy and uplifting, this is the kind of music that can light a spark inside you when all other music just sounds generic or run-of-the-mill.

‘Axis’ stood out with each listen to the album, but that’s not being disrespectful to any of the others; it almost feels a little like Volbeat if they had some aggression and fight. For me, though, this track shows the band’s flexibility as they stay in that Prog arena but are happy to go with the feeling.

‘Indifferent’ is the most stripped back song on the album and is a delightful and beautiful sounding addition to the album – again showing the versatility – but again making me feel rather daft as to not have explored this band more in the past. I will, however, be rectifying this now as I have found a band that does not sound like anything else on my playlist and even more so, if this album is good, they are very good.

Reliance is a refreshing and top drawer album that has set up 2026 fantastically and will be frequently played alongside their other albums. The phrase “better late than never” definitely resonates with Soen and me.

Reliance will be released on Friday, 16th January 2026 via Silver Lining Music.

Review: Ed Ford

Track list