Back in the early 2000s the Nu Metal scene was alive and well. Bands like Linkin Park, Slipknot, among others were dominating, but then a band that somehow felt different arrived… they were SOiL. A hardworking act out of Chicago, IL, SOiL possessed a dark sound that was melodic, heavy, and felt more along the lines of old school Metal than their contemporaries. Standing out, perhaps it was due to the fact that the core of SOiL were elder statesmen on the scene of the time with their core members prior working in Extreme Metal acts such as Oppressor and Broken Hope. Giving them an edge that felt more underground, SOiL made a big splash in the Alternative Metal world in 2001 with their major label debut Scars. An album that featured a ton of killer tracks, 2003’s Redefine piggy backed off the energy, but leading, distinctive vocalist, Ryan McCombs, would cut out a year later in 2004.
Leaving SOiL without an intangible part of their identity, they recruited A.J. Cavalier was their vocalist, and he did a serviceable job for them two records – 2006’s True Self and 2009’s Picture Perfect. An era which lasted six years, oddly enough, during this period McCombs landed as Drowning Pools vocalist (a band he returned to once again as of March of 2023). A strange turn of events, it was one fans respected, but to the surprise of many, McCombs was back in front of SOiL once again in 2011. Something few saw coming, the reunion was a spark plug, resulting in a live record in 2012, 2013’s Whole, a complication in 2017, and 2022’s cover record, Play It Forward. Now halfway through 2023 SOil returns again with their latest release, Restoration.
Released through Cleopatra Records on Friday, July 21st, is Restoration the album of new original material fans have waited for? Not exactly. Instead it is a re-recorded collection of songs from the band’s two most beloved records – Scars and Redefine. Fair enough, however, the true selling point of this set is their re-recording of “The Lesser Man.” Not from Scars or Redefine, “The Lesser Man” is in fact off of ’09s Picture Perfect… so this gives fans the first ever studio recording of the track with McCombs on vocals. Very cool to hear, with all due respect to Cavalier, McCombs voice offers a new dynamic to the track that sounds like classic SOiL.
Which leads us to the cherry picked tracks from Scars and Redefine for this re-recorded album. In all honesty, many are probably curious as to why they would revisit the material again in the studio; because the original cuts sounded great. Well, sometimes it is fun to revisit the past, and if anything these updated recordings offer a slightly less polished take. Full of energy and still as heavy, the most distinctive difference lies in the guitar tone (which is gritter) and the mixing of the drums (which actually fit better) – this is clearly heard on “The One” as well as “Unreal” just as an example.
So, when it is all said and done Restoration is a solid reflection on the past, all while keeping SOiL continuously in the forefront of listeners’ heads. That said, what would really be great is if the band teamed up to record some new tracks… after all it has been a decade since the release of Whole. Well worth checking out, Cryptic Rock gives Restoration 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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