Every album an artist releases means something special to them. After enduring the events that transpired while Swedish metal band Soilwork was recording The Ride Majestic (due Aug. 28 on Nuclear Blast Records), the band’s 10th album has become an especially memorable part of its catalog.
According to vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid, “The album is largely inspired by tragic events which occurred in our personal lives this past year. The lyrics reflect on the meaning of existence and the art of coming to terms with the cold, hard fact that everything must come to an end. They deal with solitude, longing, the ability to visualize disaster … In short, the outer and inner darkness that we all experience.
“Just about every member of the band had a death in the family while recording the album,” he adds. “On top of that, a good friend of ours in a very promising and young band called Chronus from Helsingborg [Sweden] also passed away out of nowhere. Nineteen years old. Absolutely terrible.”
Billboard is exclusively premiering the lyric video for The Ride Majestic’s title track. Watch it below:
Strid says “The Ride Majestic” was one of the first songs the band wrote for the album. “The intro sets a certain melancholic mood, and after that it’s all pure melodic mayhem. There’s a very epic and anthemic feel to it, which suits the album title perfectly. To me, it’s a very Soilwork-sounding song. We walk a fine line between melody and aggression, and I think ‘The Ride Majestic’ really nails it. I can see this song becoming a future live staple for sure.”
Lyrically, the track is concerned with “the fear of dying and the art of remaining sane while you’re still alive — not wanting to miss a thing, wanting to embrace every moment and being able to bring it all back on your dying day with a snap of your fingers,” explains Strid. “It’s also a tribute to the ones we’ve lost and the comfort of hoping that they will catch us when we fall on the other side. We believe that, if there is an afterlife, this song would be the soundtrack to that journey. It deals with the acceptance of life and death and possibly everything between and beyond.”