A Long‑Awaited Arrival: Soen Bring Their Resilience Tour to Australia

In the world of prog metal, few bands are spoken of in such hushed tones and reverence as SOEN. Renowned for their cinematic soundscapes, intricate musicianship, and emotionally charged and intense performances; they have carved out a distinctive space in the music world. Their music blends atmospheric prog, heavy riffs, and introspective lyrics, earning them a dedicated global following and universal critical praise.

Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, Soen has released a string of critically acclaimed albums since their 2012 debut Cognitive. With influences ranging from Tool and Pink Floyd to modern progressive metal, they continue to push boundaries while staying true to their core ethos of honest, powerful song writing. Drummer Martin Lopez talks to Rob Lyon about their long awaited Australian shows.

The Australian tour is not far away, are you excited for these shows?
I am, especially with this band, we’ve never been there, so we’re really looking forward to it. We tried for many, many years, and because of different reasons we couldn’t make it happen, but now it’s all booked and confirmed. We’re happy.

Is touring these days just really difficult to get the planets to line up and make it happen?
Since the pandemic it’s been back and forth, there’s a pandemic, there’s wars, fuel prices going up… it’s kind of crazy. But we’re just happy to finally be able to go there.

Is this tour about introducing yourselves with Australian audiences, and maybe coming back for a bigger tour in the future?
Yeah. The first tour is always to test the waters and see how it turns out. I’m sure it’ll be great, and hopefully we get that in motion so we can go there every year and a half, two years.

For people new to the band, how would you describe your music and what they can expect at the shows?
We play heavy music, emotional music, metal and proggy, with a lot of atmosphere. Our shows are very emotional. We connect really well with our audience. We don’t go for choreography; we make it all about the connection. I think we’re good at that, and our music really works for it.

Are you focusing mostly on the new album Resilience, or covering the entire back catalogue?
For Australia, we’re changing the setlist, maybe adding a few songs because we’ve never been there. We want to play something from every album, at least.

Have you been pleased with the reaction to the new album?
It’s been great. The tours we’ve done for it have been great, the reviews are great, we’re really happy. We really love it. The production is amazing. We’re really happy.

Comparing it to Imperial and the last couple of albums, how do you think the band’s sound has evolved?
We’ve been going heavier and heavier, but the songwriting has developed a lot. This album brings back a lot of elements we had in the past, it’s groovier. The album before this one was a bit too mechanical. This one is more organic, and the songs are better.

Does that come with experience, or are there other influences shaping the process?
It’s a combination. We get better at doing our job. Every musician gets better at their instrument, and then the song writing… you get a sense of where the band sounds best and where we’re most comfortable, and we take it there. Time passes, you get new influences, you find new things to add to your music to make it richer.

When you talk about getting heavier and heavier, is that deliberate, or does it just evolve that way?
It evolved that way. I don’t know if it’s the world and the way it looks, and the anger that comes with that, that made our songs heavier and heavier. But it’s been like that. I have a feeling that for the next album we’ll maintain some heaviness, but also start experimenting with other sounds. It’s just been the natural progression until now.

When you say experimenting with other sounds, are there particular bands influencing that, or is it just curiosity?
Not really. We’ve just been playing around and finding things we think will make our music better and daring to add that. You’ve got to stay creative and make it fun, otherwise it doesn’t work. You have to let yourself do new things to keep things interesting and fun.

Have the songs from the album continued to evolve while playing them live on tour since it came out in January?
A little bit, a little bit. I think the dream of all musicians would be to record an album, then tour the album, and then re‑record it, because you always start finding some details here and there that make them better. There are always things you start adding live that give you thoughts to upgrade the songs.

Now that the album has been out for nearly eight months, does the real satisfaction come from seeing how fans react live, which songs resonate more, maybe even surprising you?
Yeah. There are a few songs, especially Discordia and Primal from the new album, that are really special live. You can see how the crowd reacts and how the band gets into them. Those are two songs we really look forward to every night.

Are there any particular Australian bands that have caught your ear?
Of course The Omnific, they’re opening for us, and they’re a fantastic band. That’s something special and something we’re looking forward to, just seeing them every night. And then, of course, Karnivool and Caligula’s Horse, they’re all great bands. The Australian prog scene is really strong.

Three shows in four days is tough going. How do you prepare for that while juggling jet lag and fatigue, and still having to give everything in the shows?
You just do it. You leave everything in the hands of adrenaline and hope that when the intro starts, the adrenaline gives you the strength to get through the shows. Even if it’s tough, the flying and all of that, when you actually start the show, it’s always nice. You feel there’s a meaning to everything you did, and you enjoy them.

What do you look forward to about touring Australia? Is there an Aussie experience you want to have, kangaroos, koalas, Vegemite, lamingtons?
We’re going to the koala park, of course. But I’m especially looking forward to the shows. I’ve played many, many shows, but the shows in Australia, I still remember them vividly. I remember the crowd being really open, and that fits our music. So I think it’s going to be three great nights.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Catch Soen on the following dates with The Omnific, tickets from The Phoenix…