SOEN announce their forthcoming new studio album Reliance, set for release on January 16, 2026 via Silver Lining Music.
With Reliance, their seventh studio album, the Swedish progressive metal powerhouse, spearheaded by Joel Ekelöf (vocals) and Martin Lopez (drums), continue to find incredible new pathways into the spatial areas between light and dark, loud and calm, heavy and soothing. And with its seamless march across deeply human emotional terrain, SOEN’s music continues to explore the human mind, heart, and soul with a visionary duty of care, plus an extra edge of heavy.
With Lars Enok Åhlund (keyboards and guitar), Cody Lee Ford (guitar), and Stefan Stenberg (bass) standing shoulder to shoulder with Ekelöf and Lopez, the lush continual evolution of SOEN’s sound soars.
SOEN, Left to Right: Lars Enok Åhlund (keyboard and guitar), Martin Lopez (drums), Joel Ekelöf (vocals), Stefan Stenberg (bass), Cody Ford (lead guitar). – Photo by Linda Florin
The first single, “Primal,” released today, is a provoking, barrel-chested roar detailing the existential fight between the human spirit and our current world, with Ekelöf’s incredible vocals leading the heavy charge.
Founding member and drummer Martin Lopez comments: “Primal’ is a song that came from a place of frustration with the world we’re living in. The corruption, the division and the suffocating grip that technology has on all of us. It’s heavy and straight to the point, built on riffs and raw energy, but it also opens up into a chorus that feels hopeful, like a reminder that light can still break through the dark.”“For us, it’s about more than just aggression,”
continues Ekelöf. “It’s about encouraging people to find that fire again, to reconnect with passion, and to take those steps out of the darkness together.”
With Reliance, SOEN continue their extraordinarily raw and earnest lifetime exploration of the mental and physical boundaries which challenge humankind as it writhes and wrestles with itself in these challenging times. Thoughtful, provocative, beautiful and brutal, Reliance is a journey you need to take.
RelianceTrack Listing:
Primal
Mercenary
Discordia
Axis
Huntress
Unbound
Indifferent
Drifter
Draconian
Vellichor
Produced, recorded and mixed by Alexander Backlund at Fascination Street Studios.
Mastered by Tony Lindgren.
SOEN:
Joel Ekelöf – Vocals
Martin Lopez – Drums Lars Enok Åhlund – Keyboards and Guitar Cody Ford – Lead Guitar Stefan Stenberg – Bass
Press release – SOEN unveil their fourth single, the enchantingly dark “Indifferent,” taken from the upcoming studio album Reliance, due for release [,,,]
