Mattias Svensson is a Swedish musician whose name is inextricably linked to his presence as a rhythm guitarist in the Saturnus line-up that recorded the masterpiece Saturn In Ascension; enough, perhaps, to make attractive the debut album of his solo project called Soijl that, like it or not, takes its cue from the sound of the Danish masters. But the pedigree alone is not enough, you also need the songs and then uncommon compositional skills and it is thanks to this that the good Mattias, after enlisting the vocalist Henrik Kindvall, hits the target with Endless Elysian Fields. Inevitably, as soon as the lead guitar enters the scene, the mind runs to the touch of what was for a few years his companion in Saturnus, Rune Stiassny, but do not make the mistake of thinking of a blind ape work (which, incidentally, those who love these sounds can not however displease): Soijl often manage to merge the painful melancholy evoked by the six strings with more threatening and dark traits that refer overseas to the magnificent Daylight Dies. This combination works perfectly in the course of a compact work in its scarce hour of duration and able to give the two best songs in its extremes: the title track, placed at the opening, in which the vocalist surprises with his growl really excellent that only at times leads back to that of Thomas Jensen (it is closer, if anything, to the growl of Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom), and the beautiful The Shattering, which closes the work with the guitar to weave poignant melodies. But also everything in between is absolutely noteworthy (excellent Dying Kinship, Drifter, Trickster and The Cosmic Cold), thanks to moods that are close to two death doom expressions of absolute value of the Swedish scene such as When Nothing Remains and Doom:VS. Full promotion at the first attempt, then, for the good Mattias Svensson and his Soijl, and we fans can only enjoy the delicious fruits that the lush tree of Saturnus continues to offer.

2015 – Solitude Productions