Track Premiere: Hespera, “Remnants of Existence” (feat. Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork)

It’s quite something that Soilwork have now reached the point in their career — 20 years and ten albums deep — where outside musicians (albeit only very talented ones) can write music “in the style of” Soilwork that sounds more or less like a deadringer for Soilwork. The band’s ever-shifting lineup is testament to that fact.

We bring this up because In Absence, the debut EP from Hespera, was written by guitarists Cole Martinez and Matt Silac, who you most likely aren’t familiar with (although Martinez has done some production work for Whitechapel, Aborted and System Divide)… but it sure sounds a whole lot like Soilwork! A big part of that is because the vocalist on the record is none other than Björn “Speed” Strid himself. Would we be referencing Soilwork if Strid wasn’t singing here? Hard to know, although I’d venture to say “yes” — the music on its own its that good. Speed sounds great here, as does the band, and the result is very, very Soilwork-y.

As if all that wasn’t enough, some guy named Dirk Verbeuren was hired as a session drummer on the EP. Odd choice, eh? We kid.

If all of the above seems like a knock, please don’t take it that way: we’re digging the absolute ever-loving crap out of In Absence! So much so that we didn’t hesitate one bit to premiere the album’s debut single, “Remnants of Existence,” which you can check out below. We think you, fellow Soilwork fan, will dig it as much as we do.

In Absence comes out on August 31st via Seeing Red Records; pre-order here.