FEBRUARY 24th, 2026
SOEN

 Review by: Dmitry Sukhinin
Photos By: Polina Kulikovskikh
Full Gallery:
 http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/soen/

Like many, or at least some, I have discovered Soen by finding out that the Opeth drummer had joined them. On 16. January Soen have just released their latest record “Reliance” - and luckily Oslo is in the list for the tour. 

Oslo’s beloved Rockefeller club’s stage has a drumkit decorated with flags. Unusual. 

Loud a bit muffled guitars, keys and roaring bass. I have never heard of Vulkan before. First impressions - prog metal country with massive Opeth influence. Very very very cool live! Origin? Of course Sweden. Their second song is very prog too. Very pleasant firm vocals! I watched all the set - a discovery for me. 
PS: the gig is over and I am relistening to their brilliant record Technatura, I would also add Porcupine Tree as a major influence; the first song is obviously borrowed from the Fear Of The Blank Planet record. In a good way. My highest recommendation! 

I have heard the name Xandria before. It is a band that has had an army of musicians in the lineup. Xandria share the drums so the change is fast. Xandria is something like an AI compilation of Nightwish with blends of Arch Enemy. 

A lot of backtrack, so I do not even understand if the vocals have an effect or the interval is done by extra tracks. The guitarist's antics is an absolute cringe, impossible to watch. How can one feel comfortable making these unnatural moves while delivering copycat material? So many moments are directly taken from Nightwish, I feel Spanish shame. Luckily for the band there are people who like it. Just very much not my cup of tea due to the complete absence of a single original note. 

Soen. Soen have managed to not just impress me, but exceed any expectations. Yes, they have a great album released just now, but live it is quite a different band (the small parts like vocal effects and other touches make it sound distinctively different). 20th Century Fox intro is an unusual and elegant start. Everyone gets onstage, then Nosferatu/ Rob Halford Joel Ekelöf starts killing it with vocals. Everything a fantastic live show should have is here. Steam currents (pyros, but steam), very natural analogue - sounding instruments (Quad Cortex is good!), beautiful sounding drums and Lars Åhlund shifting from guitar to keys and mesmerizing leads by Cody Lee Ford. Backing vocals are well-rehearsed as well. 

Sweden, of course. If there is a good band playing in Norway, - it must be from Sweden. 
There is a guitar change after the second song, then as announced comes stuff from the Reliance album. Very prog. The fourth song begins with a cappello. 

The show is not static. Visual effects, lights, change of “uniform” between the songs, acoustic ballad pieces, a song with the Xandria lady on vocals (very good vocals, by the way). 

Great surprise to me - this is literally what Katatonia wanted to be - Soen are just much better.
The encore. Whoa!!!