Soilwork

Soilwork
Soilwork performing at Rockharz Open Air 2016 in Germany
Background information
Also known as	Inferior Breed
Origin	Helsingborg, Sweden
Genres	Melodic death metal, heavy metal, alternative metal
Years active	1995−present
Labels	Listenable, Century Media, Nuclear Blast
Website	www.soilwork.org
Members	Björn Strid Sylvain Coudret David Andersson Sven Karlsson Markus Wibom
Past members	List of Soilwork band members

Soilwork is a Swedish heavy metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork (meaning "working from the ground up").

Formed in late 1995, originally under the name Inferior Breed. Their sound, as explained by "Speed" was influenced by such bands as Pantera, Meshuggah, and Carcass. Upon changing their band name in late 1996 to Soilwork, they began to make more melodic music. Soilwork began work on a demo entitled In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake. Before the recording ever took place, bassist Carl-Gustav Döös left the group, leaving guitarist Peter Wichers to handle the bass tracks on the demo. In a chance encounter, Soilwork met Michael Amott of Arch Enemy fame, who owned a record store in Helsingborg, and gave him a copy of their demo. This ultimately led to the band signing with Listenable Records.

In 1998, Soilwork added keyboardist Carlos Holmberg and bassist Ola Flink. The band recorded and released their debut album Steelbath Suicide in May of that year. Soon after, guitarist Ludvig Svartz and drummer Jimmy Persson left, citing "different musical opinions." Persson (now guitar and vocals in Faithful Darkness) was replaced by Henry Ranta, while Svartz was replaced by Peter Wichers' uncle, Ola Frenning. The band toured throughout Europe in support of the album with bands such as Darkane, Naglfar, and Krisiun.

In 1999, Soilwork recorded their second full-length album, The Chainheart Machine but it was released in 2000. The album received critical acclaim and eventually landed them a recording contract with label Nuclear Blast, allowing the band to tour with acts such as Defleshed, Cannibal Corpse, and even, briefly, with fellow melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity.