review by: The Condor

This band is completely insane. Hard to explain why, exactly. Here's a brief bit from their website:

"We all know how difficult it is to cultivate good taste in music. If you do have good taste in music, of course you know about SOLEFALD! We are the only band in Metal music with good taste.

But what about the music? Do we laugh at our music? Of course not. We are Metal's sensitive guys. You know us. We can safely affirm that NOTHING is more serious than our music. Yes, correct! We can even affirm that nothing is more IMPORTANT than our music!

Our music is perfect. What does it mean that it is perfect? It means that you will die when you listen to it. Death will sweep you under Solefald's wings like seven winds sweep seven oak leaves swiftly away into the winter sky!

But we can assure you: You will not die if you listen to our advice. Solefald believe it helps talking about the things that hurt. How can we help you? It is nothing Solefald want more than to be able to help you. Sit down and relax. Have something to drink, and try to forget about death.

If you still feel bad, let us talk about it.

We are good boys. Our music, though, is so perfect it is lethal. It is not our fault that we are just TOO good."

See what I mean. Anyway, Solefald are responsible for one of my all time favorite records, The Linear Scaffold, a buzzing, blasting black metal masterpiece. Then came their utterly disappointing second record, Neonism, which was a stupid and silly mix of industrial pop and techno metal with lyrics about Calvin Klein and crap like that. Apparently, that was the birth of their 'designer rock and roll' concept. Whatever. So hopes were definitely not high for this record, especially with such a ridiculous album title. But lo and behold, Solefald has again found their way, and returned with probably the weirdest, coolest metal record of the year. Bafflingly bizzare, but in no way stupid; heavy -and- metal, but not clichéd at all.

Not nearly as furious as The Linear Scaffold, Pills Against the Ageless Ills is basically a pop record in metal's clothing. Buzzing guitars and blazing blast beats do abound, however, they're usually plopped down between jangly guitars, fuzzed out organ, carnivalesque melodies, crunchy garage riffs, swirling keyboards, and sort-of new wave vocals. The first song starts off with a lone violin that is quickly overcome and beaten into submission by a crushing metallic onslaught. But almost before you can begin banging your head, the clean vocals come in over a ridiculously catchy hook, and it only gets better from there.

Ultra precise, insanely complex rhythms underpin swirling psychedelia and gentle melodies while growled vocals battle to the death with soaring harmonies. The sound is part Nordic black metal, part prog-rock, part Katatonia, part Faith No More, part Modern English, part Arcturus, and the vocals veer recklessly (but perfectly) from shrieking black metal screech, to the sorrowful wail of Katatonia, to Faith No More-era Mike Patton, to the that muttered Einsturzende Neubauten vocal to raspy Marilyn Manson-ish growls to a perfect Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) complete with the British accent. Weird but great.

Probably a little too schizophrenic and melodic for a lot of metalheads, but pretty perfect nonetheless.

I think the band sums it up best:

"Solefald dream about a happy life for everybody. That is why we make an effort to warn you. We warn you because we care about you. Because we want to live with you and everybody else in the best of all possible worlds! Be reasonable, burn our album before it burns you.
We called it Red Music with Black Edges.
We called it Radical Designer Rock'n'Roll.
IT DID NOT HELP. THEY DIED ANYWAY."