Soapbox is a four-man (Krister Mortsell, Andreas Rejdvik, Par E. Augustin and Simon Branstrom) hardcore band hailing from Sweden. A Divided Man, their first full-length album, was released on Solid State Records in the USA in May 2001.
As I'm not really a fan of hardcore, this wasn't really my type of thing to listen to. But in all fairness, this band really does have talent in what they do. Though I don't find the music easy to connect with (mainly because I can't understand the "singing"), I turned to the lyrics, which gave me a completely different outlook on the band. They cover so many topics and issues, in such a strong way; you can't help but be impressed and touched.
In "Killer" they talk about the different poisons of the world, with a chorus that says, "You kill the planet/You strangle mother earth. You fill your wallet/Your money's red with blood." "Way Too Much, Way Too Sick" covers a topic of something, which was meant to be beautiful, but has been turned into something sick. "Evil Mind" goes into the topic of our minds today, as he says "racism, fascism, capitalism, communism are all ways of showing that we've learnt nothing at all," and continues later by saying "It is our evil mind that makes us blind. It makes us all so blind. It makes the precious truth so hard to find." In "Fight the Racism" they talk about exactly what the title says - Racism. "People get kicked down in the streets today. People get kicked down for the colour of their skin. People getting killed in the streets today. People getting killed for the colour of their skin. Fight the racism, stop it!"
They really write about things they believe in, and do it in such a way they get the message out there, and they get it out in a powerful and influential way. If you like hardcore, you'll love this. If you don't at least give the lyrics a shot. You'll be impressed, to say the least.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 2000Reviewed by Marco PovervestA Divided Man is the follow-up album of the six-song EP Soapbox released last year. On the new album there are 15 songs plus a bonustrack. Five of the songs were on the EP too, like Guilty. In that song they sang quite appropriately: "I want something more, I want something more to happen". Well, here they are with eleven new songs to happen. Just like on the EP they bring a nice mix of hardcore…Similar sounding releases
2002Sleeping by the RiversideA Breath Between Battles
2004Evergreen TerraceWriters Block
2005The DeadlyThe Wolves Are Here Again
2002The Curse / Go! For the Throat / Knives Out / Paint It BlackThe Philadelphia Sound
2002Love Is RedAll That's Ahead Points To Forever
2003The First StepOpen Hearts and Clear Minds
