Swedish metal band Soilwork to perform in S'pore on Oct. 29 as planned: Organiser

Not all metal bands are the same, hello?

Matthias Ang | March 08, 2019, 06:37 PM

Swedish metal band Soilwork is set to perform as planned on Oct. 29.

On March 7, Street Noise SG, the concert organiser put up a Facebook post saying: "Soilwork is here to stay."

The organiser added that they had received calls from the media in the wake of the cancellation of Watain's concert, querying about the status of Soilwork's concert.

Both Soilwork and Watain were targets of a Change.org petition, which called for a ban on their performances in Singapore.

Making a stand

Street Noise SG added that it was going to make a stand, not just for Soilwork, but for future performances as well: "For as long as we can hold up against those bullshit we will continue to stand tall and fight on."

The organiser also stressed that it had adhered to the rules and regulations in seeking licenses, approval, as well as security personnel where required for their events and that they were not instigating violence.

Street Noise SG then concluded with a call for support and unity, highlighting that many of their events would never be picked up by bigger promoters due to the size of the crowd, which did not translate into profits.

The post was also accompanied by video of a track, For the Love of God, by guitarist Steve Vai.

Here is the post in full:

In case you can't see the post, here is the caption in full:

"On a serious note, we have newspapers, media, magazines calling us from 5pm today. Just hung up 5 mins ago ... so "Soilwork how?" everyone wants to know.

So here's how. Soilwork is here to stay. So are the other shows. And the future shows to come. For as long as we can hold up against those bullshit we will continue to stand tall and fight on. We have always done the right thing, getting the right licenses and approvals, placing licensed security personnels where necessary, doing whatever it takes to make things work. We break no rules. We harm no one. So please respect us and our work.

So until the day comes for us to say good bye, please continue to support your local promoters. This is the only way to keep things going. At least 90% of our shows will never happen with the big boys promoters because these shows do not make money at all when only 50 to 150 (if lucky!) crowd comes. And with all these drama mamas coming in at us, we are now at a new low. This is reality here in Singapore. "Life is a rollercoaster, just gotta ride it"

Stand united. Fight the good fight."

How is Soilwork different from Watain?

Unlike Watain, which is a black metal band, Soilwork calls itself a melodic death metal band, according to its Facebook page.

The event page for its performance in Singapore adds that the band incorporates a mix of late-70s and early-80s British and European metal styles with Sweden's signature death metal style.

Founded in 1997, a year before Watain, Soilwork's reputation is its lack of controversy.

Its Wikipedia page only lists its albums.

Watain's Wikipedia has a section detailing allegations of the band's animal cruelty, highlighting one occasion at a concert in Brooklyn, U.S., in which the band doused the audience with animal blood during a show.

In any case, Soilwork is also scheduled to perform at the same venue as Watain -- Ebenex along Pereira Road.

Top image from Soilwork Facebook