Solace – Fading Failing Ruin

 

 

Solace – Fading Failing Ruin
Magnetic Eye Records – 2026 
Metal, Stoner, Doom, Dirt
Rated: *****

I’ve been lucky enough to see stoner metal’s best kept secret live not that long ago. They played TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht as pre-show to Hermano. A they delivered an amazing set that started with Spiral Will, the opener of the new album and the single that’s been out for months. It immediately became obvious that the secret we’ve all been keeping for the past 30 years should be set free, allowed to be enjoyed by all. It’s crazy right? That this amazing outfit is still somewhat shrouded in mystery. Is the fact that Fading Failing Ruin is only the fifth album of the band's three-decade career the reason the band remains something of an enigma? Seven years after The Brink in 2019. Or are we all just hoarding Solace for ourselves? 

These dirt birds should be allowed to fly and conquer the world. On their own accord, their own style and in their own time. For Fading Failing Ruin is once again chuck full of their version of stoner metal, gritty, dirty and with a layer of grime that is impossible to clean or fake. You can either get that tone out of your guitar naturally or not at all. It sludges up solos, it turns riffs to treacle and lets rhythmic punches turn into slogs. But it never turns into a bog or becomes morose. Hell, they incorporate punk, hardcore and classic metal to spice up the speed or make edges even more serrated. 

For thirty years, Solace have walked their own path, and will continue to do so, even though Fading Failing Ruin stands as its most commanding destination. Not chasing reinvention, the band embraces the weight of their experience, forging towering riffs, bruising grooves, and moments of startling beauty into a timeless work that feels like the statement we’ve all been so desperate to hear. Every note carries the confidence of musicians who answer only to themselves, balancing unrelenting power with patient, deliberate craft. And that patience is what drives every song... 

And where Spiral Will might have been the obvious single, at the heart of the album lies Wrath's Object (The Big Fall). An epic that unfolds like a slow-burning storm. Its dreamlike opening gives way to waves of crushing heaviness, soaring guitar melodies, and restless emotion, revealing darkness and new depths with every turn. More than a centerpiece, it is the album's soul… The bands spirit captured. A journey through ruin, resilience, and release that embodies everything Solace have spent three decades becoming: uncompromising, expansive, and completely unforgettable… The heart of it all laid bare, Solace for everyone! 

(Written by JK)

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