The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Behind the Music (2001)

For some bands that were around for many years and released many albums in their career, there's that one album that just beats everything else they ever released. Behind the Music is this album for Sweden's greatest rock band The Soundtrack of Our Lives. I would even go on to say that Behind the Music is one of the greatest rock albums ever made by anyone. Emphasis on the word 'rock'. From the first riffs it's clear that this album offers amazing tunes for rock fans. The riffs and drumming are simple, but the sounds are amazing and when has rock ever been about complicated tunes anyway. The Soundtrack of Our Lives (TSOOL) really knows how to make catchy rock songs that make you jump and sing along. They're also amazing live performers. This is one of the bands that I've seen live the most times, because they're always amazing on stage.


I first got acquainted with TSOOL at a music festival in Finland where the show just blew my mind. There were soap bubbles, amazing guitar solos, a singer that looks like Jesus, but has this amazing raspy rock voice, there were people on their shoulders on stage singing duets and overall, the show was one of the greatest I had ever seen. In 2000's some people have claimed that rock n' roll is dead, because there haven't been that many great guitar bands. TSOOL really is a fantastic guitar band and I feel like their music is timeless. It would've worked just as well if not even better already in the 70's and it works amazingly even today when I'm listening to this album.

The album kicks off really strong with a pounding song Infra Riot. The acoustic guitar and pounding drums set the tone, but when the electric guitar and bass come in, you're sucked into this rock vortex that gives you shivers all over your body. It's amazing how they can grow the sounds even further all the time by adding more layers and more and louder sounds on top of each other. Sister Surround continues the rocking with amazing guitar riffs and fantastic drumming where toms are used perfectly. In Someone Else's Mind shows the more psychedelic side of the band. It's not quite as interesting song as the majority of the other songs on the album, but it gives a nice break in the rocking. Mind the Gap shows the fantastic lyrics of the band. It's not that common for a non-native English speakers to make amazing lyrics, but I feel like TSOOL is a refreshing exception to this rule. Nevermore is a great example of Swedish songwriting skills. The melody is just perfectly melancholic, yet hopeful and the song is so incredibly catchy. The vocal harmonies are really beautiful. In Your Veins is a terrific rock ballad with amazing guitar riffs and the melancholic wailing in the end is so beautiful. This song shows that the band that rocks really hard is also capable of making you weep from sheer beauty. The Flood is probably the most impressive song on the whole album. It stats of with quiet and beautiful tones and keeps growing and getting faster through the whole song. This song shows some amazing skill in dynamics.

To get a glimpse of what it's like to see this band live, check out the music video for Sister Surround. The band is playing in a school gymnasium and the coaches are evaluating the performance like it's a sport match.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives isn't together anymore and there won't be any more music or performances coming from them, but it's a really big part of my young adulthood and I'm really glad I got to enjoy their music live so many times. Behind the Music is still one of my favourite albums of all times and it deserves to stay in history as one of the best rock albums of all times.

Listen to the album on Spotify. (The Spotify version has lots of extra songs, the original had only the 15 first ones.)