SOEN’s Cody Lee Ford On The Band’s New “Imperial” Album, Canada, Rock Influences & More

SOEN was founded by Joel Ekelöf (vocals) and Martin Lopez (drums), with its lineup eventually rounded out by Lars Enok Åhlund (keyboards and guitar), Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel (bass) and Cody Lee Ford (lead guitar). Imperial, as released on January 29, 2021 via Silver Lining Music, is the latest full-length from the band — which includes former members of Amon Amarth, Opeth and Willowtree — as produced by Iñaki Marconi and the quintet. The album was mastered by Kane Churko, who has worked with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch and Bob Dylan, which helps give songs like “Illusion,” “Modesty” and album-closer “Fortune” plenty of depth and heaviness.

Fans eager to catch SOEN performing their new material will have to wait till Fall 2021 for the band to be able to get on the road again. The group’s Imperial European Tour 2021 will kick-off in November 2021 in Odense, Denmark, with new dates in Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Poland since added. However, the band has released several music videos of songs from Imperial in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic; 2 of those music videos are embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

On Feburary 7, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with SOEN guitarist Cody Lee Ford via Zoom, as embedded below. While the majority of our conversation is about his rock influences and how he manages to be Canada-based while a member of a Sweden-based band, we did briefly discuss the making of Imperial. More on Ford and SOEN can be found here, here, here and here.

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Tags: Canada, Cody Ford, Cody Lee Ford, Kane Churko, Opeth, Soen, Sweden

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."