SOLENCE

SOLENCE
Biography
By Ryan J. Downey

The world can be cruel, but SOLENCE offers a simple cure. The charming quartet of high-energy Swedes is defined as much by their endless optimism as their boundless talent. Their new album, ANGELS CALLING, combines big pop hooks and electro savvy with the heavy yet melodic intensity of trailblazing Swedish metal into a distinctive international sound equal parts hypnotic and uplifting.

A SOLENCE performance is a participatory sport. Audiences are encouraged to sing and bounce along, as evidenced during electrifying sets at festivals like Louder Than Life, Aftershock, and Welcome to Rockville, and on the sold-out Tekkno Tour supporting Electric Callboy in 2023.

The band returns with fresh visuals, a new look, and a retrofitted sound that combines the best of their past with a look into the future for both the group and the genre. “For some reason, I’ve always felt like my time on earth is limited, as if I might die young,” frontman Markus Videsäter explains. “Our music is about making the most of life, relationships, and passion before heaven calls us home.”

SOLENCE focuses all its energy on uplifting anyone in a dark state of mind to a brighter place.

“SOLENCE is all about having a good time,” Videsäter declares. “Our message to our existing fans and potential new ones is that we want to bring the fun back into rock n’ roll.”

Joining Markus on that mission are guitarist David Strääf, keyboardist Johan Swärd, and drummer David “Viking” Vikingsson, all of whom share the singer’s focus and passion. Songs like “Good F**King Music,” “Animal in Me,” and “Heaven” have garnered hundreds of millions of streams.

ANGELS CALLING songs like “Monsters in My Head,” “MESS,” “Dead_Alive,” “All of the Pain Must Go,” and the title track form a diverse collection of their most highly charged material yet.

With their latest album, “We are now the hype squad and the party train,” smiles Strääf.

Each member began playing music at a young age: Markus played the trumpet, David the violin, Johan the bassoon, and Viking the drums. “I knew music was what I wanted to do when I was seven,” Markus says. “I went to music school, where I met the band. We shared the drive to create. That’s the spirit that started this band. The goal was to keep moving, no matter what direction we went.”

SOLENCE initially built its substantial worldwide audience from a shared living space in Stockholm. They first emerged with powerful renditions of well-known pop hits by Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Ed Sheeran, Britney Spears, and Queen, but none were as popular as the band’s original music.

The group’s 2019 full-length debut, Brothers, was quickly followed by 2020’s Direction EP, which catapulted them into the Active Rock Top 50. “Blackout” was a huge breakout, and “Animal in Me” (17M views on YouTube and counting) became that year’s most-played track on SiriusXM’s Octane.

“I write songs to keep myself going,” Markus confesses. “Most of us in life struggle with insecurity, past trauma, or things we’re in now when we feel stuck, depressed, and down. Many bands describe those feelings, but we want to help people get out of them to make them feel stronger.”

2021’s Deafening represented another massive leap forward in evolution. “The songs varied a lot, with different inspirations,” Markus says. “From music to anime, gaming, sci-fi, and even philosophy.”

Part of the band’s growing popularity stems from their lyrical relatability. As they’ve evolved, they’ve avoided complicated metaphors in favor of deeper authenticity. “We decided a couple of years ago to focus on talking to the listener directly,” notes Swärd. “We’re skipping the symbolism and trying to keep that perspective in every song. The idea is that it’s just Markus talking directly to them.”

SOLENCE continued to self-produce music, emerging in 2023 with the stunning Hope is a Cult. The energetic optimism of that album intensified with the fun-loving and theatrical 2024 singles “F**k the Bad Vibes,” “A Banger a Day Keeps the Doctor Away,” and “Who You Gonna Call? (SOLENCE).”

The momentum from that material propelled SOLENCE even further, as continuous inspiration struck, marking the band’s most prolific period thus far. Writing, rewriting, and refining throughout the year, SOLENCE assembled their most ambitious album to date: 2025’s ANGELS CALLING.

 “Storytelling is a lot of fun,” Markus explains. “I write about motivation and how to get myself up in the morning. So, yes, there’s still a lot of that. We bundle it up in a lot more energy and craziness. ANGELS CALLING is so cool. I love every single song. I’m so excited about how massive it feels.”

Viking remains a beast behind the drums, and SOLENCE’s craziest guitar and keytar solos fill the album. Each banger blissfully juxtaposes creative extremes without sacrificing accessibility.

“We wanted it to be the maximum experience. The music has many layers, but the message is very simple,” says Strääf. “We pushed ourselves to combine elements of things we love, like Abba, Avicii, In Flames, and the fun-loving attitude of the old hard rock stuff, in fresh ways.”

The guys admit it was a difficult mission at first. “We wanted to bring in these different things but not in a way that had already been done,” Swärd says. “So, how do we make it our own? How can we do that with the instruments and the arrangements? It took some time to fit it all together.”

“Taking risks in music can be very hard,” Markus reasons. “One thing that bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, System Of A Down, Slipknot, and Muse share is how singular their musical identities are. We focused on making the best songs we could, and a natural development over time was that we found that originality within, to push ourselves forward.”

“I’m proud that we were able to achieve that,” adds Viking. “We were able to put our own character into these songs. This album really sounds like us, like who we are together.”

In 2025, SOLENCE continues to spread its life-affirming message. “‘Until I hear the Angels Calling’ reminds us that life is way too short to worry about doubt or making mistakes,” Markus points out.

“We never know when our time is up, so let’s make the most of it while we can!”