SOEN have released “Mercenary,” the crushing second single from their new studio album ‘Reliance,’ out now via Silver Lining Music. The band’s seventh full-length sees vocalist Joel Ekelof and drummer Martin Lopez continuing to push deeper into the contrasts that define SOEN’s sound, moving fluidly between light and dark, heaviness and restraint. Honesty sits at the core of the album’s writing, where emotional gravity and raw power coexist without compromise. That balance is especially present on “Mercenary,” which confronts inherited violence, betrayal, and the personal cost of belief. “‘Mercenary’ is about the violence we inherit, which then sees hatred seeping into lives—and life—which in turn shapes generations,” explains Ekelof. Lopez adds, “It also addresses betrayal, about how that can see us ‘crowning vultures into kings.’” Ekelof continues, “At its heart, ‘Mercenary’ speaks to the cost of belief,” before Lopez concludes that “musically, it carries the essence of SOEN – heavy yet melodic and built on power and precision.”