Five Former Members Of In Flames Unite In The Halo Effect

[DE4life]

Both are good, but A Truth Worth Lying For just kills it. A proper MDM single material.

Not sure if this will make sense, but THE just hits all the right buttons with me. They are making listenable songs with nice hooks while still retaining that note of seriousness and a bit of depression or something behind. And basically, that is what MDM is supposed to be - do death metal using epic, catchy riffs and chords progressions and Iron Maiden-esque melodies.

It is easy to stray from that path into metalcore, alt whatever, into radio-friendly trash or boring evil-sounding riffs when you run out of ideas etc.

I don't know, there is just a general feel-good vibe around this band that just resonates with me. I mean, how can you not love it when you see a bunch of guys you like and respect back on the stage plus Mikael Stanne who is so into it like he is 18 and this is his first big stage in life?

P.S. I'm a sucker for cool little harmonized acoustics, so that helps as well.

THE are just... real. A bunch of guys who genuinely love this music, love playing it, love the fans. There's no huge egos, no rockstar wannabes, no hipsters trying to desperately follow the latest trend or be seen with the latest big producer. These are just dudes who love the music and have pride in what they do and what they put out there. They're proud of where they come from and willing to celebrate and embrace it, rather than push it away with embarrassment or give false platitudes about it.

Their enthusiasm for the project is obvious and infectious. You can tell they all feel like teenagers again, with that sense of excitement and passion that you can only get from pursuing something you really believe in. I have total faith in every member of this band as musicians and as people in general.

What THE have made me realise is how fucking fake In Flames are, and have been for a really long time. That's not to say good things can't come out of such a band, but there's no substance to what In Flames do and what they promote. Not in the same way as THE.

 

[mindd]

The only thing I'm afraid of at this point is that this whole THE thing may still be a one-off. Hope they continue to tour after this year.

 

[eochaid]

I hope they don't. I better have them releasing a good album from time to time than being burned just after the start.

 

[DE4life]

I think with Jesper involved you can only look at it on an album by album basis. Impossible to say how his mental and physical health will hold up year to year. He's in a great place now, but he seemed to be when Cyhra started too.

If we get two or three albums out of this line up over the span of 5-10 years that'll do me.

 

[mindd]

I hope they don't. I better have them releasing a good album from time to time than being burned just after the start.

What I mean is that they tour again at all and don't just finish forever after this year.

 

[eochaid]

Uhm... At this point, I'm more happy with bands releasing new material than touring. I would be perfectly fine with my favourite bands releasing a new album every year and not tour anymore. But, I know, touring is esential for them to make money.

 

[DE4life]

It seems like the part-time touring schedule for THE works for everyone in the band. Mikael still has DT as his primary focus. Peter & Daniel both left IF because they didn't want that non-stop touring schedule anymore. We know Jesper can only handle a certain amount of touring. Niclas is a super creative guy with a ton of projects to keep himself occupied.

I get where @mindd is coming from though. Projects like these do sometimes fizzle out after the first album because the band members are all off doing different things, and they aren't able to commit to the project at the same time, and it ends up just losing steam and dissolving. Hopefully that won't be the case with THE.

 

[eochaid]

Yes. I think that short tours are good because they allow people to rest and he creative.

 

[DE4life]

Another song we haven't heard yet...

Conditional:



Probably the most IF sounding song I've heard from THE. Quality is still poor but what I can hear sounds fucking great, again. Seriously, even in shit quality that chorus is giving me goosebumps. Those melodies sound incredible. Intro is proper old school IF as well.

Just 'The Most Alone' left. Apparently they did play it at Sweden Rock, so hopefully there's an upload somewhere.

 

[eochaid]

I really hope that the keep the interludes in the album but I'm afraid they won't.

 

[The Grayfox]

I don't know, from the looks of it, they've really put some money and time into the band. All the merch, the stage set up, Daniel having custom kick heads, etc. I feel like if this was meant to be a one-off thing, they wouldn't be putting so much effort in. The response has been great too. I imagine it'll only go up once the full record is out. I think the real question isn't whether or not THE sticks around, but whether or not Jesper continues to be part of it...

Conditional sounds fucking amazing.

 

[galvanized]

Conditional sounds fucking amazing.

Agree. Best song yet? Hope there are more fast paced ones.

 

[galvanized]

Another song we haven't heard yet...

Conditional:

Look at Mikael just beaming with a huge smile there in the last 20 seconds. Straight up admiring his own band.

 

[miniroch]

Previous tracks were all fine by me, but I can already see myself raping that replay button for Conditional.

 

[DE4life]

I literally replayed Conditional at least 10 times in a row last night after first hearing it... it sounds absolutely immense, even in potato quality. Dat speed and dem melodies... total classic MDM that only the masters can produce. I need that song released NOW.

 

[DE4life]

Look at Mikael just beaming with a huge smile there in the last 20 seconds. Straight up admiring his own band.

So he should, they are the kings.

 

[DE4life]

I've been neglecting Shadowminds lately - I think because it was the first single that came out and I kind of overdosed on it back then. Such a great track though. That pre-chorus & chorus is just

Perfection.

 

[DE4life]

I wonder which song the 'special guest' that was mentioned previously is in? The only one we haven't heard yet is 'The Most Alone', so I guess it could be that one. Can't really tell from the festival tracks as those are played without any special guests and there's nothing obvious to suggest which one, if it is a track we've heard, it actually is.

 

[ciko_gfb]

I saw a comment about THE today, I totally agree with it:

"'I'm happy for the Halo effect guys....but everything I've heard from them so far sounds like something I would have gotten excited about 15 or so years ago."

 

[DE4life]

If you're not excited by what you hear from THE then you just don't like MDM anymore. People grow out of liking certain genres, but I think that's a reflection of the person rather than the music.