IN FLAMES Clayman Re-recorded 2020
- Thread starter Ilias7
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Well, they don't need to rerecord R2R, STYE or CC, just remaster if they still have the original masters available to use. ASOP is the only album that could desperately do with being redone, as there actually is some great metal under the terrible vocals, lyrics and overall production. Modern Anders from current day would definitely sound better than Hungover Anders from back then. Might be a good idea to change all the lyrics, too, as the ASOP lyrics read like they were written by an angsty 13 year old. Seriously.
"You receive what you give
And this is like nothing
I feel like shit
But at least I feel something"
"Drain Me
Keep me in the dark
I don't want to take part
Prefer to be forever numb"
"Everyday takes figuring out how to live,
Sometimes it feels like a mistake,
Sometimes it's a winner's parade,
Delight and angers,
I guess that's the way it's supposed to be...
Please heal me, I can't sleep
Thought I was unbreakable, but this is killing me
Call me, everything, make me feel unbreakable,
Lie and set me free
I feel the fear takes hold
Afraid this hell I create is my own
Calm my franticness, I can't take it anymore,
This used to be my own world,
But now I've lost control"
Actually just rewrite the lyrics for Disconnected, Sleepless Again and Delight and Angers. The rest are passable and actually less embarrassing than some of the more recent stuff like Drained.
Shit, so true. Why is it the music changes but the lyrics are always the same? You are so right, he should re-write them!Well, they don't need to rerecord R2R, STYE or CC, just remaster if they still have the original masters available to use. ASOP is the only album that could desperately do with being redone, as there actually is some great metal under the terrible vocals, lyrics and overall production. Modern Anders from current day would definitely sound better than Hungover Anders from back then. Might be a good idea to change all the lyrics, too, as the ASOP lyrics read like they were written by an angsty 13 year old. Seriously.
"You receive what you give
And this is like nothing
I feel like shit
But at least I feel something"
"Drain Me
Keep me in the dark
I don't want to take part
Prefer to be forever numb"
"Everyday takes figuring out how to live,
Sometimes it feels like a mistake,
Sometimes it's a winner's parade,
Delight and angers,
I guess that's the way it's supposed to be...
Please heal me, I can't sleep
Thought I was unbreakable, but this is killing me
Call me, everything, make me feel unbreakable,
Lie and set me free
I feel the fear takes hold
Afraid this hell I create is my own
Calm my franticness, I can't take it anymore,
This used to be my own world,
But now I've lost control"
Actually just rewrite the lyrics for Disconnected, Sleepless Again and Delight and Angers. The rest are passable and actually less embarrassing than some of the more recent stuff like Drained.
I find it interesting to listen to demos where lyrics have been changed, as it gives a song an entirely different dynamic which I think is often underappreciated. Obv for IF the Episode 666 demo is the most obvious one, but I was also listening to a demo of "Last Night on Earth" by Revolution Renaissance and the lyrics are totally different between the two versions, and the final version is IMO much better for changing the lyrics.
(Warning: Power Metal, but the Revolution Renaissance version does have Kiske on vocals, who is undisputably awesome)
If you want an echo chamber that systemically circlejerks itself to oblivion, that is not ours to provide for you. If you intend to survive modern day that is the internet age without having your head explode from a brain aneurysm, it would bode you well to get that into your thick skull.
This small community here has, if anything else, done all it could to remain positive and optimistic about every new In Flames album of the past decade and a half. People will write essays and dissect songs upon an album release just to latch onto a 5 second long interval out of a 50 minute long record because it kind of, vaguely, sort of, almost sounds like a Taiwanese In Flames copycat band from 20 years ago.
By all objective standards this band has at this point been garbage far longer than they were ever any good, yet these people (me unfortunately included) keep giving it another chance year after year out of a pathetic romantic notion because their music meant something to us once upon a time. Yet they always disappoint.
If you think that any of us keep refreshing this page just to find another reason to ventilate our rage on autopilot, I assure you that you are wrong. If you think that anyone sane is going to think that a band that is, by colloquial definition, literally a tribute band to In Flames at this point given how three fifths of the band are now Americans, is making a good move deciding to re-record a classic that never needed to be re-recorded, I really don't know what to tell you then.
And the very reason that "they cannot win because there's always people to talk shit" is the band's own fault. They changed their sound and image so many goddamn times that their current target audience isn't even familiar with majority of their discography. They were a folky melodic death metal band, then a slipknot clone, then a metalcore clone, then a wannabe softcore NIN electronica band, and now they decided to pander to their old fanbase that is well into their 30s (and likely 40s) and has largely gave up on them long ass time ago. The more they continue with these shenanigans, the more different groups there are that shit on them. What, you don't think there is also a huge group of people that got into IF during SOAPF era that got totally demoralized with the latest album? Think again, or even better - go find SOAPF on youtube and read the comment section. It's not the fanbases fault because the fanbase is all but a hivemind, it's the band's own damn fault because they discarded what made them so unique and decided to jump on whatever trendy flavor of the month garbage style was popular at the given moment.
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Brutally well said the problem with IF is they always end up throwing us a bone when the end appears nigh. After ASOP they gave us SOAPF, which is one of my favourite modern IF releases. After the vomit piles that were SC and Battles they produced ITM, which actually had some genuinely good songs on it. It's not like they've been releasing Siren Charms after Siren Charms... but every time it seems like the band is done they come back with something that's worth listening to. Plus, I have to admit the last time I saw them live they were really good. Better than they have been in years if YouTube is anything to go by.
Truth be told, I'm mainly here to bait Krofius though.
the problem with IF is they always end up throwing us a bone when the end appears nigh. After ASOP they gave us SOAPF, which is one of my favourite modern IF releases. After the vomit piles that were SC and Battles they produced ITM, which actually had some genuinely good songs on it. It's not like they've been releasing Siren Charms after Siren Charms... but every time it seems like the band is done they come back with something that's worth listening to. Plus, I have to admit the last time I saw them live they were really good. Better than they have been in years if YouTube is anything to go by.Truth be told, I'm mainly here to bait Krofius though.
Quoting this just because of "Taiwanese IF copycat band".
Seriously though, what a weird little group of people we are. After all these years...
TheJestersDoor
Keep calm and bash Anders
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Yeah I didn't mean anything personal to anyone and tbh, I've been having a hard time as of late and so I think in retrospect I used that pent up frustration to write a rant because one or two messages rubbed me the wrong way. For that I apologise, but I still stand by a lot of the more.... Reason based points about them being entitled to do what they want etc
That being said even after only just over a year I'm surprised to see a fair few of you hold ITM in decent regard, for me it's still good but has sunk into the murky waters of the lower middle of my ranking of IF albums, despite some banging tracks, as Howard Benson's production frustrates me to no end
That being said even after only just over a year I'm surprised to see a fair few of you hold ITM in decent regard, for me it's still good but has sunk into the murky waters of the lower middle of my ranking of IF albums, despite some banging tracks, as Howard Benson's production frustrates me to no end
Don't worry about it bro, you're free to say whatever the fuck you want here. It can be very blunt and brutal on here at times but that's why I love it nobody really gets offended, we just fight it out like men, drink a virtual beer and move on to ripping on Anders some more. It's a beautiful thing.
I think my appreciation of ITM might partially be based on circumstances - it came out at a time when things were going well for me professionally, I'd just passed my driving test, I saw the band play live shortly after the album came out and they were great, etc. Is the album one of the greats as far as IF goes? No. Is it better than SC and Battles? Yes, so, even based on that very low bar I am happy to see some signs of progress. The production has downsides but it's better than ASOP, SC and Battles so that's a start.
Plus I really do like a fair few of the tracks. Voices, ITM, I Am Above, Follow Me, Burn, Deep Inside, All the Pain, Stay With Me - all songs I am happy to listen to and appreciate. It's nowhere close to the classic IF era, nor is ITM as good as Come Clarity or SOAPF (imo) but it's a step in the right direction. Now if only they'd ditch Benson and find a producer who really understands metal, then we might really get something great.
nobody really gets offended, we just fight it out like men, drink a virtual beer and move on to ripping on Anders some more. It's a beautiful thing.I think my appreciation of ITM might partially be based on circumstances - it came out at a time when things were going well for me professionally, I'd just passed my driving test, I saw the band play live shortly after the album came out and they were great, etc. Is the album one of the greats as far as IF goes? No. Is it better than SC and Battles? Yes, so, even based on that very low bar I am happy to see some signs of progress. The production has downsides but it's better than ASOP, SC and Battles so that's a start.
Plus I really do like a fair few of the tracks. Voices, ITM, I Am Above, Follow Me, Burn, Deep Inside, All the Pain, Stay With Me - all songs I am happy to listen to and appreciate. It's nowhere close to the classic IF era, nor is ITM as good as Come Clarity or SOAPF (imo) but it's a step in the right direction. Now if only they'd ditch Benson and find a producer who really understands metal, then we might really get something great.
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We've survived Jesper leaving, Peter leaving, Daniel leaving, financial crashes, global pandemics and riots, Siren Charms, Battles, Benson, hipster beards, Slave's essays, Laverna, Clay-Man's animal fetishes, Cyhra dropping a shit called No Halos in Hell over us... we're an unstoppable force
unless the website suddenly dies, then we're screwed... but so far so good.
TheJestersDoor
Keep calm and bash Anders
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Don't worry about it bro, you're free to say whatever the fuck you want here. It can be very blunt and brutal on here at times but that's why I love it
I think my appreciation of ITM might partially be based on circumstances - it came out at a time when things were going well for me professionally, I'd just passed my driving test, I saw the band play live shortly after the album came out and they were great, etc. Is the album one of the greats as far as IF goes? No. Is it better than SC and Battles? Yes, so, even based on that very low bar I am happy to see some signs of progress. The production has downsides but it's better than ASOP, SC and Battles so that's a start.
Plus I really do like a fair few of the tracks. Voices, ITM, I Am Above, Follow Me, Burn, Deep Inside, All the Pain, Stay With Me - all songs I am happy to listen to and appreciate. It's nowhere close to the classic IF era, nor is ITM as good as Come Clarity of SOAPF (imo) but it's a step in the right direction. Now if only they'd ditch Benson and find a producer who really understands metal, then we might really get something great.
Yeah man I get that and appreciate that, I had the unfortunate scenario of my 2 favorite bands releasing albums on the same day last year, and the band that wasn't In Flames, While She Sleeps, also had a release day show that I was at, and that show IS the greatest live show I've been to (honestly, if you're interested check their YouTube for footage of The Guilty Party or You Are We that they recorded at the show) and so I almost forgot about ITM for a solid couple of weeks, and then a week after that show me and my childhood sweetheart properly got together and so they combined somewhat overshadowed the album.
That being said I then saw In Flames on the ITM tour and that show was also great, and I spent some proper time with the album. It has some great tracks, the first 5 all rock, Deep Inside and the final 2 tracks are also great, but the production of the album, especially Anders' vocals takes the emotion out of the delivery of a lot of the songs, and the guitars are too thin for me, not quite Battles levels but like 3 songs aside that album is complete shit. It's for sure a "return to form" and it makes me actually look forward to and not fear a new album. Hopes can't get too high though while they still use Howard Benson as the same problems will remain.....
TheJestersDoor
Keep calm and bash Anders
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It's why I'm so conflicted about the Clayman thing, I have wanted to hear In Flames redo *something* for ages and after ITM being good, I trust them not to fuck it up too much.
But I don't trust the person in charge of how it sounds. Imagine getting an American rock radio producer to re-record one of the most iconic and arguably THE Holy grail of MDM guitar tones. Utter madness, but perhaps there's something contractual at work there.
But I don't trust the person in charge of how it sounds. Imagine getting an American rock radio producer to re-record one of the most iconic and arguably THE Holy grail of MDM guitar tones. Utter madness, but perhaps there's something contractual at work there.
I think that, at least half of the album, maybe more, sounds like a continuation of SOAPF which is a good thing. I just would get rid of three or four songs and change the producer.
They're redoing an epythome of riffing and melodies (I mean the whole clayman album) with a producer that has basically suggested that guitars don't matter. And this makes things even worse.
I just hope they don't change any arrangements because, put it simple, that would be disrespectful for the part that co wrote them and is not in the band anymore.
TheJestersDoor
Keep calm and bash Anders
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I'm curious and want to play a game for nothing more than seeing who is a psychic and who isn't
What do people think the 20th anniversary edition of Clayman will be/have?
I reckon it'll be the original 11 tracks, OFTW live from the last live album, and the re-recorded Clayman, possibly the 2 original bonus tracks too
What do people think the 20th anniversary edition of Clayman will be/have?
I reckon it'll be the original 11 tracks, OFTW live from the last live album, and the re-recorded Clayman, possibly the 2 original bonus tracks too
You're probably about right. I don't think they would rerecord the entire album - maybe one other track - and I would expect to see Strong & Smart and World of Promises on there too. Those were two really nice covers. I didn't realise that No Fun At All returned the favour by covering Episode 666 until someone posted it on here a while back.
Beginning of the song is synths, because of course. Guitars come in, sounding thin and weak as you'd expect. More heavy synths in place of the guitars. Anders 'new' growls are a significant downgrade on the original and flow much worse than the original. The chorus is 'modernised' with more of dem synths and shit sounding guitars. The powerful punch of the original is gone, replaced by the Battles wafer-thin production we've all gotten used to. The solo sounds terrible when it comes in, a production disaster and of course Bjorn has to abuse the wah peddle because that's how he rolls. The part which starts "so afraid of what you might think" loses the guitars completely, then they come in half way through with this disgusting chugging sound which sounds awful. Synthy chorus again - then "i'm the sculpure made of clay" repeated three times with no scream at the end.
This is genuinely worse than I thought it would be. I pray they don't butcher any of the other songs in this manner. This is fucking painful to listen to. It just reminds me how much worse the band has become in the 20 years since the original was released. Ugh.
This is genuinely worse than I thought it would be. I pray they don't butcher any of the other songs in this manner. This is fucking painful to listen to. It just reminds me how much worse the band has become in the 20 years since the original was released. Ugh.
Seriously, the rerecorded version sounds like a demo. The production is terrible. The song has been stripped of all its power and aggression. The guitars don't even transition from one section of the song to the other properly, like a Siren Charms rerun. I can't stress how jarring the solo sounds when it enters the song. It's like it was copy and pasted in via Windows Sound Recorder.
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