In Flames lyrics discussion

[DE4life]

We've only seen the outlines of the beginning
at this core the slowly moving raptor
will make the very notion of Hell
seem celestial in comparison

to

You receive what you give
And this is like nothing
I feel like shit
But at least I feel something

... nah, i'm gonna stick with my theory thanks

 

[Clay-Man]

THE JESTERDAY WE LOVED
SPEAK OF TOMORROW

 

[DE4life]

During Jester's Door I was expecting him to pronounce it Yester's Door at the end... was kinda disappointed when he got it right

 

[Jester313]

We've only seen the outlines of the beginning
at this core the slowly moving raptor
will make the very notion of Hell
seem celestial in comparison

to

You receive what you give
And this is like nothing
I feel like shit
But at least I feel something

... nah, i'm gonna stick with my theory thanks

Well, even though you picked the worst lyrical album to compare to, you still proved my point. Look at all of Whoracle and tell me it isn't broad and societal, then look at almost anything after R2R, which is more on the personal level.

 

[DE4life]

I don't disagree with your point, but the fact is as a lyricist and a thinker he's gone backwards. Admittedly TJR and Whoracle's lyrics weren't all him, but comparing Colony & Clayman to STYE & ASOP it looks like he had a labotomy at some point after 2003... the only proof he didn't being Come Clarity

 

[Jester313]

Well if you mean backwards in terms of quality, then to some degree I can agree. ASOP is obvious. As stated before, I really like STYE lyrics, but even on CC, there's a song like Scream. And when you look at Colony and Clayman, I don't think there is one bad line on either of those albums. So, yeah, he can be hit or miss now (though I still feel that he is 'hit' way more than he is 'miss').

 

[DE4life]

Scream's admittedly a lowpoint on CC, but overall the lyrical quality on that album is very good. Vacuum's lyrics are like a modern N'Flamez Ordinary Story (Ordinary Story lyrics are better, but they are comparable).

You're right about there being no bad lyrical lines on Colony/Clayman... either Anders worked incredibly hard on those lyrics or he's a genius. Every song is just gold, lyrically.

 

[Clay-Man]

Have to say Anders best lyrics are in this live performance of Scream
WE ARE ORDINARY PEOPLE ON A WORLD BUILT......

LIE-LO-LIE-LO-TEE LIE-LO-LIBER-LICE!

Then jesper gives this look like "lol wut what the fuck was that"

 

[En-Loss]

I can't really add anything to this discussion, since 9 times out of 10 I don't pay much if any attention to the lyrics. I will notice if they're particularly awful, but for the most part I can ignore bad poetry if the music is good.

 

[theNeologist]

Haha you chose easily the worst lyrical song to compare to lol..cause I think we can all agree those lyrics are weak as shit. But I think it does prove the notion I mentioned earlier that his younger lyrics...which I do prefer, are more metaphorical versus newer songs where the meanings are direct and blatant. And I do think the style he has now is a regurgitation of his experiences and how he views the present/future. You can especially hear more personal lyrics in the albums post STYE....."rushing through 30, getting older every day". I mean thats as direct and to the point of what anders is thinking as it gets. And its not necessarily bad just more relatable.

Then for example...
Non-caring is the easiest way
but to secure a passage to the 2nd plane
you have to complete level one
Their dead-smile lips turn on their TV
while urban gravestones scrape the skies
Rising over marionette cities and marionette skies

You have to pick that apart...think about each sentence..and thats what I think makes his older lyrics so good.

My 2 cents has run out...someone wanna lend me theirs?

 

[DE4life]

Let's be brutally honest here for a moment, I could have picked the lyrics for ANY song of ASOP to compare to ANY song off TJR/Whoracle/Colony/Clayman and theyd look like utter shit in comparison. To say I picked "the worst one" in Disconnected is like saying I picked shit over vomit. They're all terrible. Should I have picked

"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"

or

"I've become the distance,
I am the sober and irrelevant,
I don't feel part in this,
What is there to believe?"

or

""Falling ideals
Broken seals
March to the shore
You are a killer!"

or

"Drain Me
Keep me in the dark
I don't want to take part
Prefer to be forever numb"

???

Come on now

 

[A88]

Drain me!
Heal me!
Feel me!
Kill me!

 

[Erik Erna]

Even my favorite In Flames track has a seemingly goofy chorus in retrospect.

And we go, and we go, and we go and we go...

Then again, I lyrics of this song tattooed on me so...

 

[Jester313]

Well of course that seems silly out of context. A lot of lyrics can seem really goofy out of context. But when you're into the song, it doesn't seem silly at all.

 

[zerkz]

Clayman and Colony have some really killer lyrics. Pinball Map is pretty sweet, as is Satelite and Astronauts. Square Nothing is pretty intense as well.

Colony-wise, Zombie Inc. and Ordinary Story... lyrically awesome, but also the tone and way they are presented make them some of the best.

 

[drawntoblack]

Exactly. To be honest, I care more about vocal sound/tone, than I do about the lyrics. One of the reasons why I love Clayman so much is because Anders sounds so frustrated, like he cant express himself through the words properly. You can really feel the emotion in his singing.

 

[DE4life]

If you don't listen to the lyrics you're missing out on a massive dimension of a song imo. It's like having a 3D TV and watching everything in 2D

 

[Jester313]

I fucking hate 3D TV and movies. But I get your analogy. You are missing a huge part of the songs. But, if you don't mind and you can still love the songs, then more power to you. And drawntoblack, you said what I believe is so great about STYE: "You can really feel the emotion in his singing." I still hear so much emotion on Clayman, but I feel more on Soundtrack.

 

[zerkz]

I fucking hate 3D TV and movies. But I get your analogy. You are missing a huge part of the songs. But, if you don't mind and you can still love the songs, then more power to you. And drawntoblack, you said what I believe is so great about STYE: "You can really feel the emotion in his singing." I still hear so much emotion on Clayman, but I feel more on Soundtrack.

True. But I feel Soundtrack is loaded up with tons of negative emotions. I mean songs like Evil in the Closet sound like something I would listen to if i was depressed about a girl who didnt like me or something. Clayman has the emotion, and it also sounds like Anders' is fucking pissed and is doing something about it. It's pretty easy to hear this on Clayman, Pinball Map, and Brush The Dust Away.

 

[drawntoblack]

You didn't mention Square Nothing and Suburban Me. Basicaly the whole album has it.

I didn't say that I dont pay attention to the lyrics, I do, but the vocals are slightly more important to me.