I like the syncopated screams. I'll get some enjoyment out of this song just like the rest and like SC, but after a few listens I'll be done with it for about a year. I like all of Anders' cleans up until this album. Maybe it's my speaker but he sounds more like The Offspring than he does himself. Nothing against The Offspring, but why is he trying to sound like someone else after all these years?
IN FLAMES new album being released by the end of 2016
- Thread starter PlainVanilla
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HonChuck
New Metal Member
- Sep 13, 2016
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With the release of the song Save Me I don't know what to think. I had hopes for this album after The End and now it kind of just died. Like I miss having that signature In Flames feel to it and knowing instantly that it is In Flames. Now it just feels like it is any rock band on the radio. Looks like I'll just be jamming some Come Clarity or Colony.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
Here
We
Go
Guys, you are more predictable than In Flames these days.
P.S. for the record, I don't dig Save Me either, the only decent thing in it is the electronic melody, like in the intro.
While I don't necessarily agree with it, I see where he is coming from. Basically, a record is not a live show, and he says there is nothing wrong to produce songs with perfection in mind, you can hear the raw version live anyway. According to that quote, he's talking about minor cheating and not evoking Kesha.Interview with Howard Benson in the book "Producing Hit Records"
http://www.amazon.com/Producing-Hit-Records-DavidDavid-FarinellaFarinella/dp/0825672996/
"If you don't use Auto-Tune, you're nuts. I look at it like tuning a guitar, I mean, are you not going to tune a guitar? So if the singer is just a little flat or sharp, you can fix them. It's minor, minor stuff now. I don't really even think about it, but we use it very minimally when we have to. You don't even hear that on our records at all, it's so invisible".
Also, I am fairly sure singers touch up their performances on records to varying degrees and that it's not a new trend. It's not 1970 ROCK N ROLL BAYBEEEEEH after all.
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only4theweak187
Member
- Mar 19, 2014
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Here
We
Go
Guys, you are more predictable than In Flames these days.
P.S. for the record, I don't dig Save Me either, the only decent thing in it is the electronic melody, like in the intro.
It's not "predictable" that someone hears new material, then says stuff before it was better.
He didn't say it like "Siren Charms" is a good album now" after hearing a new song.
He just meant even Siren Charms songs sound better to him
Nice try though
ThePhobiac
be at ease
Here
We
Go
But it's true!
(Although I don't mean that as a diss against Battles.)
Yeah, the issue for me is that it just doesn't have the vibe that I just get from In Flames songs. And, again, Anders is trying too hard to sound like someone he's not. Passenger-style vocals would be great. Sure, it's still the result of studio magic, but I at least like how he sounds on that record.
Maybe this is what some of the older fans felt when, say, "Cloud Connected" first came out? Unless it grows on me, I think "Save Me" will join songs like "Clad in Shadows", "Suburban Me" and "Delight & Angers" in the very small list of In Flames songs I actively don't like.
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only4theweak187
Member
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No one ever made a rule that said
"Siren Charms can never have some part of it be better than something made after it"
Every song off of Siren Charms is better than The Truth to me... So because I hated Siren Charms, that means I'm being predictable?
So you're saying that WE just say "Every album is always the worst until the next one comes out"
No, Battles will technically be better than Siren Charms. So no, there's no predictable thing happening here
"Siren Charms can never have some part of it be better than something made after it"
Every song off of Siren Charms is better than The Truth to me... So because I hated Siren Charms, that means I'm being predictable?
So you're saying that WE just say "Every album is always the worst until the next one comes out"
No, Battles will technically be better than Siren Charms. So no, there's no predictable thing happening here
only4theweak187
Member
- Mar 19, 2014
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Once Battles is out, SC won't all of a sudden be a good album after some time to reflect. It will still be the worst.
So nope, no predictability really
So nope, no predictability really
Jester Slave
Narcissist
Didn't I say numerously (even around SC's release) that the time will come, when ASOP will become SC and will become whatever the next record may be? Yes, I did. And yes, I know better does not equal good.
Bonus round: In 3 years, one of you will say "I'd rather listen to Save Me than [insert song from the new record]" or "At least Save Me was [something]".
The fucking record is not even out yet, what the hell man. Sure, you will clearly rather pop out your eyeball than ever admit SC was better than [something], but speak for yourself.
Save Me is the first song I whole-heartedly agree with the critics. It's not a completely shit song, I will surely listen to it occasionally, but it is extremely weak. Like, I am capable of not having a nervous breakdown while listening to The Truth, I am perfectly fine with it being this cheesy, "let's make a song we can always play live" approach. You won't see me freaking out because it sounds poppy or whatever.
But Save Me is just way too fucking short on every end of the spectrum:
- It starts with a great intro, my body is ready for another "sellout", albeit fucking catchy rhythm. WRONG, unlike with The Truth, that poppy sound is banished to the background after the intro.
- Anders opens with screams reminiscent of the CC/STYE era, I am ready to type it here that I fucking told you so they might make some hardcore songs again. WRONG, it's like he changed his mind halfway into the song and said fuck this.
- Trademark catchy verses, and my body is anticipating yet again a great chorus just like in Through My Eyes. WRONG, he fucking sings Save me a bazillion times with the emotional level of a fucking tortoise. They pretty much managed to make choruses the highlight of SC; maybe they were predictable, but they were and still is great to listen to. So how do fuck was this abomination of a chorus born? Will I really have to stand through this live?
I don't know man. Anyway, I dig 3 out of the 4 songs from the record so I won't start worrying just yet.
TheJestersDoor
Keep calm and bash Anders
- Jul 25, 2016
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I'm not worrying either as it still has some signature In Flames touches here and there to me; it sounds like a child of SoaPF and SC had some happy pills. my only concern is that every song will have screamed verse, long prechorus, clean chorus. I would prefer some songs to have slightly different build up to the chorus.
ThePhobiac
be at ease
Haha, well, at least that's something! But yeah, if a song strikes you as good and it sounds to you like it "makes sense" coming from the band that's playing it, that should be all that matters. That's probably the main reason I enjoyed SC as much as I did.
When I first heard it, "The Truth" reminded me of a lighter "Filtered Truth" with some cool-ass 80's-style clean guitars in the verses and Passenger vocals. Perfectly fine by me, though I think they did it better the first time. The solo/bridge in "Filtered Truth" is one of the highlights of that record, full stop.
You mentioned the choruses maybe being the "highlight" of SC? I agree with that, but I actually think the verses were some of my favorite parts of that album. That fuckin' palm-muted Katatonia-esque lead in "In Plain View", that clean-vocal-driven verse in "Everything's Gone", that electric groove in "Paralyzed"... Damn. I'm not even kidding here.
I don't think any of these songs are poorly-written, I should say. Just simple. Simple is all well and good but I prefer when they do something different. Like the outros in "The Puzzle" and "The Chase". Give me more of that. Apparently "Wallflower" is sort of the big experimental song, so I'm looking forward to that.
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Isn't it amazing? The guy simply forgots that the music is intended to be played live. So what's next, live autotune? When he is making a singer sound far away than his possibilities he is simply cheating. And comparing it to tuning a guitar is plain stupid and a clear lie.Interview with Howard Benson in the book "Producing Hit Records"
http://www.amazon.com/Producing-Hit-Records-DavidDavid-FarinellaFarinella/dp/0825672996/
"If you don't use Auto-Tune, you're nuts. I look at it like tuning a guitar, I mean, are you not going to tune a guitar? So if the singer is just a little flat or sharp, you can fix them. It's minor, minor stuff now. I don't really even think about it, but we use it very minimally when we have to. You don't even hear that on our records at all, it's so invisible".
Maybe predictable, but some SC stuff IS better than Save Me. At least some songs (Filtered truth) have some riffs. Really, I fail to see how a normal metal fan can like this shit?
Electronics - omnipresent but without any highlight moments
Vocals - mix between your most shitty radio rock and some emo metalcore screams
Lyrics - sad teen whining
Bass - what bass?
Drums - the most mundane preprogrammed stuff you'll hear from a proffesional band. Zero feeling, zero deviation. It is not an instrument, it's a metronome.
Rhythm guitars - not one riff, just chugging along the basic lines the whole songs with 4 powerchords when needed
Solo guitar - firstly no solo, but that is actually a good thing with Bjorn today, no real melody. I don't know how can you guys like that third rate little melodies a child could come up while playing with its first guitar. And even that for a very, very short segments with lacking traditional IF harmony.
Song structure : intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-melody/solo/break-chorus-out. Same fucking pattern over and over again.
And even that they can't do properly. Some parts sound badly recorded and then pasted in the song.
I know tastes are different, but this has to be a lowpoint. If this was band Random X, and they released this, it would have like 1500 views on youtube and you would all shit all over this.
How can this even compare to stuff like Forward momentum!?
Electronics - omnipresent but without any highlight moments
Vocals - mix between your most shitty radio rock and some emo metalcore screams
Lyrics - sad teen whining
Bass - what bass?
Drums - the most mundane preprogrammed stuff you'll hear from a proffesional band. Zero feeling, zero deviation. It is not an instrument, it's a metronome.
Rhythm guitars - not one riff, just chugging along the basic lines the whole songs with 4 powerchords when needed
Solo guitar - firstly no solo, but that is actually a good thing with Bjorn today, no real melody. I don't know how can you guys like that third rate little melodies a child could come up while playing with its first guitar. And even that for a very, very short segments with lacking traditional IF harmony.
Song structure : intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-melody/solo/break-chorus-out. Same fucking pattern over and over again.
And even that they can't do properly. Some parts sound badly recorded and then pasted in the song.
I know tastes are different, but this has to be a lowpoint. If this was band Random X, and they released this, it would have like 1500 views on youtube and you would all shit all over this.
How can this even compare to stuff like Forward momentum!?
Jester Slave
Narcissist
As for SC, I totally dig the vibe too. I like the character of the record, so to speak. I am looking forward popping it back again once Winter comes, as it really adds depth to that strange sensation you feel when it is a "dark day" outside. In a sense, SC was a very logical record to make as a band that's already peaked and has nothing to prove.
I don't blame people for expecting more, but I personally never ever, ever thought to myself "wow, I kinda like this song, but the structure of it is straightforward and/or predictable, so 2/10". I can't even bother participating in those debates, like, okay dude, you scientifically proved SC is a shitter of a record, good for you I guess.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
Off topic, but there are instances where live autotune is justifiable. Kanye's whole 808 record was intentionally autotuned to shit and he does the same with those songs live.
Also, what's the difference between vocal touch ups and minor autotune? The singer will sound shittier in a live performance in both cases, so why one of them is not frowned upon them?
ThePhobiac
be at ease
Yeah, I love the vibe of SC. I've said before that it really stokes my imagination, and it's so true. I can't listen to one song without finding myself listing to the full album front to back. It's the only In Flames album - alongside The Jester Race - where I think every single song is a hit. But that's just me. Maybe literally, because most people seem to disagree! But that's totally okay.
I agree that it's a "we have nothing left to prove so let's do whatever" record, but it was one that had me hopeful for the future. Like, I thought that maybe they could expand on that moody feel for the next record, really push the dynamics and get something really amazing out of it (I would kill for a 6-minute song in the vein of "With Eyes Wide Open". I love those verses. I never thought In Flames had it in them.) Which is why Battles is a bit disappointing to me already, because it shows that that wasn't where their minds were.
I think the only In Flames song that I think could have used better (or more experimental) structure would have been "Through Oblivion". Holy hell, that could've used a 2-minute melodic bridge or interlude or something. Some sort of expansion, because it's too short for its own good. Although since most people seem to hate it, maybe it being short is a kind of mercy? =P
I agree that it's a "we have nothing left to prove so let's do whatever" record, but it was one that had me hopeful for the future. Like, I thought that maybe they could expand on that moody feel for the next record, really push the dynamics and get something really amazing out of it (I would kill for a 6-minute song in the vein of "With Eyes Wide Open". I love those verses. I never thought In Flames had it in them.) Which is why Battles is a bit disappointing to me already, because it shows that that wasn't where their minds were.
I think the only In Flames song that I think could have used better (or more experimental) structure would have been "Through Oblivion". Holy hell, that could've used a 2-minute melodic bridge or interlude or something. Some sort of expansion, because it's too short for its own good. Although since most people seem to hate it, maybe it being short is a kind of mercy? =P
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Both should be. If a singer wants to sound better at studio then he always has the chance to study and learn to be a better singer.
But I think the same about guitar players. If you're a better guitar player at studio than live then there is clearly something wrong.
But I think the same about guitar players. If you're a better guitar player at studio than live then there is clearly something wrong.
ThePhobiac
be at ease
Also, just want to say that bringing Kanye into a metal argument is probably a no-win scenario.
But I completely approve. Kanye is my fucking jam sometimes.
But I completely approve. Kanye is my fucking jam sometimes.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
You see, that would not have been fine in my books. If you can make another - as you said - moody record right after SC that would just mean they did not give their best when recording SC.
Overall, I am sad that they chose this route for Battles, they really have to outdo themselves with the remaining tracks if they want me to like it more than SC, as I am really not a great fan of the US metal scene - which might be ironic, because I still love all the nu-metal stuff from the 2000s, my favorite genre alongside industrial, RIP in peace.
Yeah, that's why I said it's kinda off topic, as I would not tolerate live autotune on a metal show myself, just wanted to point out that live autotune itself can be good or justified.
This I completely agree.
Maybe it's because I was raised listening to a different kind of metal, before the coming of the nu metal, so, since I can understand people liking this kind of music, I cannot understand when it is labeled as metal.
The band, we know what they're capable of, so it's disappointing to see them doing this kind of thinks just for the sake of reaching a higher audience. And yes, that's what I'm saying, that they're selling themselves. This music does not count as experimentation. Experimentation is something different that, the most of the times, takes the music away from what is considered mainstream.
