Huh, so, I re-listened to Siren Charms to see whether it was as bad as I remembered. As it turns out...
In Plain View - This is actually worse than I remember. It's got a really nice intro, but the verses are really boring and the chorus is ruined by the vocals being far too high in the mix. This sounds like it wasn't mastered properly. As an aside, Anders growling "are you for real?" is a total copy of the same line in Trigger. 5/10
Everything's Gone - The copy and paste of the Black & White intro here still gets me. That's two songs in a row where they've borrowed a small element from R2R. Anyway, much like the first song, the verses are atrociously boring. Pre-chorus and chorus are OK. Again the vocals sound like they weren't mixed properly. Not really sure what they were going for with this one, but it doesn't work regardless. 4/10
Paralyzed - I always thought this song was OK, and it still is. Decent chorus, once again the verses let the song down. But overall it's decent. Vocals actually sound like they were mixed properly this time. The scream at the end of this song is awesome, reminds me a little of the scream at the end of TJR (the song). 6/10
Through Oblivion - I hated this one when I first heard it, but honestly, it isn't bad at all. It's electro-pop, but if I'm being truthful I can't say they did a bad job. I actually enjoyed listening to this one, which I'm kind of shocked to admit. 8/10
With Eyes Wide Open - This was one of my favoured tracks originally, and it still holds up well. It's basically an ASOP song done well. Guitar tone and overall sound is very remiscent of ASOP, just with much better production and improved vocals. I like it. 7.5/10
Siren Charms - Another one I found very boring when the album first came out, but on reflection it's actually not as bad as I remembered. I like the tempo change in the chorus, and the verses aren't too bad. Anders is tolerable. 6/10
When the World Explodes - More like When My Ass Explodes, amirite Clay-Man? To be honest, I can kind of see what they were going for, but it just doesn't work. Anders throws more screams on here than he probably does on the rest of the album, and he sounds decent. The chorus is nice too, but it sounds like it's been spliced in from a completely different song. The female vocals are also a little to high in the mix in comparison to Anders' verse vocals. This is one of the most energetic songs on Siren Charms, but yeah, basically a poor man's Dead End. 5/10
Rusted Nail - If I remember correctly this was the first single. The opening is like something off SOAPF, which is good, but as soon as it hits the first verse the song loses all momentum. Anders vocal melodies are totally off on this. Like so many songs on this album, the chorus is fine, but the song is let down by the verses. 5/10
Dead Eyes - Similar to WEWO. I didn't really like this one when I first heard it, but again, in retrospect it's actually alright. Anders sounds okay, there are some nice little melodies and the verses flow naturally into the chorus, which is something other songs on this album seriously struggle with. The breakdown half way through is really well done and the guitar work here sounds great. Overall this song is far better than I remembered. 7.5/10
Monsters in the Ballroom - Something about this song has just never worked for me. There's nothing inherently wrong with it - some nice melodies, decent riffs, vocals aren't terrible either. I can't put my finger on it, but something about the song just doesn't click for me. 5/10
Filtered Truth - Everybody but me seemed to love this one when it came out. I didn't understand the love for it, and truth be told I still don't. Intro sounds like a HIM song, vocals and all. There is some nice guitar work here, but the vocal melodies aren't working so well in the verses. Chorus is OK I guess, but nowhere near the best on this album. Not a bad song, but nothing special either. 6/10
The Chase - A lot of people liked this one, but it's never been one that I enjoyed a whole lot. The production is a lot more powerful, which is nice, but it suffers from boring verses and vocal melodies which fail to match the instruments. Same issue as most SC tracks. I will say the solo in this one is actually quite nice. The song overall is okay, but really not sure why it gets so much praise. 6/10
Become the Sky - My favourite SC track at the time, and still is. It's energetic, has some really cool riffs, and vocals actually have some life in them. I could do without the chugga-chugga shit in the verses, but it still works okay. Pre-chorus & chorus are very remiscent of SOAPF, which is always a plus in my book. A lot of nice guitar melodies in this one too. No question for me that this should have been on the main CD. 8.5/10
So, I'm kind of surprised to say it, but listening to this album again actually significantly increased my opinion of it. It's far from their best album, but truth be told I've probably been quite harsh in shitting on it all of these years. There's actually a lot of good stuff on here. I'm stunned to say that Through Oblivion is my favourite song on the album, excluding the bonus tracks. Become the Sky wins overall. For me, the album has four consistent flaws which drag it down:
Vocals - Anders' vocals don't ruin this album like they did on ASOP, but they are still very hit and miss. Sometimes he sounds fine, other times he sounds whiny and intolerable. He sounds like he's trying, but you can tell he's never really had any proper vocal training. Studio magic is working overtime here. Considering he sings for almost the entire album it was inevitable that this would be an issue. If you can tolerate Anders' cleans then this isn't a huge problem, but if you can't then this album is basically unlistenable.
Verses - They really fucked up the verses on a lot of songs here. Uninspired instrumentally and the vocals often don't even match the pattern of the instruments. Not sure what happened here as this has never been a problem before. The verses knock 2 or 3 points off a lot of the songs on here.
Mixing/production - Again, not sure what happened, but the mixing on this album is all over the place. Especially vocally. Some of this sounds like demo tracks that never got a proper master. As with above, it's not something that's been a problem before and it wasn't something that happened on Battles either. They've had albums with bad production before, but this is more like inconsistent production. Really strange.
Lack of variety/energy - My biggest gripe with SC is the lack of energy across the board. Most of these songs are okay in isolation, but they are so similar structurally that listening the whole way through is a bit of a chore. I understand they were going for a darker, slower vibe but this isn't traditionally what In Flames have been about and it's little wonder it caused such a negative reaction. Both bonus tracks should have been included in the main tracklist to bump the energy levels up a little. I'd relegate two of In Plain View (not a great opening track), Everything's Gone, Monsters in the Ballroom or Filtered Truth to bonus tracks and have The Chase and Become the Sky in their place.
Still, overall, I'd give SC about a 6.5/10. Not the absolute trash I remembered, just a record with some strange flaws and a lack of creativity which hold it back from being one of the band's better efforts. Apologies to Krofius, Slave, PlainVanilla, Ciko and all the others who loved SC. I think I overreacted on this one. My bad.
BRO. Lunar Strain has Behind Space, Starforsaken, Everlost Part 2, In Flames, Upon an Oaken Throne and Clad in Shadows. ASOP has "I feel like shit but at least I feel something" and "please heal meeee, I can't sleeeep"... I'm begging you to reconsider.
