In Flames New Album being released in Q2 of 2014 thread

[krofius]

Yeah but trust me they do want to play some older stuff as well. It's good the really pushed The Hive so now most people should know it at least. I know for certain that they are not that stoked about playing certain songs that they've played 1000 times already. They basically stopped playing Pinball Map the last 2 years or something just because of that reason, and removed OFTW from time to time as well.

I'm interested which few songs they keep from SOAPF now on the new tour. Deliver Us is a given, then I don't know but probably Ropes/Where The Dead Ships Dwell/Fear is the Weakness/All For me. Hopefully Fear is the Weakness at least.

 

[DE4life]

I read in a recent interview with Anderz that Fear is the Weakness was about Jesper. That was quite surprising, though looking at the lyrics it actually makes sense.

 

[orcslayr23]

I'm interested which few songs they keep from SOAPF now on the new tour. Deliver Us is a given, then I don't know but probably Ropes/Where The Dead Ships Dwell/Fear is the Weakness/All For me. Hopefully Fear is the Weakness at least.

The only two songs that the absolutely HAVE to play off SOAPF from here on out are Where the Dead Ships Dwell and Fear is the Weakness. I really like the whole album, but those two songs are the clear standouts.

 

[krofius]

I read in a recent interview with Anderz that Fear is the Weakness was about Jesper. That was quite surprising, though looking at the lyrics it actually makes sense.

What? Link that, because I read the opposite in a review with Anders, no joke. Going to see if I can find it. Sure you're not referring to The Jester's Door, which Anders also denied in the interview that it was about Jesper directly.

EDIT: You are actually correct. Found the interview: http://noisecreep.com/in-flames-friden-interview-jesper-stromblad-alcoholism/
When I have listened to the song all the time I have thought it was about Jesper as well but I thought I heard it wasn't somewhere, don't know where I got that from.

 

[Jester313]

What? Link that, because I read the opposite in a review with Anders, no joke. Going to see if I can find it. Sure you're not referring to The Jester's Door, which Anders also denied in the interview that it was about Jesper directly.

EDIT: You are actually correct. Found the interview: http://noisecreep.com/in-flames-friden-interview-jesper-stromblad-alcoholism/
When I have listened to the song all the time I have thought it was about Jesper as well but I thought I heard it wasn't somewhere, don't know where I got that from.

I always thought it was about him and thought it was pretty obvious/well known. It's not as direct as Jester's Door so that more people can relate to it.

 

[DE4life]

I always suspected Jester's Door was about Jesper, but FitW... I dunno, I just never made the connection. It is kinda obvious when you look at the lyrics.

That interview with Anders is kinda sad, regarding Jesper. Although I read an interview with him where he said this:

You also quit In Flames in 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for an alcohol addiction. Can I ask you how are things going?

Yeah! It’s going great. It was not as dramatic as it sounded actually. I was never in rehab or anything, I just needed to quit this big kind of circus that surrounds to be in a big band. I was burned out. I just took a year off, I stopped drinking and now I’m fine.

OK, but actually Anders Fridén stated in an interview that his relationship with you wasn’t going well. Does this mean that your departure wasn’t just for the reasons you just gave me?

No, I’d say it’s the official reason, but it was also because I was done with where the band was going and where it took me, both musically and personally. I’ve got a lot of experience touring around the world, but yeah, we never really managed to get along with Anders and when I feel that I have to go to the studio and feel forced to write stuff, then it’s time to move on. That’s the main reason I quit. I would have quit anyway, even if I didn’t have drinking problems or whatever. It’s just everything summed up, it was too much for me. I needed to take a step back and get my passion for music back, because music had always been my driving force, it’s never been fame or money. I just want to play music in a band I really love and that’s what I do right now, so I’m super happy with the situation.

So I dunno...

 

[krofius]

Yeah I read somewhere else that Jesper said like Björn was the mediator somewhere in between, and Jesper and Anders sometimes disagreed because they were on opposite sides, kind of. Jesper didn't always want to push the sound as much as Anders, and Björn was the middle man and he kinda wanted to do both things. You can see now what Jesper wants to do musically with The Resistance, he has no interest of doing either what In Flames is doing nowadays, or returning to the roots. He just wants to write fast and hardcore metal at the moment.

Also read in the interview I was talking about that he and Anders might not have agreed all the time in the studio but when they just met on the street he said they were the greatest friends or something along those lines (think the interview was in 2012)

 

[A88]

The Resistance has more in common with TJR IF than modern day IF.

Yeah, there is just a few seconds of melody per song, but you can definitely hear THAT sound when it kicks in.

 

[DE4life]

Yeah I read somewhere else that Jesper said like Björn was the mediator somewhere in between, and Jesper and Anders sometimes disagreed because they were on opposite sides, kind of. Jesper didn't always want to push the sound as much as Anders, and Björn was the middle man and he kinda wanted to do both things. You can see now what Jesper wants to do musically with The Resistance, he has no interest of doing either what In Flames is doing nowadays, or returning to the roots. He just wants to write fast and hardcore metal at the moment.

It's interesting the way Jesper said "we" in the interview, suggesting the other band members didn't get on with Anders so well either. Might be a translation issue or Jesper said we by mistake. The band seems to get on well enough now so I'd be surprised if there was any serious tension there.

Also read in the interview I was talking about that he and Anders might not have agreed all the time in the studio but when they just met on the street he said they were the greatest friends or something along those lines (think the interview was in 2012)

I read an interview similar to that, though Anders said it was a bit awkward between them now. I guess it's hard after everything that's gone down in the band over the years.

The Resistance has more in common with TJR IF than modern day IF.

Yeah, there is just a few seconds of melody per song, but you can definitely hear THAT sound when it kicks in.

I'm not really a fan of The Resistance at all. It just sounds like a slightly heavier version of Hatebreed to me, the vocals aren't really the type I enjoy listening to.

My favourite era of In Flames was Colony/Clayman anyway, and I think a lot of those riffs were Bjorn riffs as much as Jesper. I think Bjorn could bring back that style if he wanted to (and to be honest I'd rather they went back to a Colony/Clayman sound than TJR/Whoracle, as the production on the former two albums are imo absolutely flawless).

Of course I wouldn't say no to another TJR/Whoracle but it'd have to be a band that actually wanted to make that type of album, rather than a band feeling pressured by the fans to do so.

 

[A88]

I'm not really a fan of The Resistance at all.

Me neither. Just sayin' some elements are there.

My favourite era of In Flames was Colony/Clayman anyway, and I think a lot of those riffs were Bjorn riffs as much as Jesper. I think Bjorn could bring back that style if he wanted to (and to be honest I'd rather they went back to a Colony/Clayman sound than TJR/Whoracle, as the production on the former two albums are imo absolutely flawless).

As I see it, the core of what I like in early or mid faze IF is Jespers work. Bjorn smooths the ruff edges. So they complement each other perfectly.

Now, we have tr00 metal/HC Jesper on one side, and Passenger feat disoriented rockish Bjorn on the other.

 

[DE4life]

I listened to ASOP in it entirely today for the first time in years, because I clearly felt like punishing myself and I wanted to see if it was as shitty as I remember.

The Mirror's Truth is actually not a bad track. I mean, none of the songs on this album are anywhere near their older stuff, or even Come Clarity, but there's some nice riffing in there.

Disconnected actually has some nice melodies too, but those lyrics and vocals... fuck you Anders.

Sleepless Again has a really nice Lunar Strain-esque opening, but that fucking chorus. Gay whiny shit. Again, fuck you Anders. I wish I was forever numb after having to endure this track. There's a nice little solo near the end of the song though. Again, the melodies really aren't so bad, but the vocals... urgh.

Alias... catchy but it's rock-pop N'Flamez to the extreme. The chorus is really fucking annoying, AGAIN. The outro, like the Sleepless Again intro, is a throwback to the older days and doesn't really fit with the music that came before it. They should have extended it and had that as a break between this song and the next one.

I'm the Highway... forgettable. A real throwaway track.

Delight and Angers... fuck the entire band. Effortless, fluffy crap. The lyrics are absolutely disgraceful, a 15 year old emo girl would be mortified by them. "Pleasseeee, healll meee, I can't sleep" ... yeah, we established that in Sleepless Again, Anders, move the fuck on you wimp. I genuinely feel embarrassed to even listen to this. How they can play it live with a straight face is beyond me. Almost the worst track on the album.

Move Through Me... y'know, it's fine, but it's also the definition of filler. Not a song I'd have any interest in listening to again. Really cool melodic parts near the end of the song though.

The Chosen Pessimist... I have no words for this. Just, what the fuck were they thinking? Boring, meandering, useless... the vocals are pathetic. As an experiment this was an abject failure and eats up over 8 fucking minutes of the album. Arguably the biggest waste of time in the history of everything.

Sober and Irrelevant... hi Jesper? This is actually one of the better tracks on the album. Fast paced, no really gay part, though "happiness, please come home" is a stupid line. But this album is full of them.

Condemned... I remember this being one of my favourite tracks on the album. It still holds up pretty well. The intro is really heavy and would be awesome live. The guitars have a lot of energy behind them, for once I can stand the chorus. A shining light in the darkness. I really like the last lyric - "It's a hill to climb/Would you dream if I designed the future/And not the end of time?" ... not Anders' best, but in comparison to the rest of the lyrics, fucking genius.

Drenched in Fear... I seem to recall some rumours that this song had a "Whoracle vibe" to it when the album was released... fuck off not in the slightest. The intro is fine, verses tolerable, chorus lame. I mean, really lame.

March to the Shore... a good, aggressive opening. Verses tolerable. Chorus catchy but lame. Much like the last song. Not a great song to end the album on as it isn't especially memorable.

Overall, the album isn't quite as bad as I remember it. Some of the guitar work is really nice, the melodies as always are there and there are some catchy elements to the album. It's harsh, but Anders absolutely ruins this album for me in every conceivable way. His vocals are really, really weak. His screaming is generally more like yelling, and he sounds worn out. The cleans are, for the most part, fucking irritating. I'm okay with his cleans on pretty much every album except this one, though the ridiculously lame lyrics probably have a big part to play in that. They are just terrible, and embarrassing on multiple occasions. For a guy who was in his late 30's at the time, these lyrics are pathetic and sound like they were written by an angst-ridden high school girl. Disaster.

Unquestionably the worst In Flames album of all time. Hands down. My opinion on this has not really changed at all.

 

[Jester313]

I enjoy March to the Shore a lot. I think it's a strong end. The bonus songs are all much better than the whole album in my opinion. Lyrically, it's like they were written way before the rest of the album before he got lazy.

 

[DE4life]

Eraser and Abnegation are really good tracks. Tilt is OK too, though I never cared that much for it. I remember being very excited for ASOP after hearing TMT EP...

 

[Clay-Man]

ASOP is still my least favorite album of theirs to date. Any of me that liked that album was just from hype, which died down and I can only listen to like 2 songs off the album now.

SOAPF had great production, great guitars, great vocals, and not only that, but it mixed it up, it varied from track to track keeping the album fresh. Sure a lot of songs have rhythmic verses, but it worked.

I like new In Flames. They've really grown on me. I remember when I hated STYE, and Reroute because I thought I was hearing the vocalist of Korn in some of the songs or something, but that's all bull. It's good music.

Why make another Jester Race or Whoracle? The album fucking exists. Making a replica of the album would just devalue the music off those older albums. It would make it less special.

 

[Jester313]

The only thing I didn't like from SOAPF was the production on the vocals, they are too much in the forefront over the guitars. Not by a lot, but enough to notice. And I feel like that's what they are doing with this album. The mumbling stuff sounded better on Clayman because it was loud and up front.

 

[A88]

I don't like the guitar sound. Weak, not loud enough in the mix.

 

[krofius]

I think SOAPF have the best production out of all IF albums. I disagree about the guitar sound, it couldn't be better, all instruments sound very clear and are easy to distinguish at the same time, I think.

The ASOP production is a bit weird, not R2R muddy-weird but still. I knew they said they wanted to go for a more analog-sounding production though.

And actually he wasn't late 30's de4life He was actually ''only'' 34.

And Björn could definitely write stuff like Colony if he wanted too, proven when you hear A New Dawn.

 

[DE4life]

And actually he wasn't late 30's de4life He was actually ''only'' 34.

True, although it's still no excuse for those lyrics

I went through STYE again this morning, not going to write a track by track review because I can't be bothered but my opinion on this hasn't changed very much either. It's not a total disaster and Anders' growls are stronger on here than they were on Clayman or Reroute. I was always a fan of TQP despite the backlash it received, and songs like F(r)iend, Touch of Red, In Search For I, and Evil in a Closet are really good. It still ranks second bottom in my list of favourites, but I don't despise it in the same way I do ASOP.

Bottled is still a fucking abomination of a song though

 

[Clay-Man]

True, although it's still no excuse for those lyrics

I went through STYE again this morning, not going to write a track by track review because I can't be bothered but my opinion on this hasn't changed very much either. It's not a total disaster and Anders' growls are stronger on here than they were on Clayman or Reroute. I was always a fan of TQP despite the backlash it received, and songs like F(r)iend, Touch of Red, In Search For I, and Evil in a Closet are really good. It still ranks second bottom in my list of favourites, but I don't despise it in the same way I do ASOP.

Bottled is still a fucking abomination of a song though

Oh shit. Are we doing Antibottled 2014? Remember when we did that in 2011?

Joking aside, bottled grew on me. I'm too tired to explain all the details right now, but I liked the sound of the song, and I thought the solo sounded like something that could easily fit on TJR. Yuppp. Swoosh.

I respect your opinion though.


Speaking of opinions, I cannot fucking stand these comments on IF's facebook. Really awful comments. I understand people's frustration with not having the IF they loved, but again. those albums exist right now, and there's nothing holding you back from listenng to it. Making style copies of those records devalues those records. Whoracle would be less special if we had a whoracle part 2 3 4 5 6 7... whatever.


Change is good, but I understand when people don't like stuff.

Part of me likes the new songs. Part of me agrees that there are things lacking. I like the new elements brought on these new songs so far. I however don't like how weak some of the delivery is on it.

 

[krofius]

It's an interesting thought where IF would be, if they would even exist if they wouldn't have progressed at all around when they made TJR/Whoracle. Obviously they wouldn't have been as big. Personally I would maybe even have found them yet. They were my gateway into extreme metal when I first heard Cloud Connected back in 2005.

And lets be honest guys, I doubt you would not want Clayman.

I listened to Rusted Nail again two times for the first time in over a week, and now it's really settled in. I really like it.

Also just saw IF added some new merch, and FINALLY, there's an official fucking tank top, I've been waiting for years. Bought it immediately.