In Flames New Album being released in Q2 of 2014 thread

[A88]

What the fuck is Krofius doing?

Still strugglin' to write a convincing post about how it's all good.

 

[krofius]

In Plain View - I quite like the intro. Verse starts, Anders comes in and gays everything up. Quite like the guitars in the background, Rusted Nail-esque chrous. Cool little guitar breakdown around the 2:15 mark. It then slows down and loses momentum. Ends with the chorus. Not a terrible song. 6/10.

Everything's Gone - Not a bad start, then they rip off the Black & White intro riff and the verse kills momentum again. The vocals really don't work here. The fast guitar breakdowns will go down well live. One of the better choruses on the album but the verses really derail the track. Typical modern-IF wanky solo. 5/10.

Paralyzed - Guitar work at the start is a bit lazy, distinctly mid-tempo. Vocals in this one actually aren't that bad, but Anders has a really bizarre rhythm which doesn't really fit in with the instruments. The song structure has so far been very similar in the first three songs. The solo always seem to appear in the same place. 5/10.

Through Oblivion - Different, but not in a good way. Lazy with bad vocals. 3/10.

With Eyes Wide Open - Opening sounds like the start of an ASOP song (not necessarily bad, but a weak sounding guitar tone). Looks like the same song structure again. I don't mind the vocals in this so much, it's got a STYE vibe about it in some parts. Another song that would be quite good live if Anders could sing. 6/10.

Siren Charms - Total dud. Vocals don't fit in at all and the lyrics are ASOP level lame. "the whole world can just go to hell, this life is killing me" ... a nothing song in every respect. 3/10.

When The World Explodes - Weird song. Anders screaming sounds really metalcore-ish here, which isn't a compliment. The guitars are really lazy again, a lot of riffs in this album seem to be recycled. It's like this song was recorded in 3/4 different sessions and then spliced together without any thought given to song structure or coherence. Very unusual, with a little more effort this could have been decent. 5/10.

Rusted Nail - Modern In Flames at its best/worst. 4/10.

Dead Eyes - An opening straight out of STYE. The chorus is shamefully poppy, almost embarrassing. As a whole, this is too slow to be interesting. 4/10.

Monsters in the Ballroom - Standard poppy modern-IF song. 4/10.

Filtered Truth - I don't really get the love a lot of people have for this one. It's a tad faster than other songs on the album, but really, it's got the same poor vocals, the same recycled riffs and the same boring structure. There's nothing especially new here. Distinctly average. 5/10.

This album lacks two things on the instrumental side - speed and energy. It's a very slow album with only a few bright spots. There is a painful lack of inspiration here which renders a lot of the songs quite boring and predictable. You wouldn't know the band has two guitarists - they don't use the extra guitar at all, this could have easily been recorded with just Bjorn on guitar, and they could play all of these songs live with one guitar. The rest of the instruments are just kind of there... nothing outstanding about the bass (as always) or the drums. There's some groove in certain sections of the album, but I can't get over how slow and plodding it is. Bjorn could have played most of this in his sleep.

Anyone who isn't a fan of Anders clean vocals will hate this album. It's almost all cleans and whilst Anders sounds better than he did on ASOP, rhythmically he simply doesn't have a clue. Few of the vocals seem to match the instruments, some of it is painful to listen to.

This is probably the first In Flames album which, to me, doesn't sound like In Flames anymore. It's just a generic pop-rock nothingness. The album has no substance, no ingenuity and no heart. Everything unique about In Flames has been stripped away and replaced with mediocrity. This is the album we feared they'd make one day, and it really shouldn't be under the In Flames banner. It's an Anders side-project, and there's nothing here that gives me the In Flames vibe. It's a pretty depressing listen.

Your average rating is like 5/10 in total, how come the album is a 1/10 or a 2/10 in the ''Rate every album thread''?

Also A88 what I meant with the rating thing is you say it's really bad but your average rating is about 6/10? 6/10 means it's just a good decent album. 4.5-5.0 means passable/average. I think your real rating of the album is somewhere around 3-3.5/10 based on your thoughts/reviews of every song.

Time for me to listen to it now, will report back with my ''review'' lel.

And since few of you asked what I was doing...7AM this morning when I just got to work I saw that it leaked, and I just came home at 8:30 PM after work & gym so I couldn't listen to it until now =)

Also, there's a torrent on piratebay where the two bonussongs are included, although it is in 128kbps.

EDIT: jk about the bonus tracks...It was just in the tracklisting in the torrent but they were not included lol, what a retard uploader.

Also read a review few hours ago on swedens biggest newspaper a review on the album, the reviewer has usually been quite against the recent album giving 2.5-3.0 out of 5 scores, but he gave 4/5 now, weird. He also said that after tenfold listens for the songs to dig in, and after that you start to hear all the melodies and stuff. He also said that the title-track was the only track that felt half done. I have noticed on most of the songs I've heard so far that they need a few listens to take in, especially Rusted Nail did.

 

[replicator]

I almost shit my pants on a bad way after the first listening. WTF happen to In Flames??? I fucking love the old stuff and new stuff is not that bad...I accept the musical change.

But SC is beyond my scope....Anders ruins everything on this record. The female vocal is horrible as hell. The guitar riff boring, drumming...the production is fine as always.

I´m higly disappoint for this record seriously. I can´t even stand support this record and waste my money. I have all the records...but this one will be not be part of my collection.

I undertand that they want to try new stuff, I´m getting older and my musical taste is not the same as 20 years ago (35 now). I was more heavy metal oriented...but for IF this is disrespectful for their fans.

They just don´t fucking care for their fans nowdays....

 

[Svářeč]

Actually, I like almost every song from SoaPF, except for Darker Times and Enter Tragedy, these two just don't work for me, can't really explain why. But title track, New Dawn - amazing riffs. All for me, Where the dead ships dwell - their choruses rock as fuck! Liberation is cool pop-rock-ish song and it works fine! Puzzle represents the same as Everything's gone on SC, but it's much more catchy and that outro is amazing.

SC is exactly the opposite. I dislike every song from it except for two!

 

[A88]

Been listening the album again. Damn, Dead Eyes is such a slow song. Daniel sounds like he's about to fall asleep.

That part with cool melody sounds like Dragonforce compared to other parts. And after all that power, things break down... and Anders starts singing some empty verse again.

Just... no!

 

[cellander]

I usually don't post here, just been lurking these forums. I have a hard time to appreciate this album and sound. Since Come Clarity I think In Flames have sounded tired and a bit uninspired. After a couple of listens most of the songs on Siren Charms are pretty forgettable. Right now I would rate this album an average. But I will listen to it and give it a fair chance because I love In Flames and they deserve it! I know songs can grow overtime and that's something I've been used to with In Flames later albums.

Right now I think "Paralized" is the best song on the album, it's actually the only song that got stuck on me. One of the best songs from In Flames later works actually! The chorus is great and epic and I think Anders does a great job with the vocals on this one.

 

[replicator]

After the second listen nothing even grew on my....for the firts time ever I stand with my original opinion: I´m higly disappoint for this record.

 

[cellander]

I usually don't post here, just been lurking these forums. I have a hard time to appreciate this album and sound. Since Come Clarity I think In Flames have sounded tired and a bit uninspired. After a couple of listens most of the songs on Siren Charms are pretty forgettable. Right now I would rate this album an average. But I will listen to it and give it a fair chance because I love In Flames and they deserve it! I know songs can grow overtime and that's something I've been used to with In Flames later albums.

Right now I think "Paralyzed" is the best song on the album, it's actually the only song that got stuck on me. One of the best songs from In Flames later works actually! The chorus is great and epic and I think Anders does a great job with the vocals on this one. Close second is "In Plain View". Can't wait to hear the bonus tracks, they seem to be good tracks.

 

[eochaid]

Actually, I like almost every song from SoaPF, except for Darker Times and Enter Tragedy, these two just don't work for me, can't really explain why. But title track, New Dawn - amazing riffs. All for me, Where the dead ships dwell - their choruses rock as fuck! Liberation is cool pop-rock-ish song and it works fine! Puzzle represents the same as Everything's gone on SC, but it's much more catchy and that outro is amazing.

SC is exactly the opposite. I dislike every song from it except for two!

Those two songs resemble, in some way, the slipknot sound, so it makes them little interesting compared to the other songs of the album.

 

[A88]

This is it! A week from now "Siren Charms" is released (US - September 9th) and it's time to let the world know! What started with Lunar Strain 20 years ago has now led all the way to Siren Charms, an album that represent what In Flames are today and what truly is the Black Ash Inheritance of the Gothenburg Sound. In Fans We Trust / IN FLAMES

WTF!?

 

[Jester313]

I mean, I like the album a lot and all, but yeah, I'm confused by that.

 

[Svářeč]

That's ironic? Or is it meant seriously?

 

[krofius]

Almost through the album now and I liked it a lot, there's a few weird parts with cleans but all in all there's some really good stuff. My first impression is that there are lots of strong choruses. In Plain View is probably my favorite song at the moment, followed by Paralyzed. The weakest tracks actually turned out to be the singles, Though Oblivion & Rusted Nail, followed by Dead Eyes, everything about the song is pretty great except for the chorus. Even the first In Flames keyboard solo I've ever heard. And the melodies leading up to the solos are also damn good.
It's definitely less heavier in general but it's still very melodic. And I also think the songs are very different from each other, just like on SoAPF.

I thought I would like it even less since most people are trashing it here, but I actually enjoy the vocals a lot, and there's lots of beautiful guitar melodies. Siren Charms (title track) verses are so awesome. Love the ''riff'', sounds a bit oldschool.

I also don't know what they meant with that post, but I am interested in what their plans are, sounds like it has something to do with the older era, in what way I don't know though. I don't think they meant what you think they meant with that also A88 lol, they've never even labeled themselves as the Gothenburg sound, and haven't really compared their old stuff to anything new except for Come Clarity.

At the moment the album is somewhere between 7-8/10 for me, and it probably will grow, also can't wait to hear the bonus tracks.

I can definitely understand why people dislike the album though, if you don't like the vocals only that is pretty much a dealbreaker.

 

[Svářeč]

I just found another brilliant review masterpiece

Siren Charms, out September 9, sees the Swedish metal juggernaut build its boldest, ballsiest, and most brilliant musical statement to date. Their best work since Colony, Siren Charms resounds with the revolutionary melodic thrash of Whoracle as well as the experimental ethers of Reroute to Remain. In other words, it’s an epic every metal fan should partake in. That’s just our First Reaction to this masterwork.

Just read it http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/first-reaction-in-flames-siren-charms/11041375?utm_source=jtd

 

[DE4life]

Your average rating is like 5/10 in total, how come the album is a 1/10 or a 2/10 in the ''Rate every album thread''?

My review here is based on listening to the album isolated from all of their other material. Purely judging it as a record on its own standing, which I would rate around 5/10.

In comparison to pretty much all the past material it's really weak, though, and as an In Flames album I rate it 2/10. Not very good at all and I can't see this appealing to many of their current fans, and it will appeal to practically none of their older fans (even fans of Come Clarity will struggle to stomach this).

What I don't understand is how they've gone from the energetic, powerful, varied offering that was SOAPF to this slow, boring mess. It's very hard to understand. I don't see this as a maturing of their sound at all. It's actually a massive, massive simplification. It's modern In Flames distilled to its most basic form. They don't seem to have put much effort into this at all - or if they have it's the very minimum.

Regardless of what people say about the album, positive or negative, we all know In Flames are far better than this. If somebody gave me this album, and I didn't know who In Flames were, I wouldn't give it a second listen. SOAPF on the other hand was a fantastic record that showcased the best of the modern IF sound without abandoning the energy and melody that the band are known for.

As I said, this album could be written and performed with one guitar player and nobody would notice. Bass & drums could be filled in by anyone with a basic understanding of the instruments. Few proper singers could sound worse than Anders.

In my opinion it's a poor effort and if this is the best they can do I worry for their future. They don't sound like they have much left in the tank at all.

 

[eochaid]

Siren Charms, out September 9, sees the Swedish metal juggernaut build its boldest, ballsiest, and most brilliant musical statement to date. Their best work since Colony, Siren Charms resounds with the revolutionary melodic thrash of Whoracle as well as the experimental ethers of Reroute to Remain. In other words, it’s an epic every metal fan should partake in. That’s just our First Reaction to this masterwork.

Totally agree. Obviously the guy was not high when he wrote those lines.

 

[DE4life]

Totally agree. Obviously the guy was not high when he wrote those lines.

You can't really take many reviewers seriously. A negative review means they don't get any more pre-release material, especially from labels as big as Sony. Your own ears will tell you exactly what you need to know.

 

[eochaid]

You can't really take many reviewers seriously. A negative review means they don't get any more pre-release material, especially from labels as big as Sony. Your own ears will tell you exactly what you need to know.

Of course not. But the guy is hilarious on his effort to please the band.

 

[A88]

They don't seem to have put much effort into this at all - or if they have it's the very minimum.

I have a few IF loving friends. All of them hate the new album.

And one of them said something along this lines: "It sounds like Bjorn wrote and recorded the album while waiting to pick up his kid from the kindergarten." That random and lazy.

 

[PlainVanilla]

Even the first In Flames keyboard solo I've ever heard.

It's guitar tapping actually, but kinda hard to hear on these bad fake-320kbps files.