In Flames New Album being released in Q2 of 2014 thread

[eochaid]

If you have to suffer through so much for a concert which's quality you are unsure about then it's entirely understandable, here's hoping they come to play near you in 2015! Where do you live btw?

Northwest of Spain. A country so hard to travel that you drive for more than 2 hours and a half just before leaving it, and I'm talking about 200 kms (don't know how much is in miles). And sure. If it was for the previous albums I would gladly "suffer" the travel to see them (and, of course by the weekend, during the regular week it's just imposible to even think about such a travel).

As for quality reviews, it's just as up to personal taste as our likings of the new album. Let's say someone says XY song on SC is so well written and beautiful. For you it might be empty words, while I might take it as a good review with good arguements (let's pretend he did say why he thinks it's beautiful and a masterpiece), while someone saying the whole album is utter shit and boring because of this and that makes you nod, while I think his arguement is BS and only valid if you view the record from a very specific perspective. Like, I'M pretty sure a site whose writers are hardcore MDM fans will give a pretty bad review to this album, which is a valuable review to people who want to know whether IF made Colony part 2 or not, but extremely unhelpful for a regular music listener, who can listen to everything if it has quality.

If the reviewers are reasoning why they like or not the album, then it's fine for me. If they give just general ideas then it's bullshit, be it favourable or negative review.

I don't know which category you people are, most of you seem to radiate some positive thoughts about IF, so I would assume the number of "CLAYMAN IS THE LAST GOOD IF ALBUM, THE REST IS 0/10, DONT BUY NEW IF ALBUMS PLS AND KEEP SPAMMING THEIR FB PAGE!!!!"-people are low. Would be cool if everyone's signature contained to answers to such questions as what is your favourite/least favourite IF album, rate the 3 singers IF had from the best to the worst, would you/do you still go to IF concerts, favourite/least favourite IF songs, best/worst shift in IF's music between two albums, how old are you, do you think IF sold out or do you think you just simply don't like their new music, how cool are Anders' glasses on scale of 9 to 10.

But there you have the fanboys saying "JUST TALK GOOD OF THE ALBUM OR LEAVE". Well, I think that anyone is free to talk and, as is my case, to express their frustration about the new albums. I don't like radicla positions, nor "You shouldn't listen to this shit" nor "Don't talk about IF anymore".

This was said in the rate the albums forum. But I'll do the effort.

1. Loved all albums until now (and I mean all). (for me )The worst IF album (except SC) is far better than many of the albums that are released every year.

2. Favourite albums: Clayman/Come Clarity. Least Favourite: Siren Charms.

3. Singers. Best Anders Friden From Clayman to Come Clarity. Second Best Anders Friden From The Jester Race to Colony. Worst Anders Friden in Siren Charms.

4. Favourite Songs Only For the Weak/Embody the Invisible/Crawl Through Knives. Least favourite song: name any from Siren Charms.

5. best/worst shift. I don't understand the meaning of this so I don't know.

At last. I'm 40, I think IF sold out and I don't like their new music and Anders glasses are as stupid that I can really rate them.

 

[shad0w__]

This was said in the rate the albums forum. But I'll do the effort.

1. Loved all albums until now (and I mean all). (for me )The worst IF album (except SC) is far better than many of the albums that are released every year.

2. Favourite albums: Clayman/Come Clarity. Least Favourite: Siren Charms.

3. Singers. Best Anders Friden From Clayman to Come Clarity. Second Best Anders Friden From The Jester Race to Colony. Worst Anders Friden in Siren Charms.

4. Favourite Songs Only For the Weak/Embody the Invisible/Crawl Through Knives. Least favourite song: name anyone from Siren Charms.

5. best/worst shift. I don't understand the meaning of this so I don't know.

Hmmmm I wasnt sure if you liked Siren Charms before but I think now I understand

 

[eochaid]

Hmmmm I wasnt sure if you liked Siren Charms before but I think now I understand

 

[ciko_gfb]

Here's my final points for the album. (doing this for the 3rd time in this thread anyway.)
In Plain View 8/10
Everything Is Gone 9.5/10
Paralyzed 7/10
Through Oblivion 7.5/10
With Eyes Wide Open 9.5/10
Siren Charms 9/10
When The World Explodes 8/10
Rusted Nail 6.5/10
Dead Eyes 8.5/10
Monsters In The Ballroom 7.5/10
Filtered Truth 8.5/10
The Chase 8/10
Become The Sky 8/10

Overall is 8.1. As a fan of New In Flames, its a damn good album for me. Choruses are very good. I don't care about song structure really, all songs are different from each other for me. And I don't agree with you guys about the "lazy riffs". Not every song has to be so complex. I just have a one problem with this album; guitar solos. Björn using wah at every solo which is for me very boring. Anders's cleans are improved. Some of them are weird but most of them very good. WEWO is an example. Awesome vocals on there.

I hope I can see them live this next year,some songs on the new album is awesome for concert. Cheers

 

[Clay-Man]

Yes because me quoting one of DE4life's quotes as truth puts me on his dick hahahaha k.

Stop taking "negativity" towards this piece of garbage as a personal attack.

My opinion is just as wrong or right as yours.

I tried listening again and every song is just ruined one way or another. SOAPF's style of cleans would've been fine on these songs especially In Plain View, Siren Charms, Paralyzed and Dead Eyes.

But still, these songs are terribly forgetful and nothing sticks in your brain that makes you go yeah this is good shit. No guitar riffs to get into and just a mundane sound overall.


Now someone, break MY comments down as "wrong"

Then stop stating your opinion as fact.

 

[Cobra8472]

What is with the goddamn electronic intros every single fucking time?
The Chase is decent. Better than most on the album -- but still.. so terribly mediocre.

Why do they think writing a riff like: 0-0-02-0-0-0232-0-0-02 is acceptable for a verse? (it's also the rhythm for the solo, which ruins the whole fucking thing).

Kind of angry at the laziness constantly exhibited.

 

[DE4life]

If I was going to rerate the album after more spins and better quality rip...

In Plain View - 7/10
Everything Is Gone - 6/10
Paralyzed - 7/10
Through Oblivion - 5/10
With Eyes Wide Open - 7/10
Siren Charms - 5/10
When The World Explodes - 6/10
Rusted Nail - 6/10
Dead Eyes - 5/10
Monsters In The Ballroom - 5/10
Filtered Truth - 6/10
The Chase - 6/10
Become The Sky - 6/10

I've deliberately not taken song structure into account to punish the songs individually. It would have an impact on my overall album rating though. Overall best songs for me are IPV, Paralyzed and WTWE. Mostly a group of very average, mostly uninspired songs. The album is listenable, but I described it earlier in the thread as background music and that's still what the album is to me. Songs that wouldn't demand my attention if I was doing a task but would be OK to have playing in the background.

In Flames can do a lot better than this, I hope they don't settle for this quality of record going forward. They should be aiming for better than "listenable" or "undemanding".

 

[krofius]

It's true that some songs off the older albums would be difficult to play live, JST being one of them. However you could say the same for newer songs - Metaphor and Dead End, as two examples. TJR/Whoracle would contain a lot of songs that wouldn't go down so well live, but tracks like Behind Space, Upon an Oaken Throne, Stand Ablaze, Moonshield, The Jester Race (sounds incredible live, I can personally attest to that!), Morphing Into Primal, Episode 666, and so on are very good live tracks. And pretty much anything off Colony/Clayman would get the crowd going, I'm sure. In Flames have a strange lack of faith in their older material being good crowd pleasers - but it certainly didn't put off people when they were starting out.



The Hive does seem like a strange choice. But it ends with a very long instrumental/solo, so maybe it's played to give Anders a chance to rest his voice. They seem to pick some very bizarre songs to play when it comes to their older stuff - they started playing Worlds Within the Margin a few years back... of all the older songs, I can't think of many less suited to a live environment. It's almost like they were doing it on purpose to "prove" that older songs don't get much reaction. But then they also make some strange choices on newer material too - opening with The Chosen Pessimist, for example, which is an awful decision. For a band so focused on playing their songs live they sometimes make some bewildering choices regarding their setlist.



Interesting you should say that. When I went to their 2008 show they did a Jester Race medley which was very well received. It contained TJR, Dead God in Me and another which I forget now. That material sounded fantastic live and the crowd were very responsive. The band seemed surprised, again like they've convinced themselves none of their newer fans could possibly like the older material. It's kind of sad.



Rightly or wrongly R2R did very well for In Flames at release, and they've played Cloud Connected constantly throughout their tours. A lot of their 'newer' fans probably started with R2R and either didn't go back to or didn't care much for anything before that album. It's not such a surprise to me, though it is a shame as they have numerous songs far superior to Cloud Connected.

The medley was 2min of Dead God In Me, then around 2min TJR, and then around 20sec of Behind Space or something.

They played Worlds Within The Margin during the first two quarters in 2006 or something yeah, one of my favs. I've looked several times and sadly there is no live footage whatsoever of any of those concerts, I badly want to hear it. Also one of those shows, don't remember which one, Johan actually played on the show. Also saw they played As The Future Repeats Today, another rare song.

 

[A88]

If I was going to rerate the album after more spins and better quality rip...

Pretty much agree with this whole post.

After hearing everything in good quality plus bonus tracks...

It all falls into 5-7/10 category.

As common place for whole album I would point out:

- terrible verses
- lazy solos
- repeating song structures

Best songs: Paralyzed, WTWE and IPW.
Whole album: 5/10 or average, lazy, lazy, average with nice choruses

I don't mind hearing most of this stuff, but I don't have the need to listen this album again and again. It would work well in some metal/rock pub, or while you're doing something.

 

[DE4life]

The medley was 2min of Dead God In Me, then around 2min TJR, and then around 20sec of Behind Space or something.

Yeah, you're right. They started with TJR (intro sounds amazing live) and ended with Behind Space. Very loud cheer afterwards.

They played Worlds Within The Margin during the first two quarters in 2006 or something yeah, one of my favs. I've looked several times and sadly there is no live footage whatsoever of any of those concerts, I badly want to hear it. Also one of those shows, don't remember which one, Johan actually played on the show. Also saw they played As The Future Repeats Today, another rare song.

I like WWTM as well. Synth part near the end of the song sometimes gives me goosebumps. That said, still not the best choice for a live track in my eyes. Overall song is too slow, especially if they're trying to get the newer audience to move to the old stuff. Need faster, more energetic songs like Episode 666, Embody, Behind Space, Stand Ablaze, etc. Most newer fans will just stand around like "wtf?" if they play something slow like WWTM.

I'd kill to see ATFRT live doubt they will ever play that again. I have a live recording of it but it's in shitty quality. Think I have a WWTM live audio from 2006 somewhere as well, but no video footage.

 

[Jester313]

ATFRT would be an incredible song live, and it would probably get more newer fans to dive into their back catalog. Seems pretty simple to play more songs like that live and get those newer fans to buy your older albums and make more money.

 

[Jester313]

I like The Hive, but come on already. Play Food for the Gods or Morphing into Primal. Those and Episode 666 were the first and only songs I liked from Whoracle when I first tried to listen to the album. It took me a while to actually realize I liked the rest of the album. I liked them because of their pace and energy.

 

[krofius]

Yeah, you're right. They started with TJR (intro sounds amazing live) and ended with Behind Space. Very loud cheer afterwards.



I like WWTM as well. Synth part near the end of the song sometimes gives me goosebumps. That said, still not the best choice for a live track in my eyes. Overall song is too slow, especially if they're trying to get the newer audience to move to the old stuff. Need faster, more energetic songs like Episode 666, Embody, Behind Space, Stand Ablaze, etc. Most newer fans will just stand around like "wtf?" if they play something slow like WWTM.

I'd kill to see ATFRT live doubt they will ever play that again. I have a live recording of it but it's in shitty quality. Think I have a WWTM live audio from 2006 somewhere as well, but no video footage.

How about you share both you filthy peasant?

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

So, albums released by "big" melodeath (or "melodeath") bands in 2013 and 2014:

1. Carcass - Surgical Steel (2013)
2. Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun (2014)
3. Dark Tranquillity - Construct (2013)
4. Amon Amarth - Deciever of the Goods (2013)
5. Arch Enemy - War Eternal (2014)
6. Soilwork - The Living Infinite (2013)
7. Children of Bodom - Halo of Blood (2013)
8. In Flames - Siren Charms (2014)

And I expect new ATG to rank somewhere above AE and AA.

In reality, Carcass was a fine return to form, Insomnium quite good by the same stuff as always, DT challenging and good but not great, AA same ol' same ol', AE better then the last one but mediocre, Soilwork decent but mediocre, CoB passable but mediocre, In Flames mediocre bordering terrible.

Bad times for melodeath.

You forgot Wolfheart - Winterborn. Nothing bad about that record. Also Omnium Gatherum - Beyond. Not as good as New World Shadows but still great. And Darkest Horizon - The Grand Continuum. Solid record. True as well for Fractal Gates - Beyond the Self. Add Persefone - Spiritual Migration.

 

[DE4life]

How about you share both you filthy peasant?

They're on my old PC's hard drive. The machine doesn't turn on anymore but I can extract the data from the HDD directly... I'll see what I can do

Have to warn you that when I say the ATFRT live audio is shitty quality, I'm not kidding... it fucking sucks I think the WWTM one is OK though.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

What some of you guys are failing to realise is that it isn't just that the structures are the same, but that the TYPE of structure is the same. It's the same type of intro, the same type of verse, the same type of chorus and the same type of solo in almost every song. Such lack of creativity is inexcusable for a band that has proven themselves to have so much talent.

It's sad to see fans viciously defending this effortless drivel, because in order for the band to improve themselves the fans have to demand the best from them. Like any creative medium, the artist thrives on the reaction of the audience they are presenting their work to. If they get a positive reaction it assures them they've tried their hardest and produced something to the best of their abilities, if the reaction is poor then they work harder to release better material next time.

When the In Flames fanboys blindly clap like seals for everything they do it's not only embarrassing but detrimental to the band itself. We all know they are capable of much better than Siren Charms, so why would anyone accept that this is a great album and laud it as something special when it simply isn't?

Yes this is an excellent post. The problem, and it is a problem, is that In Flames (and a lot of the new fans especially on here) claim that they make music 'for themselves' and NOT for the fans. While on the surface this may seem laudable, it's actually problematic. And more so for a band that earned a huge fan base by way of its unique approach to melodeath over the course of many, many years.. In adopting a new style (shifting the melody to the vocals starting on RTR) the band did a complete 180 and alienated pretty much its entire original fan base. Mike Amott said it best in an interview many years ago when he said "fans ARE part of the band. I hate it when bands say that 'fans aren't part of the band'". Not only do bands risk the chance of losing a vast majority of fans but, in the case of In Flames, like the above member said, it's usually perceived as laziness on the part of early fans because we know what the band is actually capable. of. If this band wants to make numetal or rock or easy-listening metal then the fair thing to do would be to either do it as a side project and release it under a DIFFERENT name, or just call the band quits and start something new. But bands cannot change their sound so drastically and continue working under the appellation in name or genre. They're always going to be held accountable by purists like myself and a few other people on here. And don't try to say the band doesn't 'owe' fans anything. Actually, they do, because we pay their salaries by buying records, tickets and merchandise.

 

[DE4life]

If this band wants to make numetal or rock or easy-listening metal then the fair thing to do would be to either do it as a side project and release it under a DIFFERENT name, or just call the band quits and start something new. But bands cannot change their sound so drastically and continue working under the appellation in name or genre. They're always going to be held accountable by purists like myself and a few other people on here. And don't try to say the band doesn't 'owe' fans anything. Actually, they do, because we pay their salaries by buying records, tickets and merchandise.

The problem is, as I've mentioned before, Anders and Bjorn both know that if their current music didn't have the In Flames tag/brand attached to it, there simply wouldn't be that much interest. Siren Charms released under a different band name doesn't even get out of the starting gate.

They're living off past glories to an extent, and the reason they can make music "for themselves", regardless of whether it's good or bad, is because of the brand they've built up on the backs of old school fans. Anders tried to make a side project with Passenger and nobody really cared. Funny thing is that Passenger's album actually wasn't so bad, I quite liked it. But without the In Flames brand name attached it just wasn't that popular.

 

[shad0w__]

They're always going to be held accountable by purists like myself and a few other people on here.

I dont think the band cares.

And don't try to say the band doesn't 'owe' fans anything. Actually, they do, because we pay their salaries by buying records, tickets and merchandise.

Well its your problem that you spend your money in a band that you no longer like.

 

[shad0w__]

The problem is, as I've mentioned before, Anders and Bjorn both know that if their current music didn't have the In Flames tag/brand attached to it, there simply wouldn't be that much interest. Siren Charms released under a different band name doesn't even get out of the starting gate.

They're living off past glories to an extent, and the reason they can make music "for themselves", regardless of whether it's good or bad, is because of the brand they've built up on the backs of old school fans. Anders tried to make a side project with Passenger and nobody really cared. Funny thing is that Passenger's album actually wasn't so bad, I quite liked it. But without the In Flames brand name attached it just wasn't that popular.

Thie fact that they are using the IF name maybe true but no one is forcing you or the old fans to buy the new album or go to the shows. Yes, they will gain more exposure and attention due to their name and history but ultimately most the fans will spend their money only if they like the new album or like the shows.

Its simple, stream the album on metal hammer or other websites and if you dont like it dont buy it. Look up recent setlists and if you dong like them dont go to the show. End of story.

 

[DE4life]

This maybe true but no one is forcing you or the old fans to buy the new album or go to the shows. Yes, they will gain more exposure and attention due to their name and history but ultimately most the fans will spend their money only if they like the new album or like the shows.

I'm not buying their new albums or going to their shows... but that's the point. Is it right that they've almost totally alienated myself and a lot of other older fans by refusing to even acknowledge 2 or 3 of the older songs on their live setlist? Very few bands who have been around as long as In Flames completely ignore their older fans/albums live in the same way In Flames do. It's almost like they're ashamed of their older work, regardless of what Anders says in interviews.