IN FLAMES new album being released on 1st March, 2019

[galvanized]

Just listened to Burn via the official music video.

Riffage is most similar to SOAPF. Very basic melodically and harmonically. When I listen to it I almost feel like I’m missing one of the guitar channels. I’m hearing rhythm guitar but not lead. Especially that middle section, it’s like what is happening, am I missing something?

The chorus is “different” but I like to see them doing different things, so I’m not going to mark them on that.

Bjorn’s two parts are pretty good but the tone bugs me and stands out to me. They’ve been doing this for the last two or three albums where the lead guitar is filtered (sounds like it’s recorded over a telephone) but on this track it stands out more for some reason.

Edit:
Okay just did a second listen. I do think Bjorns leads are pretty good but why is it just 2 short parts in the entire song? And the end is truncated when it could have kept going?

I like how the song structure is a little different. I still don’t mind the chorus, in fact it sounds pretty good. Yes it’s a little poppy but they still maintain a dark tone. Not like Greatest Greed which I despise. I like how the song is decently fast paced.

Don’t like the mediocre guitar riffs, especially in the middle. And I still think we are missing a guitar track in this song.

 

[Jester Slave]

Where are all the people in IF music videos are running to? I wonder if they ever meet.

 

[Sister Of Destruction]

Where are all the people in IF music videos are running to? I wonder if they ever meet.

To you Jester, to you

 

[A88]

Wtf are they doing with the guitar sound? It's just so thin and plastic, and lost in the mix.

The last time they had a really good guitar production was on Clayman, nearly 20 years ago. Every album since, there is some kind of fuck up in that department, too loud, too quiet, too much highs or mids, flat or weak or whatever.

Drums are also plastic and robotic, but at least they get it right from time to time.

It seems that producer care mostly about how to fix and layer Anders vocals.

 

[DE4life]

Wtf are they doing with the guitar sound? It's just so thin and plastic, and lost in the mix.

The last time they had a really good guitar production was on Clayman, nearly 20 years ago. Every album since, there is some kind of fuck up in that department, too loud, too quiet, too much highs or mids, flat or weak or whatever.

Drums are also plastic and robotic, but at least they get it right from time to time.

It seems that producer care mostly about how to fix and layer Anders vocals.

It's really noticeable when you compare the guitar sound to other similar metal bands (DT, AE, Soilwork, etc) how shit and weak IF guitar tone is. If they put as much effort into guitar as they did Anders' vocals then I might even be able to ignore the rip-off riffs and shitty chugging and just appreciate the overall sound.

Best guitar sound since Clayman was probably CC. SOAPF was fine as well but not as powerful as it could have been.

 

[JesterSlaveSucks]

here i am, wearing the mask with a jester who wants to be freeeee

 

[Clay-Man]

soapf was massive sounding. come clarity sounded like eardrums to cheese graters

 

[A88]

Soapf guitar sound was not massive. It lacked punch and maybe some additional layers. Still, the best post-clayman sounding album.

CC was ok, but my ears get tired of it very fast.

 

[DE4life]

CC's sound is abrasive at times but at least it's powerful and aggressive, which a metal album should be. With a little bit more mastering I think CC sound could have been almost as good as Clayman, but they obviously didn't have anybody with the skills to make it so.

I still wonder WTF happened with ASOP sound. To go from the harsh CC sound to the washed out, wimpy, thin ASOP sound was really weird.

 

[galvanized]

SOAPF sounded pretty thick. Not “massive” but decent and clean. But guitar tone and style on that one was a lot different than ever before and even after. If you kept guitar work of ASOP and pushed it through SOAPF production I bet people would have been very happy.

 

[DE4life]

I've always felt that SOAPF was correcting the production mistakes of ASOP. That said, you couldn't really do anything production wise to save the vocals on ASOP - imo that albums has Anders' worst screams/growls across all of the IF discography, and the cleans aren't mixed very well either.

 

[Ilias7]

http://ramzine.co.uk/featured/ander...-this-band-and-be-part-of-every-step-we-take/

Another interview, nothing much interesting. Good to know there will be more upcoming European dates.

Also, Architects and Witchcraft were announced for Borgholm Brinner.
Architects were simply ok for me, but their latest album was a real masterpiece.





Their new guitarist Josh Middleton is a beast. You should check his other band Sylosis, where he also sings.

 

[galvanized]

Architects were simply ok for me, but their latest album was a real masterpiece.

I recently got their 2016 album after seeing they had been recording with Nordstrom. My reaction is that it was decent but nothing grabbed me. The new one wasn’t out yet. Just added it to my playlist; I’ll check it out.

 

[ThePhobiac]

SOAPF drums are basically the same cardboard drums from ASOP but with a little more punch. I was okay with the production for a while on SOAPF but now I can’t stand it. There hasn’t been a well-produced album since Come Clarity, imo. I, the Mask is probably the closest they’ve gotten to good, I think.

I do like that the guitars in recent albums have a lot more clarity, even if they lack the abrasiveness of past albums. You can pretty much hear every note, which helps since Bjorn likes to arpeggiate his chords a lot (i.e. “Voices” pre-chorus).

 

[Clay-Man]

you people are high. SOAPF is probably one of the most massive sounding albums production wise.
Everything occupies the space in the mix while still being crystal clear. I've never heard an IF album be that sonically hard hitting since clayman.

 

[ciko_gfb]

I like "Burn" even more with every listen, awesome song. I noticed that there's a lead through the chorus, its pretty good although its too low. You can hear it at 3:00 exactly when Anders stop singing in chorus.

 

[DE4life]

you people are high. SOAPF is probably one of the most massive sounding albums production wise.
Everything occupies the space in the mix while still being crystal clear. I've never heard an IF album be that sonically hard hitting since clayman.

They literally got the perfect modern IF sound production on SOAPF. Then threw it away the very next album and have never come close to it since. Wtf.

 

[Cobra8472]

Agreed, SOAPF production is stellar. That album would be WAY worse if the production wasn't spot on. The riffs and melodies just wouldn't be able to carry it enough I think.

 

[galvanized]

Indeed. A couple of amazing tracks, but only about half the album. And those tracks NEED that clean production. The production set the tone of the album.

Can you imagine the first part of Fear Is the Weakness with Battles production? No, it’s impossible.

 

[ThePhobiac]

Actually, I will revise my statement. I think the production on SOAPF is really good. I just hate hate hate the drums. Roberto Laghi is a good producer but I can’t stand how he did the drums on ASOP, SOAPF, and SC. Especially since SC has my favorite guitar tone out of all IF albums.