This is why they're the most innovative band around. Always opening new paths...
IN FLAMES new album being released on 1st March, 2019
- Thread starter Pallbearer
- Start date
mindd
Faithless by Default
Man, We Will Remember is so cheesy, I knew it would be, but still 
It's kinda weird that this whole song's idea is that "we completely changed, guys, our music is totally different but we will always remember and cherish everything that we did before", but at the same time they have songs like ITM, IAA and Voices on the same record that sound a lot more like their previous music, lol
Follow Me is Come Clarity 2 alright, mix is weird, I wish that the melody that's buried under guitar and vocals in the 2nd verse was higher up in the mix. That also goes for the rest of the album, there are neat things and effects musically buried under vocals.
Not Alone is trash just like House.
I welcome back the acoustic guitars, those are always awesome. Stay With Me is really good, but vocals don't really do much for me.
Musically the album is a lot better than Battles, tho. However, I would've liked this album a LOT more if the vocals weren't pitch-corrected and cleaned so much, Anders just sounds sterile and robotic; also these things like that artificial vocal shifting "in this liiIIIIIiiiiiIIIiiife" are just disgusting, this whole song is just a worse version of SC songs with awful autotune vocals
I don't understand how people find these unnatural vocals appealing, but people actually do, hence the popularity of all the pop singers, and our friend H. Benson clearly knows it and takes advantage of it in every song, unfortunately
I just wish that we had an album without excessive studio "magic" on vocals, because Anders is writing stuff with H. Benson's post-editing in mind, and, even though Anders has actually improved his clean singing, everyone knows that he isn't able to pull this stuff off. Maybe if he wrote stuff that he can actually sing, it would've sounded better. IMO natural and honest vocals without "fancy" melodies in high register would be better than robo-Anders singing clear notes everywhere.
It's kinda weird that this whole song's idea is that "we completely changed, guys, our music is totally different but we will always remember and cherish everything that we did before", but at the same time they have songs like ITM, IAA and Voices on the same record that sound a lot more like their previous music, lolFollow Me is Come Clarity 2 alright, mix is weird, I wish that the melody that's buried under guitar and vocals in the 2nd verse was higher up in the mix. That also goes for the rest of the album, there are neat things and effects musically buried under vocals.
Not Alone is trash just like House.
I welcome back the acoustic guitars, those are always awesome. Stay With Me is really good, but vocals don't really do much for me.
Musically the album is a lot better than Battles, tho. However, I would've liked this album a LOT more if the vocals weren't pitch-corrected and cleaned so much, Anders just sounds sterile and robotic; also these things like that artificial vocal shifting "in this liiIIIIIiiiiiIIIiiife" are just disgusting, this whole song is just a worse version of SC songs with awful autotune vocals
I don't understand how people find these unnatural vocals appealing, but people actually do, hence the popularity of all the pop singers, and our friend H. Benson clearly knows it and takes advantage of it in every song, unfortunately
I just wish that we had an album without excessive studio "magic" on vocals, because Anders is writing stuff with H. Benson's post-editing in mind, and, even though Anders has actually improved his clean singing, everyone knows that he isn't able to pull this stuff off. Maybe if he wrote stuff that he can actually sing, it would've sounded better. IMO natural and honest vocals without "fancy" melodies in high register would be better than robo-Anders singing clear notes everywhere.
mindd
Faithless by Default
It kind of feels like IF took back control of the verses, but Benson remained in charge of choruses. They all sound so similar. Best implementation is probably I, the Mask or Burn. Worst by far is In This Life. Wtf is that annoying bullshit. One of the worst choruses they have ever done, and up there with worst ever use of autotune on hipster's vocals.
mindd
Faithless by Default
Anders wants to do death metal
It's really weird tho. A lot of metal performers listen to a lot of non-metal music while touring, because you'll just get tired of playing and listening to only heavy shit all the time
Seems like Anders is the opposite, he leans more on the pop side in his work these days while still liking and listening to some heavy shit, lol
Or maybe he just (found a flame in the burnt out ashes) burned out on all the heavy stuff?
When he released the passenger album he claimed to be a fan of pop music. Depeche Mode, David Bowie. Musicians like that. In his vocals he's clearly trying to imitate alt rock bands. Then he comes with the death metal thing... It sounds like bullshit to me.
krofius
Active Member
- Mar 16, 2009
- 2,390
- 248
- 63
I like Voices, I the Mask and Burn, that's about it.
I like the lead guitar tone very much, there's some nice melodies.
Way to slow tempo, to much ballads, way to personal lyrics for me, rather have more abstract/metaphorical lyrics, it's overly emotional for my taste combined with how the vocals sound, can't stand the autotune/pitch correction at parts, especially in We Will Remember. Follow Me had a really nice intro with the acoustic followed by that rhythm riff. Feel no need to listen to the album again though
I like the lead guitar tone very much, there's some nice melodies.
Way to slow tempo, to much ballads, way to personal lyrics for me, rather have more abstract/metaphorical lyrics, it's overly emotional for my taste combined with how the vocals sound, can't stand the autotune/pitch correction at parts, especially in We Will Remember. Follow Me had a really nice intro with the acoustic followed by that rhythm riff. Feel no need to listen to the album again though
Wow, never thought I'd see the day Krofi-kun officially joined the dark side with us another IF Jedi defecting.
I'd add I Am Above to the decent songs list, but otherwise yeah, I probably won't listen to any of the others much if ever again. I listen to a lot of bands who do mid tempo, slower songs with clean vocals way better than this. I haven't really paid attention to the lyrics as the "story" Anders laid out in that interview seemed a bit dumb to me, so I can't really get invested in something so silly.
This album would have been an OK alt-rock/alt-metal album with a vocalist who could sing and more variation on the choruses. There are some decent riffs and melodies on most of the songs, but as usual they are, imo anyway, pretty much ruined by the vocals. I didn't mind in the past when Anders would have one or two songs to sing clean on an album, but over half an album of these songs is just too much for me.
The production and handful of decent songs does put ITM ahead of Battles, but for me it's marginal. Battles actually had a clearer identity and focus. ITM is back to the band not really being able to work out what they are, so they just do a bit of everything. Jack of all trades, master of none. That should be their next album title.
another IF Jedi defecting.I'd add I Am Above to the decent songs list, but otherwise yeah, I probably won't listen to any of the others much if ever again. I listen to a lot of bands who do mid tempo, slower songs with clean vocals way better than this. I haven't really paid attention to the lyrics as the "story" Anders laid out in that interview seemed a bit dumb to me, so I can't really get invested in something so silly.
This album would have been an OK alt-rock/alt-metal album with a vocalist who could sing and more variation on the choruses. There are some decent riffs and melodies on most of the songs, but as usual they are, imo anyway, pretty much ruined by the vocals. I didn't mind in the past when Anders would have one or two songs to sing clean on an album, but over half an album of these songs is just too much for me.
The production and handful of decent songs does put ITM ahead of Battles, but for me it's marginal. Battles actually had a clearer identity and focus. ITM is back to the band not really being able to work out what they are, so they just do a bit of everything. Jack of all trades, master of none. That should be their next album title.
mindd
Faithless by Default
I mean, you can like all types of music at the same time. Anders may love anything from Depeche Mode to Judas Priest to some obscure extreme metal bands and that's okay. That doesn't probably mean anything at all anyway, lel.
I'm sure Anders does still like listening to death metal, I just don't think he wants to perform that kind of music now. He wants to make more "respected" music like his idols Depache Mode, The Cure, etc. Unfortunately his inability to sing and over-reliance on autotune makes this softer music sound significantly less authentic and established than the stuff they were doing pre-SC.
I know. Problem is that he just seems so fake when saying things like that. His answer could be something like you said. Instead he goes like "I'm the death metal guy". Probably because it sounds cool.
i wish there was more songs like the jester who wants to be free i judge this album I am a mask at 32% and it is in a RED zone
i judge this album I am a mask at 32% and it is in a RED zone
TheJestersDoor
Keep calm and bash Anders
- Jul 25, 2016
- 728
- 384
- 63
- 26
Okay here we go boys, Album review time! Apologies for the long post... So we are clear i've listened to the album 3 times so feel i've got a solid grasp on most of the songs.
- Voices - Sill dig this one a lot, love the riffs, the verses kick ass and the chorus is great. Modern In Flames 101. 8/10
- I, The Mask - Fast fucker this one, clean pre-chorus has grown on me a lot since release, glad IF can still pull a song like this out the bag! 7.5/10
- Call My Name - Wow that riff! oh god Anders lost his balls.... lets forget the verses exist and then we have a good song, although the solo is criminally short 6.5/10
- I Am Above - Solid first single IMO, even if they swerved us by releasing all the heavy stuff as singles. Love the groovy verses! 7.5/10
- Follow Me - Oh my god.... this is the "biggest" sounding IF song in a long time, shame about slightly too processed verse vocals, but the melodys are good. Glad they brought back their old trick of changing the key of the last chorus, works a treat! 8.5/10
- (This Is Our) House - That choir gives me a headache. Underneath the vocals and the bad mixing on this one I think there is a good song, but thats not what the finished product sounds like. 4/10
- We Will Remember - Somewhat predictable arena rock anthem, enjoyable enough though 7/10
- In This Life - What do you get when SC and Battles hatefuck? This. This is what you get. 5.5/10
- Burn - Heavy one this, really great track, choruses take a while to dig but I like it. 7/10
- Deep Inside - Riff takes me straight to Cairo, nice to get some more screams. I like how the last chorus is screamed, don't like the clean break before the last chorus which kills the momentum that was building up and weakens that last chorus 7.5/10
- All The Pain - Oh that clean guitar tone, its beautiful! really like Anders on this track, good IF ballad IMO 8/10
- Stay With Me - Where do I begin with this one... Didn't expect this one bit, love the acoustic melodys, and Anders really shines here. Love how he unleashes that first scream right at the end, feels so cathartic, and a great end to the album. 9/10
- Not Alone - But wait, there's more! oh boy this one is going to be the next Bottled/TCP/Truth I know it, but man, it has a groove that I dig so much. Yes, it's cheesy, yes it's really fucking weird, but it's also quite fun, so it gets a pass from me 6.5/10
On the whole the album is a massive improvement on Battles and SC, and exceeded my expectations, however listening all the way through the track placement makes Burn stick out like a sore thumb as the random heavy song on side B, although in a few months and we're only listening to these songs as part of playlists, that won't matter. This album has restored my faith in IF to write a good album after the car crash that was Battles. Taking my average score would call the album a 7/10, but thats because of the Anomoly in House (And somewhat In This Life). Not a perfect album by a long stretch, but certainly a good one.
- Voices - Sill dig this one a lot, love the riffs, the verses kick ass and the chorus is great. Modern In Flames 101. 8/10
- I, The Mask - Fast fucker this one, clean pre-chorus has grown on me a lot since release, glad IF can still pull a song like this out the bag! 7.5/10
- Call My Name - Wow that riff! oh god Anders lost his balls.... lets forget the verses exist and then we have a good song, although the solo is criminally short 6.5/10
- I Am Above - Solid first single IMO, even if they swerved us by releasing all the heavy stuff as singles. Love the groovy verses! 7.5/10
- Follow Me - Oh my god.... this is the "biggest" sounding IF song in a long time, shame about slightly too processed verse vocals, but the melodys are good. Glad they brought back their old trick of changing the key of the last chorus, works a treat! 8.5/10
- (This Is Our) House - That choir gives me a headache. Underneath the vocals and the bad mixing on this one I think there is a good song, but thats not what the finished product sounds like. 4/10
- We Will Remember - Somewhat predictable arena rock anthem, enjoyable enough though 7/10
- In This Life - What do you get when SC and Battles hatefuck? This. This is what you get. 5.5/10
- Burn - Heavy one this, really great track, choruses take a while to dig but I like it. 7/10
- Deep Inside - Riff takes me straight to Cairo, nice to get some more screams. I like how the last chorus is screamed, don't like the clean break before the last chorus which kills the momentum that was building up and weakens that last chorus 7.5/10
- All The Pain - Oh that clean guitar tone, its beautiful! really like Anders on this track, good IF ballad IMO 8/10
- Stay With Me - Where do I begin with this one... Didn't expect this one bit, love the acoustic melodys, and Anders really shines here. Love how he unleashes that first scream right at the end, feels so cathartic, and a great end to the album. 9/10
- Not Alone - But wait, there's more! oh boy this one is going to be the next Bottled/TCP/Truth I know it, but man, it has a groove that I dig so much. Yes, it's cheesy, yes it's really fucking weird, but it's also quite fun, so it gets a pass from me 6.5/10
On the whole the album is a massive improvement on Battles and SC, and exceeded my expectations, however listening all the way through the track placement makes Burn stick out like a sore thumb as the random heavy song on side B, although in a few months and we're only listening to these songs as part of playlists, that won't matter. This album has restored my faith in IF to write a good album after the car crash that was Battles. Taking my average score would call the album a 7/10, but thats because of the Anomoly in House (And somewhat In This Life). Not a perfect album by a long stretch, but certainly a good one.
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OK, I'll be serious now.
Songwriting: The whole album sounds disjointed, like it was a random collection of songs. But at the same time, this has a positive side as at least the randomness of things and a little more variation in song structure makes it more interesting than Battles, SC etc. Not really anything too interesting, but I must say I like how many influences there are on this one. Besides the usual random chorus #43 and Bjorn solo #618, there are some really cool pop, electro, rock etc. things and I guess two progressive metal riffs, plus the middle-eastern thingy. That few melodeath songs that were released to the public (to cheat the people into the buying the thing) actually don't fit the overall album.
Lyrics and vocals: Extremely cringy. At best, adult human can tolerate this shit as regular Anders bollocks, at worst you have to skip track. The mentioning of old song tittles doesn't make it any better. The whole thing is autotuned and processed beyond recognition. It is like a generic robot voice, but underneath it you can hear Anders straining to hit some weird note far out of his range. I struggle to remember when was the last time I heard album that so lifeless and plastic in vocal department. Pretty much the only time I like vocals on this is when you can actually hear his think, whiny voice. The whispering, singing quietly, that odd STYE moments and of course the screaming/growling. Even when some of this songs acually sound good, you just know there will be some vocal fuckup to destroy the mood.
Production: It is a generic radio friendly rock sound. Clear, with some overdrive but without any real punch. You can hear guitars a little bit better than on the last one, but they are still very thin and lifeless. Works well with slight distortion and on cleans, but when there are two guitars riffing, metal is supposed to sound powerful, not like guitarpro miditrack. But the whole thing is made to fit the choruses - all for that droning, sweet powerchords in the background of vocals with occasional melody in the mud. Electronics were well made, you can hear the drums, vocals are in the front, bass is barely audible and present. All in all, competent job for what it is meant to be.
Song-by-song:
Voices (7.5/10) - Intro doesn't really fit the first riff, but the music in the beginning of the song is really good. Actual melodeath riff, that great melodic bridge and great growls over that. There is still some life in this band it seems. The chorus has autotune, but on this one it works. Like the MSS-like melody in the background. Decent breakdown, decent solo. After a few listens, not much wrong with this song. Probably among better efforts in the recent IF catalogue.
I, The Mask (6.5/10) - Frooom heeereee I can hardly not see ASOOOP. First riff is such a ripoff, but at least it is METAL! That melodic, fast bridge is among the rare FUCK YEAH moment on this record. A bit of cringe in the chorus, but not that bad. Totally boring and unnecessary breakdown, but then followed by a decent solo. Solid if a bit unspectacular song - pretty much a filler song from ASOP. Sad little "Jester that wants to be freee" will enter Anders-quote dictionary along with "I feel like shit, but at least I feel something" and other gems of wisdom and poetry.
Call My Name (6/10) - Wow, an actual interesting piece of guitarwork. This song has some sense of urgency until they fuck it up with a slow chorus. Not really sure about the yelling in the verses, but I guess its a welcome change of pace, so I let it pass. Very bland and generic chorus. Someone should be shot Stalin-style for killing that unborn child of a solo. Chorus, chorus, riff, end. Not bad, nothing special.
I Am Above (8.5/10) - What a surprise they have chosen the only real IF song on the album as the (well received) lead single. Colony-style intro. Great verse riff and growls. Really like the dynamics of the verses, slow hypnotic + faster pace. Chorus on this one works for me. As this song is more than 3 minutes long, they even had the time to put some melodic bridge and nice soloing in. Best song on the album, period.
Follow Me (4.5/10) - Peter Tagtgren wants his song tittle back. Really nice intro. Acoustics, keys in the background, then the distortion kicks in. At this point I'm like: "Yeah, I'm gonna like it", but of course then it all goes to hell. The best thing I can say for the ensuing 4 minutes is that I like the effects on the vocals in the verses. Except for the nice short solo everything else can go straight to the garbage bin, with that godawful chorus on the bottom.
(This is Our) House (2/10) - This is the worst, the worst song on the album, scream and shout, and don't record shit like this again. Please.
We Will Remember (3.5/10) - Hello Siren Charms, we meet again. Decent intro, ripoff riffing, cringy chorus, boring song. All things present, nothing to see here, lets move one.
In This Life (4/10) - Bjorn is channeling his inner Here Until Forever melody again. Skyyy used to be blue, world is coming down... So deep. Not much I can say about this one. Forgettable radio song without anything of real substance. I won't remember it in 5 minutes. Nice little solo though.
Burn (7/10) - We are out of the HB happy radio zone, and back into the IF lands. Solid intro riffing, some life to the drums at last. The chorus grew on me on repeated listens. Or, compared to the lullaby that is the rest of the album, this mid-tempo songs sound better than they are supposed to. Another unnecessary breakdown part. Whats up with that? Nice melody on two places in the song. Good one.
Deep Inside (7.5/10) - I am sure I've heard this riff somewhere before, but still - something new at last! This must be the most engaging song on the album. They are going from middle eastern vibe, to some prog metal, to melodeath, to something like a metal version of annoying mid '90 mtv hit, to something like a metal version of late '80 pop song. Nice solo, but a longer slower parts would be welcome. After the solo, pretty much the best vocal and atmospheric performance of the album. Dunno. Not the best, but the most interesting song on this record.
All the Pain (6/10) - SC again. Even the sound of clean guitars is back. This one would work much better if this guy could actually sing. The verses are good (some nice, almost DeMode stuff in melodies and atmosphere), but another generic chorus brings the song down. You're the monster that brought me here, all the pain I feel, blood and tears... Come on! Great solo, with some slight neoclassical edge to it, a bit of Satellites and Astronauts in there also. I like the half of the song, I couldn't care less for the other half.
Stay With Me (6.5/10) - They are overkilling it with the slow stuff, but this one starts really good. I like the acoustics, the changes, even the singing works. It sounds, well... honest. Better, more powerful ending and some soloing would work better, but still, a nice closer of the album.
Not Alone (3/10) - Older brother of (Our) House. We are lucky that they didn't record an 8 minute epic Not Alone in Our House. Not much I want to say about this one. Not sure I will ever hear it again.
Final Word - It's a 6/10 album for me. Maybe a bit more at the moment, but that will go down in the near future for sure. As time passes and I'm a less of a fan, I tend to give more realistic grades for the new stuff it seems. A few songs on a better level than Battles and SC stuff, but that is like a third of this album. The rest goes from completely empty and forgettable to outright catastrophic. Even with Anders and his diva tendencies, if they got a decent, strong producer, I guess we would get much better album. There are a number of places of this album where you can just hear how much better it would turn out if only a different decision was made.
Can't really decide if I like this more than Battles. Yeah there is a group of (much) better songs, but as a whole albums B works slightly better. Both are subpar compared to the most of the rest IF discography.
Sidenote - Sorry to bring Cyhra in the discussion, but they are so much better with this slow, quiet songs. Anders and Bjorn have some cool ideas here and there (an odd chord, or weird cool electronics in the background, or a cool verse), but just fail to write a whole, good song in this style.
Songwriting: The whole album sounds disjointed, like it was a random collection of songs. But at the same time, this has a positive side as at least the randomness of things and a little more variation in song structure makes it more interesting than Battles, SC etc. Not really anything too interesting, but I must say I like how many influences there are on this one. Besides the usual random chorus #43 and Bjorn solo #618, there are some really cool pop, electro, rock etc. things and I guess two progressive metal riffs, plus the middle-eastern thingy. That few melodeath songs that were released to the public (to cheat the people into the buying the thing) actually don't fit the overall album.
Lyrics and vocals: Extremely cringy. At best, adult human can tolerate this shit as regular Anders bollocks, at worst you have to skip track. The mentioning of old song tittles doesn't make it any better. The whole thing is autotuned and processed beyond recognition. It is like a generic robot voice, but underneath it you can hear Anders straining to hit some weird note far out of his range. I struggle to remember when was the last time I heard album that so lifeless and plastic in vocal department. Pretty much the only time I like vocals on this is when you can actually hear his think, whiny voice. The whispering, singing quietly, that odd STYE moments and of course the screaming/growling. Even when some of this songs acually sound good, you just know there will be some vocal fuckup to destroy the mood.
Production: It is a generic radio friendly rock sound. Clear, with some overdrive but without any real punch. You can hear guitars a little bit better than on the last one, but they are still very thin and lifeless. Works well with slight distortion and on cleans, but when there are two guitars riffing, metal is supposed to sound powerful, not like guitarpro miditrack. But the whole thing is made to fit the choruses - all for that droning, sweet powerchords in the background of vocals with occasional melody in the mud. Electronics were well made, you can hear the drums, vocals are in the front, bass is barely audible and present. All in all, competent job for what it is meant to be.
Song-by-song:
Voices (7.5/10) - Intro doesn't really fit the first riff, but the music in the beginning of the song is really good. Actual melodeath riff, that great melodic bridge and great growls over that. There is still some life in this band it seems. The chorus has autotune, but on this one it works. Like the MSS-like melody in the background. Decent breakdown, decent solo. After a few listens, not much wrong with this song. Probably among better efforts in the recent IF catalogue.
I, The Mask (6.5/10) - Frooom heeereee I can hardly not see ASOOOP. First riff is such a ripoff, but at least it is METAL! That melodic, fast bridge is among the rare FUCK YEAH moment on this record. A bit of cringe in the chorus, but not that bad. Totally boring and unnecessary breakdown, but then followed by a decent solo. Solid if a bit unspectacular song - pretty much a filler song from ASOP. Sad little "Jester that wants to be freee" will enter Anders-quote dictionary along with "I feel like shit, but at least I feel something" and other gems of wisdom and poetry.
Call My Name (6/10) - Wow, an actual interesting piece of guitarwork. This song has some sense of urgency until they fuck it up with a slow chorus. Not really sure about the yelling in the verses, but I guess its a welcome change of pace, so I let it pass. Very bland and generic chorus. Someone should be shot Stalin-style for killing that unborn child of a solo. Chorus, chorus, riff, end. Not bad, nothing special.
I Am Above (8.5/10) - What a surprise they have chosen the only real IF song on the album as the (well received) lead single. Colony-style intro. Great verse riff and growls. Really like the dynamics of the verses, slow hypnotic + faster pace. Chorus on this one works for me. As this song is more than 3 minutes long, they even had the time to put some melodic bridge and nice soloing in. Best song on the album, period.
Follow Me (4.5/10) - Peter Tagtgren wants his song tittle back. Really nice intro. Acoustics, keys in the background, then the distortion kicks in. At this point I'm like: "Yeah, I'm gonna like it", but of course then it all goes to hell. The best thing I can say for the ensuing 4 minutes is that I like the effects on the vocals in the verses. Except for the nice short solo everything else can go straight to the garbage bin, with that godawful chorus on the bottom.
(This is Our) House (2/10) - This is the worst, the worst song on the album, scream and shout, and don't record shit like this again. Please.
We Will Remember (3.5/10) - Hello Siren Charms, we meet again. Decent intro, ripoff riffing, cringy chorus, boring song. All things present, nothing to see here, lets move one.
In This Life (4/10) - Bjorn is channeling his inner Here Until Forever melody again. Skyyy used to be blue, world is coming down... So deep. Not much I can say about this one. Forgettable radio song without anything of real substance. I won't remember it in 5 minutes. Nice little solo though.
Burn (7/10) - We are out of the HB happy radio zone, and back into the IF lands. Solid intro riffing, some life to the drums at last. The chorus grew on me on repeated listens. Or, compared to the lullaby that is the rest of the album, this mid-tempo songs sound better than they are supposed to. Another unnecessary breakdown part. Whats up with that? Nice melody on two places in the song. Good one.
Deep Inside (7.5/10) - I am sure I've heard this riff somewhere before, but still - something new at last! This must be the most engaging song on the album. They are going from middle eastern vibe, to some prog metal, to melodeath, to something like a metal version of annoying mid '90 mtv hit, to something like a metal version of late '80 pop song. Nice solo, but a longer slower parts would be welcome. After the solo, pretty much the best vocal and atmospheric performance of the album. Dunno. Not the best, but the most interesting song on this record.
All the Pain (6/10) - SC again. Even the sound of clean guitars is back. This one would work much better if this guy could actually sing. The verses are good (some nice, almost DeMode stuff in melodies and atmosphere), but another generic chorus brings the song down. You're the monster that brought me here, all the pain I feel, blood and tears... Come on! Great solo, with some slight neoclassical edge to it, a bit of Satellites and Astronauts in there also. I like the half of the song, I couldn't care less for the other half.
Stay With Me (6.5/10) - They are overkilling it with the slow stuff, but this one starts really good. I like the acoustics, the changes, even the singing works. It sounds, well... honest. Better, more powerful ending and some soloing would work better, but still, a nice closer of the album.
Not Alone (3/10) - Older brother of (Our) House. We are lucky that they didn't record an 8 minute epic Not Alone in Our House. Not much I want to say about this one. Not sure I will ever hear it again.
Final Word - It's a 6/10 album for me. Maybe a bit more at the moment, but that will go down in the near future for sure. As time passes and I'm a less of a fan, I tend to give more realistic grades for the new stuff it seems. A few songs on a better level than Battles and SC stuff, but that is like a third of this album. The rest goes from completely empty and forgettable to outright catastrophic. Even with Anders and his diva tendencies, if they got a decent, strong producer, I guess we would get much better album. There are a number of places of this album where you can just hear how much better it would turn out if only a different decision was made.
Can't really decide if I like this more than Battles. Yeah there is a group of (much) better songs, but as a whole albums B works slightly better. Both are subpar compared to the most of the rest IF discography.
Sidenote - Sorry to bring Cyhra in the discussion, but they are so much better with this slow, quiet songs. Anders and Bjorn have some cool ideas here and there (an odd chord, or weird cool electronics in the background, or a cool verse), but just fail to write a whole, good song in this style.
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A88's thoughts pretty much cover mine in the majority of details, so thanks for saving me the hassle of writing a longer post bro.
Part of the reason Cyhra's mid tempo ballads sound better is because they have a real singer who doesn't need to destroy his natural voice with autotune. Plus the songs sound like they were put together logically, whereas a lot of IF songs nowadays sound like random parts spliced together.
<melodic, kinda cool sounding intro> + <slow, plodding verse riff with shit autotune vocals or faster, generic riffing with dem growlz> + <melodic bridge/pre-chorus> + <Benson chrous> + <Bjorn solo #43 for short lead or #59 for longer duration> + <breakdown with either guitar or vocal> + <final chorus, may or may not sound the same as previous choruses>
And there you go, more or less every song on ITM. A consistent, spliced together mess with shit vocals.
Part of the reason Cyhra's mid tempo ballads sound better is because they have a real singer who doesn't need to destroy his natural voice with autotune. Plus the songs sound like they were put together logically, whereas a lot of IF songs nowadays sound like random parts spliced together.
<melodic, kinda cool sounding intro> + <slow, plodding verse riff with shit autotune vocals or faster, generic riffing with dem growlz> + <melodic bridge/pre-chorus> + <Benson chrous> + <Bjorn solo #43 for short lead or #59 for longer duration> + <breakdown with either guitar or vocal> + <final chorus, may or may not sound the same as previous choruses>
And there you go, more or less every song on ITM. A consistent, spliced together mess with shit vocals.
I think that there's another reason. The way that Anders put the words, make them into melodies... They just seem forced. They do not naturally flow over music. It's almost as if he's forcing himself to write the lyrics.
It was the same problem on SC. Not so much with Battles, but I'm guessing that was Benson's influence. Not sure how they managed to get it so right on SOAPF then get it so very wrong afterwards... makes me wonder if there were more people than just Hipster & Bjorn working on that album.
I actually think House stands out more than Burn. It just doesn't fit in at all. Would have fit in better on Battles than I, the Mask.
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