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

[DE4life]

Fuck, I found an archive of the old Everdying board but all the links are broken. I want to read the flame wars.

So apparently there are lots of ballads on I, the Mask. What I want to know is: are we talking "Come Clarity" / "With Eyes Wide Open" ballads, or are we talking "Here Until Forever"? I'm super-cool with the former, but if it's the latter I'm none too pleased.

From what I remember there weren't that many flame wars on Everdying. Most people had roughly the same opinion that R2R and STYE were shit, and I think there was a half and half reaction to CC before Archy shut the forums down. I don't recall there being any significant drama, although @Jabi might remember more than me.

The ballads are more like Here Until Forever, but a bit better. I'm pretty sure you'll like them tbh

 

[ThePhobiac]

From what I remember there weren't that many flame wars on Everdying. Most people had roughly the same opinion that R2R and STYE were shit, and I think there was a half and half reaction to CC before Archy shut the forums down. I don't recall there being any significant drama, although @Jabi might remember more than me.

The ballads are more like Here Until Forever, but a bit better. I'm pretty sure you'll like them tbh

Hmm, even if there were no flame wars, seeing people shit on R2R in the early 00's is always interesting/funny. At least you can find some of that on this very forum if you go way back, lol.

Oh man, I give IF a lot of leniency but I just can't tolerate Here Until Forever at all. We'll have to see, I guess.

If they can, at the very least, cut out the kids going "Whooooaaa-OOOOOAAAA-OAAHHHHHH" in the background during the choruses, that would be a good start.

 

[eochaid]

Hmm, even if there were no flame wars, seeing people shit on R2R in the early 00's is always interesting/funny. At least you can find some of that on this very forum if you go way back, lol.

R2R was a big change. Almost shocking. I remember that, at first I did not like it but I also did not dislike it. I was like there was four or five good songs and the rest were meh.

Then I let it rest for a year and, when I listened again to it I found that it was great. Just needed time to adapt to the changes.

 

[DE4life]

Hmm, even if there were no flame wars, seeing people shit on R2R in the early 00's is always interesting/funny. At least you can find some of that on this very forum if you go way back, lol.

Oh man, I give IF a lot of leniency but I just can't tolerate Here Until Forever at all. We'll have to see, I guess.

If they can, at the very least, cut out the kids going "Whooooaaa-OOOOOAAAA-OAAHHHHHH" in the background during the choruses, that would be a good start.

As Eochaid said, Reroute was a real shock for a lot of people. There had been some grumbling about Colony and Clayman, but Reroute was a major step away from those, let alone TJR & Whoracle. It was the first album they did which had proper clean vocals, and Anders got a lot of shit for that - as much if not more than he does now. At the time I was an impressionable kid so when my friends all shit on it, I did too, but I learned to like Reroute pretty quickly. I distinctly remember listening to it during 2002/2003, so it didn't take me long to change my mind about it. One time my grandad wanted to hear a track from it, so I played Trigger and he said "sounds a bit like Pink Floyd" I think he was just trying to be diplomatic, I imagine he had no idea what he was listening to. Soundtrack got a really bad reaction too, maybe even worse than R2R. I can remember people being seriously pissed off with tracks like The Quiet Place and Like You Better Dead.

There aren't any more children's choirs. Honestly I think you'll enjoy most of the remaining tracks. Choruses are similar to the singles, verses are more like an SC/Battles combo minus the child choirs.

 

[eochaid]

Listenig to the album in my sound system... There's something wrong on how the vocals are mixed with the music. The feeling is that they do not belong there. Not musically but the mixing. It's though to explain.

 

[Vjeshta]

Ok boys so far here is my album review... *Bear in mind, this is coming from someone who considers R2R and STYE to be their best 2 albums) things may change as I listen more and more but so far I think it's a really good record.
(1) Voices: 8.5/10 -- Really strong opener with some heavy riffing. The vocals on this one represent 2015+ Anders with his mid pitched growls, but the chorus is really strong. There's this guitar melody in the background that fits really well with song and the solo is quite good
.
(2) I, The Mask: 8.5/10 -- This song screams ASOP and is a gentle reminder that these guys can still pull of what they did a while ago. In my opinion it's also the heaviest song on the album with some electric double-bass and riffs that reminded me so much of 'Disconnected,' another In Flames classic. I thought the chorus is slightly weak, but it grew on me real quick and the breakdown before the solo is really good (reminded me of Dead Alone the way his voice is distorted). Overall a wonderful, fast, powerful song.

(3) Call My Name: 6/10 - I would probably have to say that this is the weakest song on the entire album. The riffing is actually not bad and the intro is really catchy but the song falls apart so quickly once the chorus kicks in. "Why dont you call my namee!!! let it bounce between the walls in the halls of time.." and the second part of the chorus is absolutely dreadful. The 8 second solo is nice but nothing special, Overall a very mediocre/filler song. The chorus is basically "Save Me" from Battles.

(4) I Am Above: 9.5/10 - What a powerful song.. I remember when the single first came out I knew that it would really grow on me. The riffs in this song epitomize In Flames and what they are all about. While i kind of agree with everyone so far on this forum saying the choruses sound really odd and out of place, I think the Howard Benson formula really fits for this song. The breakdown is definitely my favorite part because of the growling, while the solo is also extremely explosive. It's a shame there aren't more solos like this and 'Deep Inside' on the album. This is probably my favorite song in the album.

(5) Follow Me: 8.5/10 - Really reminded of a slow version of "Sleepless Again" from ASOP. I definitely have to listen to it some more but so far, its a very nice addition on the album. The acoustic guitar definitely feels out of place right after I Am Above so I question their placement of this song, but regardless, its really smooth and flows well. Once the guitars kick in, the song really picks up pace and I actually don't mind the chorus at all. Kind of wish there was more of solo but overall a great song!

(6) This is Our House: 7.5/10 - Ok so after reading this one, I don't think anyone's gonna trust my judgment but I actually really like House. Once you get past the dreadful intro, the song is really fun. I heard it live last Sunday and my god its much better than The Truth and the actual recorded song. I think the riffs carry the song enough and the chorus is very powerful on this one. There's a hidden guitar melody right after he says "fight for our liveees" that makes me really enjoy the song. I thought I'd hate the outro but the instrumental work makes it sound very heavy, especially live. I do however think that this song is the outlier in the album and should probably be in 'Battles' but still a very good track.

(7) We Will Remember: 7/10 - This song is a nice rehash of everything In Flames. It's sung all clean but the riffs carry enough energy to make this song better than average. Unfortunately, the chorus is really lackluster but other than that, I have absolutely no complaints. The second verse is amaaazing to listen to as an in flames fan "Calling the masses, from the colony to the hive, come to realize its not an ordinary story.. Im on a highwayy.... " they definitely had fun with this song and it probably serves as a memento to them for years to come.

(8) In This Life: 8.5/10 - This song is essentially Dead Eyes/With Eyes Wide open on steroids. It fits the SC standard so much but the song itself is really beautiful, Anders did a great job on this one. I feel that everybody will hate this song but for me it is just so catchy and I can definitely see myself listening to this one for a while. It's inevitably a radio song but my favorite In Flames song is "Dawn of a New Day" so i do not mind at all. I read a review earlier from someone I don't remember who, but he really criticized the chorus and the way anders sings "liiii-iii-ahhh-iifee" but I think that makes the whole song! It really comes down to musical preference but I really enjoy this song. It's a nice way to settle down after listening to everything up until this point, and the third chorus is extra spicy to tie it all together. Very entertaining stuff but extremely experimental.

(9) Burn: 8.5/10 - Holy riffage! This song has the best verses on the entire album and probably the best lyrics "Drop the bomb, build a new, purge our thoughts for different views, different mantra different beat, STILL HEADING FOR ETERNAL SLEEP!" At first I disliked the chorus a lot, but it grew on me real quickly. The breakdown is also very strong, but overall I think Anders and Bjorn did an amazing job on this song.

(10) Deep Inside: 9.5/10 - Greetings from the Middle East! This song is memorable as fuck! It has such a fun and heavy vibe around it its fucking perfect. This is probably one of their most unique songs ever because its so different from anything they've ever done. The pre-chorus parts remind me a lot of a heavier Breaking Benjamin which is something really good. The chorus would've been good if he chose any word other than 'heartbreak' after broken dreams which doesn't rhyme at all, but nevertheless the guitars are catchy enough. The solo is the second best after I Am Above but it's after the solo where the song really shines! That outlandish part made me think a lot of Pink Floyd it has such a cool atmospheric feeling. Then, the third chorus brings in more power to tie the song together before one last Middle Eastern riff ends it altogether. Perfect song!

(11) All the Pain: 8/10 - At first, I kind of disliked this song but it grew on me really quickly.. This songs's main melody is literally a copy-paste of the after-solo part from the previous songs, which is nothing but a compliment. The solo after the first chorus is reaaaaallyyy good but the only reason this song isn't astounding, is because of the chorus itself. I think it is kind of a waste that he says "all the pain i feel," twice in succession. It does get better in the second part of the chorus but cmon Anders, really? Same exact words twice in a row? It picks up more and more as it goes on and culminates really nicely

(12) Stay with Me: 9.5/10 - Wow..... this song took my breath away. The acoustic parts are so fucking beautiful & sad, and you can definitely tell that Anders has been taking vocal lessons for this one. His vocal performance may be the best in a while even though there are auto-tuned parts, it all just works really well. The instrumentals are fabulous and the song builds up and up until it finally explodes. Once the guitars kick in... my god I really don't have words to describe this song. It gets sliiiightlyyyy repetitive toward the end but that keyboard/synth solo is so eargasmic it really brings the song together. Overall, this serves as a wonderful closer and a reminder that In Flames are musical geniuses.

(13) Not Alone: 7/10 - It's clear that this song is just a bonus track because it isn't that special, it is indubitably a fun listen though. The verses remind me a lot of Everything's Gone which to me is a good thing, but to many of u that is bad apparently so idk.

Overall rating: 8.5/10 --> While I was writing this review, I checked each song and compared it to their respective numbers on other albums. I can now safely say that this might be my 3rd or 4th favorite IF album. (1) R2R, (2) STYE, (3) ASOP or ITM. While it is experimental without a doubt, each song is worth listening to and I'm really happy that they did what they wanted to do and it still turned out to be a great listening experience.

 

[A88]

Like, OK, you have your taste for music, and I respect that, but I can not believe you honestly think Stay With Me or Deep Inside are among the best songs in the history of music, while pretty basic bonus track like Not Alone rates among very good?

So whats Cloud Connected or MSS by that standard? 27/10?

 

[Vjeshta]

Like, OK, you have your taste for music, and I respect that, but I can not believe you honestly think Stay With Me or Deep Inside are among the best songs in the history of music, while pretty basic bonus track like Not Alone rates among very good?

So whats Cloud Connected or MSS by that standard? 27/10?

Well personally IF have been my favorite band for the past 4-5 years so even their crappy bonus songs like Not Alone rate pretty well for me. Other bands I really enjoy include Sonic Syndicate and The Unguided.. If you think Stay with Me isn't considered one of their best songs then there's something wrong because its a killer! I'd say its on par with MSS whereas it's too different to compare to Cloud Connected. I can see why you consider my ratings to be strange as fuck but keep in mind it hasn't even been 24 hours since I listened to all them for the first time so they're still very fresh in my mind and given my narrow musical tastes, I rarely find songs like this which is perhaps why I rate them so highly. Ok sure, neither of them may be on Zombie Inc. level, but they're absolutely outstanding in their own way.

 

[galvanized]

I’m waiting for the actual release tomorrow. But I’m looking forward to In This Life.

With Eyes Wide Open is an awesome song, maybe the best on SC. Dead Eyes is ok but redundant with some of the others. So In This Life sounds like it might just be up my alley.

 

[A88]

Leave all hope behind...

 

[eochaid]

I’m waiting for the actual release tomorrow. But I’m looking forward to In This Life.

With Eyes Wide Open is an awesome song, maybe the best on SC. Dead Eyes is ok but redundant with some of the others. So In This Life sounds like it might just be up my alley.

To me, In this Life sounds like Dead Eyes part II.

The lowest tone of Anders voice in Stay with me is annoying and distracting. WTF was he thinking about? Though I must say that I like the end of the song. The riffs are cool and his screams bring that passion that he's not able to achieve with his cleans. Probably one of the few songs that I will keep on listening in the future.

 

[ThePhobiac]

I snuck a five-second preview of "We Will Remember" and it sounded really, really bad, LMAO. Here Until Forever-like. Hope it sounds better in context.

EDIT: I listened to a little more of it and it still sounds bad. I'm now apprehensive.

 

[ThePhobiac]

I should probably say that I don't necessarily hate Battles. Five or six songs are actually really good, imo, and I'm fine fitting them in with the rest of IF's catalog. It's just the fact that an entire half of the album sucks. Usually there's only one or two bad songs on any IF album at most, but half an album? Only Lunar Strain and Battles have that distinction, so they're the worst IF albums to me.

It's entirely possible that I, the Mask will only have five or six really good songs and the rest, which I haven't yet heard, will be bad. Hoping that is not the case.

 

[galvanized]

If Here Until Forever wasn’t about his relationship with his son it would rank up there with the poopiest IF songs. But the lyrical content raises it for me. Anyway, I haven’t been paying close attention to the titles so tomorrow will be an interesting surprise

 

[Vjeshta]

I should probably say that I don't necessarily hate Battles. Five or six songs are actually really good, imo, and I'm fine fitting them in with the rest of IF's catalog. It's just the fact that an entire half of the album sucks. Usually there's only one or two bad songs on any IF album at most, but half an album? Only Lunar Strain and Battles have that distinction, so they're the worst IF albums to me.

It's entirely possible that I, the Mask will only have five or six really good songs and the rest, which I haven't yet heard, will be bad. Hoping that is not the case.

IMO, there isn't a single bad song but I think most of the people on this forum would consider "In This Life," "We Will Remember," "Call My Name," "House," and All The Pain as bad songs

 

[Vermyn]

My main complaints so far is lay off the vocal layering/autotune and the fact that most songs have an increase in the key of the vocals on the final chorus. They used it as much as the choir sound in battles. A little over the top. Stay with me is a song that has so much more potential, it deserves more than repeating “stay with me” over and over.

But overall, to me it’s much more enjoyable than battles and siren charms.

 

[ciko_gfb]

Shit, I'm late for the part! Thanks to my Spaniard friend eochaid, I have listened the album at work lol

Anyway I won't comment about the released ones again, so here's my impression about the new ones:

Follow Me: When I heard the intro I actually thought it was similar to TCP. But then BAM its fucking amazing. Loving the acoustics on the song, I actually missed hearing them. And lyrics were good for me. Btw loved the solo. 8/10

We Will Remember: When I heard the intro, I thought that this was from a random song from a random metalcore band, not from IF. Lyrics were fine, I had a smile when I heard them but song is not that good. Just meh for me 6/10

In This Life: Actually this one has some SC vibes, like a child of WEWO and Dead Eyes. I loved the chorus catchy as f! Solo was meh, overall good song. 6.9/10

Deep Inside: When I heard this one, I was like WTF! Dunno why but it reminded me Metal Slug game. I loved that Arabic riff, they done good with it I think. Chorus was meh but after the chorus main riff kicks in and its fucking awesome. Could headbang to that so hard. 8/10

All The Pain: I just cant get into this one, just meh for me. 5/10

Stay With Me: Acoustics kinda sounded like the song that Björn did for a charity. Loved it anyways. But the highlight of the song was outro for me, it was so powerful. Some screams made song even better. Acoustic + distortion guitar took the song to another level in my eyes. Good one. 7,5/10

Not Alone: I FUCKING LOVED THIS ONE. Its just straight forward, awesome verses. I loved Anders sing low + high cleans together. High cleans were awesome on the background. After the solo you can hear just high cleans, its awesome. Chorus was catchy, one of my favorites from the album. 8.5/10

Overall its a good album for me, I liked Battles, this one feels better than that album. I have few songs that I don't like (All The Pain, House,Call My Name) its good enough for me. This is what I expect from modern IF.

 

[CladInShadows971]

Stay with me reminds me of "new IF" version of Jester Script Transfigured. Especially the bit where the acoustic melody gets played on a distorted guitar at the end.

 

[DE4life]

I’m waiting for the actual release tomorrow. But I’m looking forward to In This Life.

With Eyes Wide Open is an awesome song, maybe the best on SC. Dead Eyes is ok but redundant with some of the others. So In This Life sounds like it might just be up my alley.

I like both WEWO and Dead Eyes, but I don't find many similarities with In This Life. Worst part of ITL for me is the chorus, where Anders is wailing "lu-he-hi-ifffeee"... it's awful. Kills the song for me.

I snuck a five-second preview of "We Will Remember" and it sounded really, really bad, LMAO. Here Until Forever-like. Hope it sounds better in context.

EDIT: I listened to a little more of it and it still sounds bad. I'm now apprehensive.

I honestly don't find We Will Remember that bad. Lyrics are kinda cringy and vocals are what they are, but personally I think the riffs are alright.

I should probably say that I don't necessarily hate Battles. Five or six songs are actually really good, imo, and I'm fine fitting them in with the rest of IF's catalog. It's just the fact that an entire half of the album sucks. Usually there's only one or two bad songs on any IF album at most, but half an album? Only Lunar Strain and Battles have that distinction, so they're the worst IF albums to me.

It's entirely possible that I, the Mask will only have five or six really good songs and the rest, which I haven't yet heard, will be bad. Hoping that is not the case.

The singles are, imo anyway, the best songs on the album. The rest range from bad to OK. My main issue is that there's this weird divide between the songs, where half of them are like SOAPF b-side mixed with Howard Benson choruses, whilst the rest are SC/Battles combo with better production but way more autotune. It's like they took two EPs and mashed them together.

If Here Until Forever wasn’t about his relationship with his son it would rank up there with the poopiest IF songs. But the lyrical content raises it for me. Anyway, I haven’t been paying close attention to the titles so tomorrow will be an interesting surprise

HUF lyrics & meaning change nothing for me, it's just a really bad song. Similarly Come Clarity being for Anders' daughter doesn't alter my perception of that song - great instrumentals, bad vocals.

My main complaints so far is lay off the vocal layering/autotune and the fact that most songs have an increase in the key of the vocals on the final chorus. They used it as much as the choir sound in battles. A little over the top. Stay with me is a song that has so much more potential, it deserves more than repeating “stay with me” over and over.

But overall, to me it’s much more enjoyable than battles and siren charms.

The autotuning is definitely the biggest problem. It is way too prevalent and actually a bit distracting at certain points. It's never been as overused as it is on this record, which is weird considering Anders supposedly went to a vocal coach this time around. You'd think he would be more confident about his vocal abilities, but the excessive autotuning suggests the opposite.

Stay with me reminds me of "new IF" version of Jester Script Transfigured. Especially the bit where the acoustic melody gets played on a distorted guitar at the end.

I really like the instrumental side of Stay With Me. If I can get used to the vocals then I think this'll be one of the tracks off the album I genuinely like, but I wish the autotuning wasn't so over the top.

 

[Vermyn]