Don't think I've ever seen someone rate JTR (1) and Siren Charms (2).. very interesting list.. Couldn't agree less with ASOP and ITM though
IN FLAMES new album being released on 1st March, 2019
- Thread starter Pallbearer
- Start date
Don't think I've ever seen someone rate JTR (1) and Siren Charms (2).. very interesting list.. Couldn't agree less with ASOP and ITM though
InWaves
Member
- Oct 19, 2016
- 50
- 21
- 8
- 33
Lol no bully ok In This Life might me favourite from the album. It's so cheesy but damn catchy.
Stay With Me is what most of SC should have been. And what “modern” IF could be. Epic, acoustic, dynamic. The main weakness to the song is the generic power chords in the later chorus. That part could be musically more interesting. Otherwise maybe the most relevant and honest song on the album... at least among the non metal songs.
ThePhobiac
be at ease
Hi. My name is ThePhobiac, and I'm comin' at you with my brief thoughts on I, the Mask. As always, I don't do numeric ratings for songs. Doing so unfairly concretizes my opinion of a song and makes it difficult for me to change my opinion on it later. I'm also not arguing facts or why these songs are good or bad objectively — this is all just opinion.
Anyway. Without further ado.
1. Voices
To me, this is an instant modern classic and one of the best songs IF has release this decade. It's also the best song on the album. Atmosphere is fantastic. The production gives the guitars, drums, and bass (especially that slap bass in the bridge, which I love), the electronics, and the vocals the punch and breadth they need — this song would have suffered with Battles production. Excellent choice for an opening song. Anders sounds great all-around. I physically have a hard time not singing/growling to this song on my commute.
It's damn good, lads.
2. I, the Mask
Rock solid. I like everything about this song, and I said as much when it first came out. Fantastic drumming (Joe redeemed himself in my eyes on this track, among others), great guitarwork (especially in the chorus), and I like Anders' vocals, too. It all flows together really well. This and "Voices" make for an awesome one-two punch.
3. Call My Name
I enjoy the riffing on this track and want to learn it for myself. I like how Anders' vocals interact with the guitars during the bridges — gives the song a hasty and urgent feeling to it, a little bit Engel-esque. Like "Monsters in the Ballroom", the chorus is basically this song's raison d'être, and I happen to think that chorus is very awesome. I like the bridge, too. Anders wanted to flex his autotune on this song and honestly, I like the result, so I won't complain.
4. I Am Above
Song is all-around rock solid, like the previous songs. I like the guitarwork in the verses with those quick hammer-ons, and the bridge, obviously, is exactly to my taste (very similar to "In Plain View"). I like Anders' work in this song, too. The whole thing feels dark and dour and that's pretty much exactly to my taste. I think it's their best lead single since "Take This Life". And I like the music video, as simple as it is.
5. Follow Me
The chorus, I should say, really grew on me on the second listen. The instrumentation here is right in line with what I like, and it seems to follow very much in the vein of "With Eyes Wide Open", "Come Clarity", and "Evil in a Closet" to me, albeit with a more hopeful slant. The highlights here are the verses, with the second verse being the best part of the song. Echoes of Passenger. It's nice to have the acoustic passages back after three albums without, too. They sound so vibrant and clear here, and the little imperfections on those steel strings are so authentic and, frankly, make me want to pick up my Resonator and learn this.
6. (This Is Our) House
It's silly, I hate the child choirs, the lyrics are bad, and the "HAVE YOU HEARD THE CALL" verses are bad. But, you know what? Motherfucker, I love that "THIS. IS. OUR. TIME" Eiffel 65 blue-da-ba-dee passage. And that tiny quiet synth in the chorus after "Won't you join me in the fight, fight for our lives" makes the song for me — it would probably fall apart without it. But listen. I love the solo, too. The song is not horrible, I think. It' silly and awkward and not one of their best, but I do think there is a lot for me to like here. So I do. I don't hate it. It's just...what?
7. We Will Remember
If you don't got something nice to say, don't say it at all.
So I won't.
8. In This Life
No.
9. Burn
This song doesn't do a whole lot for me, but it's decent. Anders' lyrics are noticeably weak here and I think the chorus is a bit of a dud. The guitarwork and percussion are both rock solid, however, and that solo is vintage In Flames. I think on a typical In Flames album, this would probably be my least favorite song, mostly because I think it's rather unremarkable. But this isn't a typical In Flames album.
This is Battles: the Sequel
10. Deep Inside
Like "Burn", this song is a little bit shaky. Or, I shouldn't say shaky — it's very flat. There's rumblings of something good here, but unfortunately, the riffing, the vocals, and the percussion never quite break through the surface and clinch it. I do really like that bridge with the clean guitars, however! Great atmosphere, and I think that's earned this song a sort of "let it simmer" status. I'll have to revisit this one from time to time, see how my opinion changes.
11. All the Pain
I'm still processing the chorus. But this right here is that Siren Charms magic I was hoping they'd touch upon at least once. Fantastic restrained instrumentation in the intro and verses, and I love Anders' vocal melodies there. It's when he goes to the upper registers that I tap out a little, mostly because I think the verses are so good. The chorus is excellent, however, and taps into that melancholy tone that I like. Like "Follow Me" I'll have to revisit this one to digest those "I can (can't?) beeeeee" parts. But overall, very, very strong.
12. Stay With Me
Pretty fantastic. Probably one of the best uses of acoustic instrumentation in IF's catalog, and Anders' vocal melodies mesh with them so well. The progression from minimalist to maximalist over the course of the song is, of course, really great. Excellent payoff at the end. Imagine "Liberation" but extremely good, and this is what you get. Excellent closer to the album.
13. Not Alone
I don't have the album yet — been listening on Spotify — so I haven't heard it yet!
Anyway. That's the album.
Some really fantastic material on here. Songs 1 through 5 are what I expect from In Flames: melodic metal with some screaming, some singing, that somehow manages to cater exactly to my taste. Songs 11 and 12 are in that same league. Just really impressive. Those seven songs are just so good and I'll happily put them on rotation for years to come.
Songs 9 and 10 are decent. Not in the same tier as the ones mentioned above, but alright.
"We Will Remember" and "In This Life" are in the same tier as "Here Until Forever". I am still in shock. "We Will Remember" is the worst song on the album and one of the worst songs they have ever written. "In This Life" is not far behind.
Honestly, I could go on, but in sum: the album is great, I really like it, but "We Will Remember" and "In This Life" are such huge negatives for me that it's kind of affecting my judgment. It's better than Battles for sure, but suffers from the same problem: it has a handful of songs that are so bad that they're hard to ignore. That usually doesn't happen with an In Flames album for me.
lksdjf
Anyway. Without further ado.
1. Voices
To me, this is an instant modern classic and one of the best songs IF has release this decade. It's also the best song on the album. Atmosphere is fantastic. The production gives the guitars, drums, and bass (especially that slap bass in the bridge, which I love), the electronics, and the vocals the punch and breadth they need — this song would have suffered with Battles production. Excellent choice for an opening song. Anders sounds great all-around. I physically have a hard time not singing/growling to this song on my commute.
It's damn good, lads.
2. I, the Mask
Rock solid. I like everything about this song, and I said as much when it first came out. Fantastic drumming (Joe redeemed himself in my eyes on this track, among others), great guitarwork (especially in the chorus), and I like Anders' vocals, too. It all flows together really well. This and "Voices" make for an awesome one-two punch.
3. Call My Name
I enjoy the riffing on this track and want to learn it for myself. I like how Anders' vocals interact with the guitars during the bridges — gives the song a hasty and urgent feeling to it, a little bit Engel-esque. Like "Monsters in the Ballroom", the chorus is basically this song's raison d'être, and I happen to think that chorus is very awesome. I like the bridge, too. Anders wanted to flex his autotune on this song and honestly, I like the result, so I won't complain.
4. I Am Above
Song is all-around rock solid, like the previous songs. I like the guitarwork in the verses with those quick hammer-ons, and the bridge, obviously, is exactly to my taste (very similar to "In Plain View"). I like Anders' work in this song, too. The whole thing feels dark and dour and that's pretty much exactly to my taste. I think it's their best lead single since "Take This Life". And I like the music video, as simple as it is.
5. Follow Me
The chorus, I should say, really grew on me on the second listen. The instrumentation here is right in line with what I like, and it seems to follow very much in the vein of "With Eyes Wide Open", "Come Clarity", and "Evil in a Closet" to me, albeit with a more hopeful slant. The highlights here are the verses, with the second verse being the best part of the song. Echoes of Passenger. It's nice to have the acoustic passages back after three albums without, too. They sound so vibrant and clear here, and the little imperfections on those steel strings are so authentic and, frankly, make me want to pick up my Resonator and learn this.
6. (This Is Our) House
It's silly, I hate the child choirs, the lyrics are bad, and the "HAVE YOU HEARD THE CALL" verses are bad. But, you know what? Motherfucker, I love that "THIS. IS. OUR. TIME" Eiffel 65 blue-da-ba-dee passage. And that tiny quiet synth in the chorus after "Won't you join me in the fight, fight for our lives" makes the song for me — it would probably fall apart without it. But listen. I love the solo, too. The song is not horrible, I think. It' silly and awkward and not one of their best, but I do think there is a lot for me to like here. So I do. I don't hate it. It's just...what?
7. We Will Remember
If you don't got something nice to say, don't say it at all.
So I won't.
8. In This Life
No.
9. Burn
This song doesn't do a whole lot for me, but it's decent. Anders' lyrics are noticeably weak here and I think the chorus is a bit of a dud. The guitarwork and percussion are both rock solid, however, and that solo is vintage In Flames. I think on a typical In Flames album, this would probably be my least favorite song, mostly because I think it's rather unremarkable. But this isn't a typical In Flames album.
This is Battles: the Sequel
10. Deep Inside
Like "Burn", this song is a little bit shaky. Or, I shouldn't say shaky — it's very flat. There's rumblings of something good here, but unfortunately, the riffing, the vocals, and the percussion never quite break through the surface and clinch it. I do really like that bridge with the clean guitars, however! Great atmosphere, and I think that's earned this song a sort of "let it simmer" status. I'll have to revisit this one from time to time, see how my opinion changes.
11. All the Pain
I'm still processing the chorus. But this right here is that Siren Charms magic I was hoping they'd touch upon at least once. Fantastic restrained instrumentation in the intro and verses, and I love Anders' vocal melodies there. It's when he goes to the upper registers that I tap out a little, mostly because I think the verses are so good. The chorus is excellent, however, and taps into that melancholy tone that I like. Like "Follow Me" I'll have to revisit this one to digest those "I can (can't?) beeeeee" parts. But overall, very, very strong.
12. Stay With Me
Pretty fantastic. Probably one of the best uses of acoustic instrumentation in IF's catalog, and Anders' vocal melodies mesh with them so well. The progression from minimalist to maximalist over the course of the song is, of course, really great. Excellent payoff at the end. Imagine "Liberation" but extremely good, and this is what you get. Excellent closer to the album.
13. Not Alone
I don't have the album yet — been listening on Spotify — so I haven't heard it yet!
Anyway. That's the album.
Some really fantastic material on here. Songs 1 through 5 are what I expect from In Flames: melodic metal with some screaming, some singing, that somehow manages to cater exactly to my taste. Songs 11 and 12 are in that same league. Just really impressive. Those seven songs are just so good and I'll happily put them on rotation for years to come.
Songs 9 and 10 are decent. Not in the same tier as the ones mentioned above, but alright.
"We Will Remember" and "In This Life" are in the same tier as "Here Until Forever". I am still in shock. "We Will Remember" is the worst song on the album and one of the worst songs they have ever written. "In This Life" is not far behind.
Honestly, I could go on, but in sum: the album is great, I really like it, but "We Will Remember" and "In This Life" are such huge negatives for me that it's kind of affecting my judgment. It's better than Battles for sure, but suffers from the same problem: it has a handful of songs that are so bad that they're hard to ignore. That usually doesn't happen with an In Flames album for me.
lksdjf
Last edited:
ThePhobiac
be at ease
That's cool, dude! I can see why you'd rank ITM higher, and it's possible I might do so later on, too. I'm just processing the negative aspects right now (as well as the positives), and the first listen is always a rush to judgment. Was just very disappointed in a couple tracks.
ThePhobiac
be at ease
Listening to "We Will Remember" and "In This Life" back to back now. There's something to "In This Life"... I'll have to put this one regular rotation for a while, see if it grows on me. Can't say the same for "Remember".
I don't really see how We Will Remember is worse than Call My Name or In This Life.
Opening is fine, nothing amazing but nothing to hate either. I like the heavy-ish groovy riffs that start at 00:21. Verses are typical for this album, don't sound much different from most of the other clean sung verses. Chorus is again standard IF catchy chorus - can't work out why this would be considered worse than Anders wailing "liiiyiiiyiiifeee", but OK. The breakdown on this one is pointless and doesn't go anywhere, granted. Ends with the same decent, heavy-ish riffing from before.
I mean, the song is nothing special but no idea why it would get hate over anything else on the record. Anders doesn't sound noticeably worse than anywhere else, it's the same autotuned shit you're hearing on every other track.
The only thing that bugs me about the track in that lyrically it doesn't tie in with the concept of the album at all. It probably should have been a bonus song for that reason alone, as "Not Alone", which is really boring and bland, at least fits in with the album theme.
Opening is fine, nothing amazing but nothing to hate either. I like the heavy-ish groovy riffs that start at 00:21. Verses are typical for this album, don't sound much different from most of the other clean sung verses. Chorus is again standard IF catchy chorus - can't work out why this would be considered worse than Anders wailing "liiiyiiiyiiifeee", but OK. The breakdown on this one is pointless and doesn't go anywhere, granted. Ends with the same decent, heavy-ish riffing from before.
I mean, the song is nothing special but no idea why it would get hate over anything else on the record. Anders doesn't sound noticeably worse than anywhere else, it's the same autotuned shit you're hearing on every other track.
The only thing that bugs me about the track in that lyrically it doesn't tie in with the concept of the album at all. It probably should have been a bonus song for that reason alone, as "Not Alone", which is really boring and bland, at least fits in with the album theme.
ThePhobiac
be at ease
I should clarify and say that I don't have a problem with Anders on this album. It's clear he's always wanted to sing more in In Flames and studio magic is his way of doing it. That's fine by me, because I generally like his vocal melodies here. I'd prefer a more organic delivery, like on Siren Charms or when he was in Passenger, but that's not the timeline we live in.
For "We Will Remember", it's the plodding major-key nature of it, the unimaginative leads, and the meandering verses. It's like California beach metal. The lyrics just don't flow at all and it's ultimately just a mess. It's hard to quantify. It's just extremely not to my taste.
For "We Will Remember", it's the plodding major-key nature of it, the unimaginative leads, and the meandering verses. It's like California beach metal. The lyrics just don't flow at all and it's ultimately just a mess. It's hard to quantify. It's just extremely not to my taste.
God Tier Canon: Colony / TJR / Whoracle / Black Ash Inheritance / Subterranean
Demi God: Clayman
King: SOAPF
Inbred Royal Court: Come Clarity / ITM / Siren Charms
Flawed Mortals: Reroute to Remain / Battles / ASOP
Purgatory: Lunar Strain / STYE
Totally fucking dismembered and desecrated: Down Wicked and No Good
Demi God: Clayman
King: SOAPF
Inbred Royal Court: Come Clarity / ITM / Siren Charms
Flawed Mortals: Reroute to Remain / Battles / ASOP
Purgatory: Lunar Strain / STYE
Totally fucking dismembered and desecrated: Down Wicked and No Good
Last edited:
It's just an average track to me. Nothing great, but nothing particularly bad either. Just your typical modern IF track. Could have come off Battles, although the production on that album would have made it worse. I find tracks like House and In This Life far more irritating.
Again, the main issue for me with We Will Remember is that it doesn't fit in with the album concept or story at all. Not even sure why IF felt they needed to make some kind of tribute to the older stuff/fans with these lyrics. Especially in a track that sounds nothing like any of the songs they're referencing. Just a bizarre choice in general.
Also sad to see the lack of love for Lunar Strain 
production on the album is shit, admittedly, but I still like a lot of the songs on there. Behind Space, Starforsaken, Everlost Part II, In Flames, Upon an Oaken Throne and Clad in Shadows are all good songs even with the shitty production. The title track and Everlost Part I are pretty bad, granted, but for an album created in something like a week this was a pretty good effort!
production on the album is shit, admittedly, but I still like a lot of the songs on there. Behind Space, Starforsaken, Everlost Part II, In Flames, Upon an Oaken Throne and Clad in Shadows are all good songs even with the shitty production. The title track and Everlost Part I are pretty bad, granted, but for an album created in something like a week this was a pretty good effort!Yeah, I struggled with putting it on the bottom because it was really foundational. And I like the folk parts. But overall the later albums are so much better. And for the folk elements alone there are better albums out there so I guess to me it doesn’t have a ton of value overall. But maybe I would actually rank it higher than STYE and maybe higher than Battles.
The thing is, even though Battles is very commercial, a few of the songs on there are a lot more interesting to me than STYE or RTR. And it’s not like RTR and STYE weren’t sell out albums themselves... they were as well. I dunno, once you hit the middle of the pack it’s hard for me to rank them.
The thing is, even though Battles is very commercial, a few of the songs on there are a lot more interesting to me than STYE or RTR. And it’s not like RTR and STYE weren’t sell out albums themselves... they were as well. I dunno, once you hit the middle of the pack it’s hard for me to rank them.
ThePhobiac
be at ease
I just re-listened to Siren Charms after listening to I, the Mask and I'm not sure I like I, the Mask as much as I thought I did.
I'm telling you. My In Flames opinions...
*Chef kiss*
...pure art.
And fact.
I'm telling you. My In Flames opinions...
*Chef kiss*
...pure art.
And fact.
Hey lads and lasses, emerging from my cave to contribute to the pontificating on this latest IF release. I've not posted here in a few years because the last two IF releases have interested me so little that I really felt like I didn't have much to say. Between the two of them, Siren Charms and Battles managed to give me two songs that I liked at least a little (When the World Explodes and Drained... Maybe The End as well, a bit).
Between them, SC and Battles have 25 songs. If I like 3/25, then that's 12% of their output between 2014 and 2018. That's a pretty abysmal state of affairs when talking about one's favourite band.
Half of this album I find just as bad as SC and Battles, for more or less exactly the same reasons: no real cutting edge, heavily autotuned vocals and melodies that just sound really forced and unnatural, lyrics that reel off seemingly meaningless clichés and also have no real flow/rhythm dictated by the beat of the underlying music. It's a shame, because some of the guitar work isn't bad (as was the case on SC and Battles, but it's wasted on songs that come across as disjointed, half-hearted and intellectually bereft).
It's not all bad news, though. I actually like 6 of the 12 (I've not heard the bonus track). That's fucking 50%. That's a pretty significant improvement on the last two albums. I've now made a playlist of those songs. The other songs, like everything on SC and Battles, I'll probably never listen to again.
Voices
I, The Mask
I Am Above
Burn
Deep Inside
Stay With Me
That's the album, as far as I'm concerned, (more of a lengthy EP, really) and I've been listening to it on loop the whole day (a really good sign). These are some really good songs, the approach is far more aggressive than anything on the last two albums apart from When The World Explodes and I'm really enjoying Anders' harsh vocal delivery on this record, which is more growly in many places than anything he's done since Clayman. Listening to some of the verses, I can definitely believe that this is still the band that gave us Morphing Into Primal. The choruses on these songs are all much more tolerable and "in the groove" than on the rest of the songs on the album. The lyrics are sightly questionable in places, but far more tolerable than I've come to expect from post-SOAPF In Flames.
Voices is as strong an opener as they've had since SOAPF, and probably one of the best openers since 2000. I, The Mask is a great album track. I Am Above is probably one of their strongest lead singles, for an IF track aimed for radio airplay it manages to be both aggressive and really catchy, some of the best growls for years and a fantastic earworm of a chorus. Burn's chorus is a bit of an oddity, it sounds almost too strained to be much of a singalong, but the verses are good. Deep Inside gives me some strong Clayman vibes, I don't know if it's the sun-bleached harmonic minor melody that does it. The chorus is fairly basic, but the "I've been searching, I feel worthless" before it sounds massive and the solo/breakdown at the end actually had me shouting "YESSSSS!" out loud, beautiful stuff, and I loved hearing Anders old-school creaky, muted vocal delivery before that final chorus with the screams kicked in. Stay With Me is held together by that really pretty acoustic melody that's threaded through the whole thing, it's also the most honest-sounding I've heard Anders be on a ballad for a long time. I know that this might prove controversial, but I agree with the poster who said that they felt it had slight echoes of Jester Script Transfigured, like if JST cross-bred with a pop song and the offspring got most of the pop song's traits.
Overall, it's an odd situation. I was prepared to completely abandon hope after two albums that totally lost me... Now they've given me half an album that's totally lost me and half an album that I love. Like a relationship that's mostly dead in the water but there's just about something still there in the other person that reminds you why you fell totally in love with them in the first place.
My album rankings, based on how I feel right now:
The Jester Race
Whoracle
Clayman
Sounds of a Playground Fading
Colony
Come Clarity
Subterranean
Half of I, The Mask
Soundtrack to Your Escape
Reroute to Remain
A Sense of Purpose
Lunar Strain
Battles
Half of I, The Mask
Siren Charms
Between them, SC and Battles have 25 songs. If I like 3/25, then that's 12% of their output between 2014 and 2018. That's a pretty abysmal state of affairs when talking about one's favourite band.
Half of this album I find just as bad as SC and Battles, for more or less exactly the same reasons: no real cutting edge, heavily autotuned vocals and melodies that just sound really forced and unnatural, lyrics that reel off seemingly meaningless clichés and also have no real flow/rhythm dictated by the beat of the underlying music. It's a shame, because some of the guitar work isn't bad (as was the case on SC and Battles, but it's wasted on songs that come across as disjointed, half-hearted and intellectually bereft).
It's not all bad news, though. I actually like 6 of the 12 (I've not heard the bonus track). That's fucking 50%. That's a pretty significant improvement on the last two albums. I've now made a playlist of those songs. The other songs, like everything on SC and Battles, I'll probably never listen to again.
Voices
I, The Mask
I Am Above
Burn
Deep Inside
Stay With Me
That's the album, as far as I'm concerned, (more of a lengthy EP, really) and I've been listening to it on loop the whole day (a really good sign). These are some really good songs, the approach is far more aggressive than anything on the last two albums apart from When The World Explodes and I'm really enjoying Anders' harsh vocal delivery on this record, which is more growly in many places than anything he's done since Clayman. Listening to some of the verses, I can definitely believe that this is still the band that gave us Morphing Into Primal. The choruses on these songs are all much more tolerable and "in the groove" than on the rest of the songs on the album. The lyrics are sightly questionable in places, but far more tolerable than I've come to expect from post-SOAPF In Flames.
Voices is as strong an opener as they've had since SOAPF, and probably one of the best openers since 2000. I, The Mask is a great album track. I Am Above is probably one of their strongest lead singles, for an IF track aimed for radio airplay it manages to be both aggressive and really catchy, some of the best growls for years and a fantastic earworm of a chorus. Burn's chorus is a bit of an oddity, it sounds almost too strained to be much of a singalong, but the verses are good. Deep Inside gives me some strong Clayman vibes, I don't know if it's the sun-bleached harmonic minor melody that does it. The chorus is fairly basic, but the "I've been searching, I feel worthless" before it sounds massive and the solo/breakdown at the end actually had me shouting "YESSSSS!" out loud, beautiful stuff, and I loved hearing Anders old-school creaky, muted vocal delivery before that final chorus with the screams kicked in. Stay With Me is held together by that really pretty acoustic melody that's threaded through the whole thing, it's also the most honest-sounding I've heard Anders be on a ballad for a long time. I know that this might prove controversial, but I agree with the poster who said that they felt it had slight echoes of Jester Script Transfigured, like if JST cross-bred with a pop song and the offspring got most of the pop song's traits.
Overall, it's an odd situation. I was prepared to completely abandon hope after two albums that totally lost me... Now they've given me half an album that's totally lost me and half an album that I love. Like a relationship that's mostly dead in the water but there's just about something still there in the other person that reminds you why you fell totally in love with them in the first place.
My album rankings, based on how I feel right now:
The Jester Race
Whoracle
Clayman
Sounds of a Playground Fading
Colony
Come Clarity
Subterranean
Half of I, The Mask
Soundtrack to Your Escape
Reroute to Remain
A Sense of Purpose
Lunar Strain
Battles
Half of I, The Mask
Siren Charms
A little backstory about me. I've been a lurker on this board for so long I can't even remember when I first found this place. Maybe when ASOP came out. I was part of the ever dying boards way back when and also jesterass. The new album compelled me to finally post.
I listened to the new album all the way through a couple days ago and thought itd be another throwaway album from my favorite band but then I gave it another chance. Stay With Me is actually a really good track and the last minute or so of Deep Inside really gives me a pre RTR vibe.
My point being is I may actually listen to some of these songs more than once unlike what I did with Siren Charms and Battles Both those albums are boring unlistenable crap.
I promise I won't go back into hiding now. I may actually make post here and there. Also, I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors. It's not easy doing this on my phone.
Edit: I went back to the ASOP era and found I did briefly post here under the name TheGreatJester.
I listened to the new album all the way through a couple days ago and thought itd be another throwaway album from my favorite band but then I gave it another chance. Stay With Me is actually a really good track and the last minute or so of Deep Inside really gives me a pre RTR vibe.
My point being is I may actually listen to some of these songs more than once unlike what I did with Siren Charms and Battles Both those albums are boring unlistenable crap.
I promise I won't go back into hiding now. I may actually make post here and there. Also, I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors. It's not easy doing this on my phone.
Edit: I went back to the ASOP era and found I did briefly post here under the name TheGreatJester.
Last edited:
Longtime lurker here, decided to make an account here to frolic with the rest of you In Flames nerds.
My thoughts on the latest album:
Voices - Decent opener, not nearly on the same level as Embody the Invisible, Bullet Ride, Behind Space, etc. But it's not terrible, the verse riff is heavy and catchy, the chorus has a neat little melody going on in the background (somebody here remarked that it reminded him of My Sweet Shadow which I agree with), breakdown was...eh. Solo is your typical Bjorn Hammett stuff. 6/10
I, The Mask - Pretty much a throwback to ASOP with better production and some Clayman-esque moments. Definitely felt like a breath of fresh air hearing those fast double kick rolls. Chorus was good for modern In Flames standards. Bridge riff was pretty cool. Solo was decent. 8/10
Call My Name - The intro, verse, and bridge riffs were pretty cool, but goddamn that chorus sucks balls. Solo was good, but way too short. I swear, Bjorn would be doing himself, and a lot us, a big favor dropping that goddamn wah pedal. His solos sound much better without them. Also, what is it with these guys' latest obsession with featuring kids? Is it some new trend that I'm missing out on? Not just with this latest music video, but the last album with that children's choir in the chorus. Yuck. 4.5/10
I Am Above - Solid song, lyrics are totally cheesy but nothing new. Intro has a nice Colony vibe and the verse riff reminds me of a mid-paced Come Clarity song. Nice to see Anders utilizing his growls again. Chorus sucks dick, bridge riff was cool, solo was good. 7.5/10
Follow Me - Not terrible, not great. Dug the acoustic guitar bits, always nice when these Swedes bring them out. Anders sounds alright in the verse (autotune not withstanding). Not much more to say than that. 5.5/10
(This Is Our) House a.k.a. Totally Not Written by Howard "High Cholesterol" Benson - This song can fuck off forever. 0/10
We Will Remember - I forgot how much these guys like The Scorpions with that intro. Lyrics would have been neat if this song was more in the vain of A New Dawn. Not much more left to say, had one kind of cool riff towards the end, but that's about it. 2/10
In This Lii-i-ii-iii-iiife - The only thing I liked about this song was the intro riff and the solo. 3/10
Burn - Not bad. Some energetic drumming in the verses which was nice, some more intricate riffing from Bjorn which was cool. I actually liked the chorus in this one, catchy and it works in the song's favor. Bridge riff was absolutely lazy though, would it kill these guys to stop plagiarizing that Superhero of the Computer Rage riff? The two solos do make up for it though. 6.5/10
Deep Inside - Interesting song, and it's nice to see these guys try something a little different with that Arabian melody in the intro riff. The chorus was just straight up cringe. "Broken dreams and heartbreak"? How about I break the fucking disk instead? That being said, the Zombie Inc-esque part after the lackluster solo was nice. Overall average - 5/10
All The Pain - Man, this song started out so good with that simple, yet effective piano melody with Anders' cleans on top of it. They really should have expanded on the piano some more before going all in with the song, but then Bjorn comes in with such a jarring guitar riff on top of it that totally kills it. Thanks, Bjorn. Solo was pretty good, outro was nice. Overall, this song had potential but ended up being a dissapointment. 4/10
Stay With Me - I really liked this song, it succeeded where Liberation failed. Great acoustic bits, I dug how the song felt like a build up to the last minute and a half, then it kept building on that simple, but effective riff. Anders didn't sound too bad either. Overall, this song definitely was one of the few highlights on the album and was one of their better closers. 8/10
Not Alone - Glad this was relegated to being a bonus track. It's pretty much just there. 4/10
Overall, it's an improvement over Battles and Siren Charms, but still misses the mark. There's 3 good songs here, some average-decent songs, and the rest are really shitty, as expected. Overall, I'd give it a 5.5/10. Howard Benson has no business being involved with these guys and needs to fuck off back to the Grammy bait metal bands he works with.
Also, here's my personal ranking for In Flames albums (best to worst)
Colony
Subterranean
The Jester Race
Lunar Strain
Whoracle
Clayman
Come Clarity
Reroute to Remain
Sounds of a Playground Fading
A Sense of Purpose
Soundtrack to Your Escape
I, The Mask
Siren Charms
Battles
My thoughts on the latest album:
Voices - Decent opener, not nearly on the same level as Embody the Invisible, Bullet Ride, Behind Space, etc. But it's not terrible, the verse riff is heavy and catchy, the chorus has a neat little melody going on in the background (somebody here remarked that it reminded him of My Sweet Shadow which I agree with), breakdown was...eh. Solo is your typical Bjorn Hammett stuff. 6/10
I, The Mask - Pretty much a throwback to ASOP with better production and some Clayman-esque moments. Definitely felt like a breath of fresh air hearing those fast double kick rolls. Chorus was good for modern In Flames standards. Bridge riff was pretty cool. Solo was decent. 8/10
Call My Name - The intro, verse, and bridge riffs were pretty cool, but goddamn that chorus sucks balls. Solo was good, but way too short. I swear, Bjorn would be doing himself, and a lot us, a big favor dropping that goddamn wah pedal. His solos sound much better without them. Also, what is it with these guys' latest obsession with featuring kids? Is it some new trend that I'm missing out on? Not just with this latest music video, but the last album with that children's choir in the chorus. Yuck. 4.5/10
I Am Above - Solid song, lyrics are totally cheesy but nothing new. Intro has a nice Colony vibe and the verse riff reminds me of a mid-paced Come Clarity song. Nice to see Anders utilizing his growls again. Chorus sucks dick, bridge riff was cool, solo was good. 7.5/10
Follow Me - Not terrible, not great. Dug the acoustic guitar bits, always nice when these Swedes bring them out. Anders sounds alright in the verse (autotune not withstanding). Not much more to say than that. 5.5/10
(This Is Our) House a.k.a. Totally Not Written by Howard "High Cholesterol" Benson - This song can fuck off forever. 0/10
We Will Remember - I forgot how much these guys like The Scorpions with that intro. Lyrics would have been neat if this song was more in the vain of A New Dawn. Not much more left to say, had one kind of cool riff towards the end, but that's about it. 2/10
In This Lii-i-ii-iii-iiife - The only thing I liked about this song was the intro riff and the solo. 3/10
Burn - Not bad. Some energetic drumming in the verses which was nice, some more intricate riffing from Bjorn which was cool. I actually liked the chorus in this one, catchy and it works in the song's favor. Bridge riff was absolutely lazy though, would it kill these guys to stop plagiarizing that Superhero of the Computer Rage riff? The two solos do make up for it though. 6.5/10
Deep Inside - Interesting song, and it's nice to see these guys try something a little different with that Arabian melody in the intro riff. The chorus was just straight up cringe. "Broken dreams and heartbreak"? How about I break the fucking disk instead? That being said, the Zombie Inc-esque part after the lackluster solo was nice. Overall average - 5/10
All The Pain - Man, this song started out so good with that simple, yet effective piano melody with Anders' cleans on top of it. They really should have expanded on the piano some more before going all in with the song, but then Bjorn comes in with such a jarring guitar riff on top of it that totally kills it. Thanks, Bjorn. Solo was pretty good, outro was nice. Overall, this song had potential but ended up being a dissapointment. 4/10
Stay With Me - I really liked this song, it succeeded where Liberation failed. Great acoustic bits, I dug how the song felt like a build up to the last minute and a half, then it kept building on that simple, but effective riff. Anders didn't sound too bad either. Overall, this song definitely was one of the few highlights on the album and was one of their better closers. 8/10
Not Alone - Glad this was relegated to being a bonus track. It's pretty much just there. 4/10
Overall, it's an improvement over Battles and Siren Charms, but still misses the mark. There's 3 good songs here, some average-decent songs, and the rest are really shitty, as expected. Overall, I'd give it a 5.5/10. Howard Benson has no business being involved with these guys and needs to fuck off back to the Grammy bait metal bands he works with.
Also, here's my personal ranking for In Flames albums (best to worst)
Colony
Subterranean
The Jester Race
Lunar Strain
Whoracle
Clayman
Come Clarity
Reroute to Remain
Sounds of a Playground Fading
A Sense of Purpose
Soundtrack to Your Escape
I, The Mask
Siren Charms
Battles
Bro youre the only person on here that finally agrees me with thank you
.. Its their most catchiest chorus ever probably and the melody is just so soothing and comfortingI love LS, it's insane nasty-gloomy atmosphere, crazy ideas, even the girl who can't really sing... but it is IF. For me, they were out of any league until CC plus SOAPF. Those records are all 10/10 and need a separate scale, since I can't compare their awesomeness with any other bands efforts. Perhaps Winter's Gate and In The Halls of Awaiting, maybe some Katatonia bests, Amorphis' Eclipse could compete with some of those albums. Number 10 on my IF list is still too high of a bar for any other band.Also sad to see the lack of love for Lunar Strain
Similar threads
