Y right, my mistake sorry for that stupid comments
Stand by me and I'll stand by you
us vets have travelled this road multiple times and we know how to see it through.
Speaking of praising and ripping In Flames, I listened to STYE in full for the first time in a while. It's actually a pretty interesting album. Still one of their weaker effort post-2000, but there's some stuff which is cool. STYE definitely has an "atmosphere" and trademark stuff which marks it out as a cohesive album.
F(r)iend - 5/10 - pretty boring on album imo. It's better in a live environment, as almost all STYE tracks are, but on this album it's one of those typical "heavy" tracks they've tried over the years which doesn't really suit them.
The Quiet Place - 8/10 - this got ripped to shreds when it was first released, but it's a really good commercial metal track. My opinion of it has improved a lot over the years.
Dead Alone - 6.5/10 - another track which underwhelms on record but kicks ass in a live environment. I highly recommend checking out the Used & Abused performance of this song, it sounds great.
Touch of Red - 7/10 - I always thought this track was decent, if not great. I dig the riffs, and the chorus is pretty good. The lyrics are obviously about alcohol abuse which is interesting. I wonder if Jesper had any influence on the lyrics?
Like You Better Dead - 7.5/10 - dumb song title and some questionable lyrics, but this is another one which is retrospectively pretty good. I already covered it on the last page.
My Sweet Shadow - 7/10 - weaker than the other commercial single, TQP, imo. It's alright but honestly over the years my appreciation of this one has decreased. I find it a little boring to listen to these days. Possibly because it was played live so often. Electronics are a little overused imo.
Evil in a Closet - 8/10 - This is a really cool track. I love the melodies and atmosphere of this song. Anders vocals are a bit hit and miss, but it doesn't ruin the song by any means.
In Search for I - 7/10 - nice riffs again. Chorus lyrics are lame. "I am ready to give you the M, it might even be the E"... okay
generally though Anders vocals are pretty beastly on this one.
Borders and Shading - 7/10 - a great tribute to Microsoft Word. Another song with some good melodies, particularly around the 2:20 mark, and solid vocals for the most part by Anders.
Superhero of the Computer Rage - 7/10 - a nice, fast paced song. Good vocals from Anders. Cleans are a bit weird but they fit the music fine. This it the good kind of heavy that In Flames do, along with stuff like Vacuum from Come Clarity. The only slight complaint I have is that it's kind of similar to ISFI.
Dial 595-Escape - 7/10 - one of my favourites when the album was originally released. I still like the melodies in the song but it doesn't have that much value as far as repeated listens are concerned. Best part of this song was that if you called the number back then it connected to some guy who got really pissed off with metalheads calling him
In Flames, always trolling.
Bottled - 1/10 - the single mark is for the lyrics, which are actually fine. The rest of the song is total boredom though. No need for me to say any more, my hatred for this track is well known.
Discover Me Like Emptiness - 7.5/10 - the production on this song lets it down a bit imo. Vocals are sometimes too low in the mix. Overall a nice, varied track with a lot going for it. One of the more distinctive songs from the album for sure.
Damn, based on this my overall rating for STYE is probably a 7 or 7.5. I like this album more than I thought. It's not one I'll put on very often, but the songs on here are largely solid albeit a pretty big departure from what had come before it. Anders is pretty good on this album imo. His voice sounds way healthier and stronger than on Clayman or Reroute. He belts out some really powerful growls/screams. The riffs and melodies on the album are very distinctive to the sound STYE was going for. Most of it is fine although at times can sound a little samey across the album. Not bad though. Drumming is solid if not spectacular throughout. Bass is just there, as always, but nothing wrong with it.
STYE, you age like a fine wine. I appreciate you more now than I did back then.
