In Flames -Sounds of A Playground Fading (Upcoming 10th album)

I don't really know why I've posted this lol but maybe I'm saying you should develop a wider taste of music because I think In Flames changed for the better and that all their albums probably appeal to most In Flames fans (not talking about the ones who only listen to Take This Life and complain about the screams in it :bah:)

My problem isnt that their music is different now. My problem is that the overall quality of it isnt as good as it was. Simpler arrangements, uninspired and generic drums, less and less decent guitar ideas, constant forced-up clean vocals (which surely doesnt fit IF, since Anders, wether you liked it or not, cant really deliver them properly). And when it comes to my own music taste, I listen to all kind of stuff, from electronic music, over jazz/funk to rock/metal, and much more in between. So trust me, my music taste isnt as narrow as you might think, to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it was wider then your own.

And yes of course there is bands who have played the same style over the years despite growing older, getting a family and such. But me personally, I find those bands mostly boring. Like Amon Amarth, great fucking band, but do I listen to all albums? No. It feels like, if I've listened to The Avenger I've heard The Crusher as well. And imo, bands who just play the same style without experimenting or anything, it does not only get stale, it's kind of taking it really safe and riding the moneytrain to the bank.

But of course there is bands who just play the same music and love it. But I do prefer bands like IF, and actually, they really DO not give a fuck what people except the ones in the band thinks of their music. The music is always very distinctive and you still know it's In Flames whatever album they release, but they always try new things and new approaches on every album, and it's what I would call not taking it safe. Sure, they might lose fans, but they don't care because they are doing what they love. Should they keep writing the same style of music, that they prefer not too, just to please fans? Then THAT'S selling out. If they would go back to their old style, THAT would be selling out, because so many people are screaming for them to do it.

Thats just a matter of taste. I would rather have a band make 5 similar albums where almost all songs on them will be awesome (like Dark Tranquillity, or Amon Amarth), than to constantly change just for the sake of it, even if that would degrade their overall quality. If I want different sounding music, I will listen to a different band.

And as far as I know, people pretty much loved the shit out of Whoracle, since its pretty much TJR part 2. With Colony came all the bashing, since thats when they started incorpotating shitload of synths/samples and clean-ish vocals :) Though I personally love Colony :)
 
Thats just a matter of taste. I would rather have a band make 5 similar albums where almost all songs on them will be awesome (like Dark Tranquillity, or Amon Amarth), than to constantly change just for the sake of it, even if that would degrade their overall quality.

The Gallery, We Are The Void...Same shit ? Stop kidding us...
 
Well DT aren't exactly know for their change of style...
 
Wow, this place comes to life only when Old Flames vs New Flames discussion begins.

Krofius, didn't you say there is a new episode coming out today for JH members? Give us some insider info. ;)
Yeah I saw it. Was some parts about them tattooing and such, björn riffing for Deliver Us, Peter doing basslines for The Puzzle, and some other things I think.
My problem isnt that their music is different now. My problem is that the overall quality of it isnt as good as it was. Simpler arrangements, uninspired and generic drums, less and less decent guitar ideas, constant forced-up clean vocals (which surely doesnt fit IF, since Anders, wether you liked it or not, cant really deliver them properly). And when it comes to my own music taste, I listen to all kind of stuff, from electronic music, over jazz/funk to rock/metal, and much more in between. So trust me, my music taste isnt as narrow as you might think, to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it was wider then your own.



Thats just a matter of taste. I would rather have a band make 5 similar albums where almost all songs on them will be awesome (like Dark Tranquillity, or Amon Amarth), than to constantly change just for the sake of it, even if that would degrade their overall quality. If I want different sounding music, I will listen to a different band.

And as far as I know, people pretty much loved the shit out of Whoracle, since its pretty much TJR part 2. With Colony came all the bashing, since thats when they started incorpotating shitload of synths/samples and clean-ish vocals :) Though I personally love Colony :)


And I disagree on Whoracle being TJR part 2, the production is not the same at all, neither are the vocals. Also the drum production is radically different imo. The one thing I dislike with Whoracle even though it's my favorite album is the snare drums sound. Of course people loved the shit out of Whoracle, same as people love the shit out of Come Clarity. But many people whined as well. Oh well this is just my opinion though. Anders words: ''I've had to defend our choices since the day I joined the band''
And I dunno if that was what you meant, but In Flames don't change their sound for the sake of changing the sound. They write their music naturally, not going into the mindset of let's write a totally different album.

It's the same with DT, the old stuff differs A LOT from the new stuff as well. If we're gonna exaggerate like with IF's genre debate, DT is currently playing electro since Haven.
 
Funny thing is, we all complain about IF not being true melodeath, but I don't know if that genre even exists anymore. Can you name like 5-10 established melodeath bands in year 2011?

Better to go alternative (as S.K. says) pop-rock then to release same thing over and over again as DT does.
 
My problem isnt that their music is different now. My problem is that the overall quality of it isnt as good as it was. Simpler arrangements, uninspired and generic drums, less and less decent guitar ideas, constant forced-up clean vocals (which surely doesnt fit IF, since Anders, wether you liked it or not, cant really deliver them properly). And when it comes to my own music taste, I listen to all kind of stuff, from electronic music, over jazz/funk to rock/metal, and much more in between. So trust me, my music taste isnt as narrow as you might think, to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if it was wider then your own.

I can see what you mean but I think In Flames has good structure to all their songs, from The Jester Race to Come Clarity. I gotta say though, ASOP didn't really have a good feel to it but still not half bad.
I think Deliver Us, although short, has good structure to it and the riff is simple but effective.

The clean vocals I can agree to an extent. Sometimes it can be quite bad but for the most part I like them.

I guess it's all down to personal opinion.
 
Funny thing is, we all complain about IF not being true melodeath, but I don't know if that genre even exists anymore. Can you name like 5-10 established melodeath bands in year 2011?

Better to go alternative (as S.K. says) pop-rock then to release same thing over and over again as DT does.

Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, Kalmah, Mercenary, Scar Symmetry, Be'lakor, Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth. But yeah, melodeath is a pretty stale genre these days :( I disagree about the other part of your post, but to each its own, as I said before.

The clean vocals I can agree to an extent. Sometimes it can be quite bad but for the most part I like them.

+1. I liked cleans on R2R, STYE and CC. Actually, Come Clarity is my 2nd favourite IF album :) But seems like on this album, we will have for the first time real, proper clean vocals, instead of those mixed clean/screams (I dont really know what to call them, its pretty one of a kind thing) and thats whats making me sceptical. But ofcourse, I will wait and listen to the album before jumping to conclusions. Hell, the album can have all cleans as far as I'm concerned, as long as they are done and produced properly. Though some screams couldn't hurt :)
 
Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, Kalmah, Mercenary, Scar Symmetry, Be'lakor, Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth. But yeah, melodeath is a pretty stale genre these days :( I disagree about the other part of your post, but to each its own, as I said before.



+1. I liked cleans on R2R, STYE and CC. Actually, Come Clarity is my 2nd favourite IF album :) But seems like on this album, we will have for the first time real, proper clean vocals, instead of those mixed clean/screams (I dont really know what to call them, its pretty one of a kind thing) and thats whats making me sceptical. But ofcourse, I will wait and listen to the album before jumping to conclusions. Hell, the album can have all cleans as far as I'm concerned, as long as they are done and produced properly. Though some screams couldn't hurt :)
There is more screams in the album. And the clean vocals is radically improved since ASOP.
 
See? Now this is lovely. It's a much better improvement over the barbaric word-fests on other websites in regards to new/old flames. Constructive conversations and criticism is what i like to see. +1 for all of you guys.
 
I like that guy Kake21. He's cool :) Nothing wrong with a diverse taste in music. I'm a huge metalcore fan, i just seemed to hover towards Swedish metal at some point in time without realising! I'm also a fan of softer rock music.

Now i have to disagree with the guy who said albums like Come Clarity and Reroute would have sounded better with the deep growls from Whoracle. I liked the fact that during STYE and Come Clarity- Anders' vocals were pretty much unique. His clean vocal style is completely unique- nobody sounds like him (think choruses on RTR and CC), and no band has been experimenting with higher pitched screaming. Nowadays it's all deep, death-grunts and cookie-monster growling. Which is actually probably many singers taking inspiration from early In Flames, but that's a story for another day ;) But for a singer to pull-off performances like Vanishing Light, is astonashing.

I still stand by what i said: from what i've heard so far, Deliver Us sounds like what the whole of ASOP should have sounded like.
 
I like that guy Kake21. He's cool :) Nothing wrong with a diverse taste in music. I'm a huge metalcore fan, i just seemed to hover towards Swedish metal at some point in time without realising! I'm also a fan of softer rock music.

Now i have to disagree with the guy who said albums like Come Clarity and Reroute would have sounded better with the deep growls from Whoracle. I liked the fact that during STYE and Come Clarity- Anders' vocals were pretty much unique. His clean vocal style is completely unique- nobody sounds like him (think choruses on RTR and CC), and no band has been experimenting with higher pitched screaming. Nowadays it's all deep, death-grunts and cookie-monster growling. Which is actually probably many singers taking inspiration from early In Flames, but that's a story for another day ;) But for a singer to pull-off performances like Vanishing Light, is astonashing.

I still stand by what i said: from what i've heard so far, Deliver Us sounds like what the whole of ASOP should have sounded like.

Haha thanks :p
I agree with you on the vocals. I think his vocals changed for a good reason, to suit the music. Something like Dismiss the Cynics with vocals from Whoracle? No thanks. I like Anders' uniqueness when it comes to vocals.
 
Hey Krofius when you say Ropes is cleanly sung- is it the same vocal style as Deliver Us? Or more Come Clarity-style soaring choruses? I'm all for more songs with the same way Deliver Us is performed. And i'm interested to see what else Anders delivers in terms of styles- we've already heard that there will be a spoken-word intro to The Attic (i think?). Will there be some quietly sung songs like The Chosen pessimist/Dawn of A New Day? Some harsh, agressive vocals like In Search for I?
 
krofius, can I ask how you've been able to listen to other songs from SOAPF? Im very jealous, im dying to hear some more songs :worship:

Personally I like Deliver Us, production wise I think it sounds much better than anything they've done since Clayman, but 1 thing that bugs me is the second and third choruses, Anders delivers the line 'I can't make sense of this' in a way which to me doesnt sound good, so for this bit ive edited my MP3 by copy and pasting the first chorus version in its place, to me it sounds loads better this way, shame I cant show you guys how it sounds, not worth losing my youtube account when most people wont even dig the change!
 
Hey Krofius when you say Ropes is cleanly sung- is it the same vocal style as Deliver Us? Or more Come Clarity-style soaring choruses? I'm all for more songs with the same way Deliver Us is performed. And i'm interested to see what else Anders delivers in terms of styles- we've already heard that there will be a spoken-word intro to The Attic (i think?). Will there be some quietly sung songs like The Chosen pessimist/Dawn of A New Day? Some harsh, agressive vocals like In Search for I?
No, not at all like Deliver Us. His vocal style in Deliver Us, as we discussed is a kind of scream, without the raspy part. In Ropes, it's not really singing clean, it's more like talking, but still not lol. It's a mix. I'd say it's more like singing than talking though. The chorus is cleanly sung. But in the chorus, it's not him singing his lungs off, it's kinda mellow sung as well. It's a mid-tempo song I'd say. The tempo and speed of the vocals is kinda of like Evil In A Closet/Dawn Of A New day but multiply the speed since the song is not a ballad, and add a bit more punch/pressure in the cleans. That's how I'd describe it at least, at the moment :p

The Attic is the song that will have tramp organs in the chorus instead of Anders singing.

The Jester's Door is the song that will be a spoken monologue of some sort.
krofius, can I ask how you've been able to listen to other songs from SOAPF? Im very jealous, im dying to hear some more songs :worship:
Already posted before but, I got the title track and Ropes re-recorded on Headphones and sent to me by a very nice guy who got the mp3 promos.