These aren't my reviews, but from a very good metal website I like to visit. www.metal-observer.com. I just had to share these reviews with fellow metalheads, because these two albums are one of the greats in the metal world.
The Jester Race -
How does one go about describing perfection? Webster's describes the word 'perfect' as: COMPLETE; FINISHED. TENSE DENOTING A COMPLETE ACT. FINISH; MAKE SKILLFUL. Well, as far as "The Jester Race" is concerned, that's only the beginning. Never has an album come so far as "The Jester Race" in terms of combining elements of beauty, power, harmony, and surrealism. The sum of which can equal only two things for certain - satisfaction, and pleasure.
The opening track, "Moonshield", sets the stage terrifically. Here they showcase acoustic melodies, multi-layered harmonies, vicious vocal presentations, along with creative and apt percussion segments. As the song ends, "The Jester's Dance" fades in from the darkness, and serves as a more than fitting outro to "Moonshield"; playing soft, then pounding you into melodic ecstasy. The rest of the album follows suit in the form of an emotional journey, until its climactic ending with "Dead God In Me".
Not only is the writing (both musically and lyrically) perfect on TJR, but so are all factors included in the makeup of this album. In this thrasher's humble opinion, their production has never sounded better than it appears here on TJR; allowing it to be sufferingly heavy, yet not drowning out the crunch and snap in a torrent of bass. Instrumentally, they are all on top of their game, including Björn who played lead guitar as well as drums at the time. Even the cover artwork for this album is one of Marshall's greatest works I've ever seen.
Forget sub-genres for a moment. If you like METAL that leaves a long lasting impression, and you're looking to experience music rather than simply allow a disc of average quality play through one ear, and out the other, I highly recommend IN FLAMES' "The Jester Race" to each and every one of you reading (Yes, both of you - "each" and also "every"!! - Alex)
Whoracle -
After "The Jester Race" beat the ass of every unsuspecting underground fan, IN FLAMES decided that it wasn't enough. "The Jester Race" finally put IN FLAMES into the Metal-public, and only one step had to be made to enter Metal-stardom..."Whoracle". In the spring of 1997, the band entered the studio to create a follow-up to "The Jester Race", later that year, it hit the shelves and made a lasting impact on all of the people involved in the Gothenburg-scene.
Having the unmatched lead ability possessed in "The Jester Race" and even more powerful rhythms, this album proved a step up from its ancestors. IN FLAMES started performing Heavy Metal-rhythms under incredible leads. The song structures simplified, and made the band more comfortable on the stage. Memorable chorus lines sweep through the mind of a fan for their entire lives. And, an excellent mixing of songwriting between the members. Sounds too good to be true, huh?
The album starts out with the already classic, "Jotun". This powerful ass-kicker contains some of the greatest lead-work in the history of music. A classic chorus, and a solid deep end. "Food For The Gods" appears more calm, and emotional. Anders spits out his lines in amazing power, Jesper and Glenn hook up for that classic duo that would unfortunately end (Glenn left the band after the release). Björn proves to be a very effective drummer, and it shows through with his work on this song in particular.
"Gyroscope" is a return to older IN FLAMES, containing a folk atmosphere with the heavy, melodic guitars to accent the true power that is old IN FLAMES. This song is truly a favourite among the IN FLAMES-fans. At any show, you will here this song name yelled at least a dozen times. You would come to expect from these Swedes that you would have an instrumental, they kept that tradition (It would last until "Clayman"). "Dialogue With The Stars" shows what kind of power the melodies of IN FLAMES have. Like in most songs of this album, Björn (drums) helped create music. This was a good hint as to who would be the replacement to Glenn.
The album rolls on like a bulldozer, pointing a finger to every band that opposed them, and simply put IN FLAMES at the top of the mountain. "Episode 666" took them off that mountain, and put them in the skies to roam with IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, AT THE GATES, BATHORY, HELLOWEEN, BLIND GUARDIAN, and EMPEROR. "Episode 666" proves the band's worth for connecting the Heavy Metal-world with the Death Metal-world. And that song, is just one example of IN FLAMES-power. With that said, IN FLAMES reigns the Metal-world, and I can't see them leaving the top!
The Jester Race -
How does one go about describing perfection? Webster's describes the word 'perfect' as: COMPLETE; FINISHED. TENSE DENOTING A COMPLETE ACT. FINISH; MAKE SKILLFUL. Well, as far as "The Jester Race" is concerned, that's only the beginning. Never has an album come so far as "The Jester Race" in terms of combining elements of beauty, power, harmony, and surrealism. The sum of which can equal only two things for certain - satisfaction, and pleasure.
The opening track, "Moonshield", sets the stage terrifically. Here they showcase acoustic melodies, multi-layered harmonies, vicious vocal presentations, along with creative and apt percussion segments. As the song ends, "The Jester's Dance" fades in from the darkness, and serves as a more than fitting outro to "Moonshield"; playing soft, then pounding you into melodic ecstasy. The rest of the album follows suit in the form of an emotional journey, until its climactic ending with "Dead God In Me".
Not only is the writing (both musically and lyrically) perfect on TJR, but so are all factors included in the makeup of this album. In this thrasher's humble opinion, their production has never sounded better than it appears here on TJR; allowing it to be sufferingly heavy, yet not drowning out the crunch and snap in a torrent of bass. Instrumentally, they are all on top of their game, including Björn who played lead guitar as well as drums at the time. Even the cover artwork for this album is one of Marshall's greatest works I've ever seen.
Forget sub-genres for a moment. If you like METAL that leaves a long lasting impression, and you're looking to experience music rather than simply allow a disc of average quality play through one ear, and out the other, I highly recommend IN FLAMES' "The Jester Race" to each and every one of you reading (Yes, both of you - "each" and also "every"!! - Alex)
Whoracle -
After "The Jester Race" beat the ass of every unsuspecting underground fan, IN FLAMES decided that it wasn't enough. "The Jester Race" finally put IN FLAMES into the Metal-public, and only one step had to be made to enter Metal-stardom..."Whoracle". In the spring of 1997, the band entered the studio to create a follow-up to "The Jester Race", later that year, it hit the shelves and made a lasting impact on all of the people involved in the Gothenburg-scene.
Having the unmatched lead ability possessed in "The Jester Race" and even more powerful rhythms, this album proved a step up from its ancestors. IN FLAMES started performing Heavy Metal-rhythms under incredible leads. The song structures simplified, and made the band more comfortable on the stage. Memorable chorus lines sweep through the mind of a fan for their entire lives. And, an excellent mixing of songwriting between the members. Sounds too good to be true, huh?
The album starts out with the already classic, "Jotun". This powerful ass-kicker contains some of the greatest lead-work in the history of music. A classic chorus, and a solid deep end. "Food For The Gods" appears more calm, and emotional. Anders spits out his lines in amazing power, Jesper and Glenn hook up for that classic duo that would unfortunately end (Glenn left the band after the release). Björn proves to be a very effective drummer, and it shows through with his work on this song in particular.
"Gyroscope" is a return to older IN FLAMES, containing a folk atmosphere with the heavy, melodic guitars to accent the true power that is old IN FLAMES. This song is truly a favourite among the IN FLAMES-fans. At any show, you will here this song name yelled at least a dozen times. You would come to expect from these Swedes that you would have an instrumental, they kept that tradition (It would last until "Clayman"). "Dialogue With The Stars" shows what kind of power the melodies of IN FLAMES have. Like in most songs of this album, Björn (drums) helped create music. This was a good hint as to who would be the replacement to Glenn.
The album rolls on like a bulldozer, pointing a finger to every band that opposed them, and simply put IN FLAMES at the top of the mountain. "Episode 666" took them off that mountain, and put them in the skies to roam with IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, AT THE GATES, BATHORY, HELLOWEEN, BLIND GUARDIAN, and EMPEROR. "Episode 666" proves the band's worth for connecting the Heavy Metal-world with the Death Metal-world. And that song, is just one example of IN FLAMES-power. With that said, IN FLAMES reigns the Metal-world, and I can't see them leaving the top!
