New album Foregone out February 2023

[eochaid]

The guitar leads in In the Dark are like, literally Scandinavian folk music lmao.

You need to listen to more Scandinavian folk music bro .

What I think of the songs?

They are nothing like the singles.

I have to listen to them with good quality. There's a lot of experimentation. There's few of IF. There's some influences from different American styles.

I'm willing to listen to Cynosure for sure.

I guess that their next (natural) step is to announce the name of the person that's going to sing those songs live.

 

[GraemeSinclair]

Speaking of Scandinavian folk (I do agree with @ThePhobiac that the In The Dark clip has that old-school Nordic IF vibe, parts of it sound like the 6/8 mid-section of Lord Hypnos to me), I hadn't really listened to Lunar Strain in years, and I'd completely forgotten that lovely wee folk instrumental at the start of Starforsaken that is then never referenced again in the rest of the song (which... isn't the best...), they should really have brought that melody over to the guitars and built the song around that.

(I revised my opinion about the time signature of that bit in Lord Hypnos, used the wrong music theory it's easier to count in 6/8, but the point still stands!)

 

[Xpyro125]

• Cynosure sounds really cool- The autotune on the vocals in the verses is a bit much, but they seriously complement the weirdness in the chorus in a way that actually works
• Aside from the harsh vocals, Bleeding Out sounds fucking boring as shit
• The pre-chorus for In the Dark is abhorrent, but the song sounds fantastic otherwise (Though I don't care for the social media preview's portion of it, it sounds like Bottled meets the most boring parts of SC there)
• The social media preview for A Dialogue in B Flat Minor is hype as fuck, I can't wait for that track especially
• I love that they actually included the acoustic intro to their concerts on the album (Which THE really should've done)
• I really couldn't tell you why, but despite liking Anders' harsh vocals in the verses as well as Chris' solo, Meet Your Maker just does not click with me at all, and it's one of my least favorite IF songs in a while (Nothing's lower than House though)

It's very clear to me that they and Nuclear Blast really don't want people to feel like they're gonna be bait and switched here... Only to do exactly that. I'm not complaining though, I think the more alt metal side of modern In Flames is gonna have the instrumentation I prefer here. The heavier side of the album reeks of all the issues modern metalcore has. That being said, someone please put Howard Benson as far away from Anders' vocals as he can be.

My rankings of the singles is:

1. Foregone Pt. 1 (10/10, I've even gotten over the three bar problem I previously had)
2. SOSD (9/10, love it too)
3. TGD (6/10, not too bad if you just tune out the genuinely laughable parts of the lyrics, but at least it went up for me)
4. Foregone Pt. 2 (6/10, just needed less autotune for me to love it)
5. Meet Your Maker (4/10? I might be rating it higher than I actually feel it should be, I dunno)

No idea if I'm more or less hyped for the album now, I have very mixed feelings of what I've heard overall. Somehow, I'm more excited for the heavier parts of the album than I was before, which is definitely concerning to me.

 

[eochaid]

This is what Scandinavian folk sounds like.

 

[The Grayfox]

Speaking of Scandinavian folk (I do agree with @ThePhobiac that the In The Dark clip has that old-school Nordic IF vibe, parts of it sound like the 3/4 mid-section of Lord Hypnos to me), I hadn't really listened to Lunar Strain in years, and I'd completely forgotten that lovely wee folk instrumental at the start of Starforsaken that is then never referenced again in the rest of the song (which... isn't the best...), they should really have brought that melody over to the guitars and built the song around that.

Strangely enough, I would be totally onboard if In Flames decided to re-record Lunar Strain/Subterranean. ONLY if it wasn't the same kind of situation as the Clayman re-recordings. If it was treated with respect and they didn't try to modernize it too much, it could be really good. Change a few things that didn't age well, bring up the production value. They would probably play those songs live if there was a re-recording.

Of course it would be hard to trust that any of those things would happen, but if they said for instance "we're going into Studio Fredman and re-recording Lunar Strain", I'd be into it.

 

[galvanized]

I’m gonna wait a few more days for the full quality recordings to come out. But sounds promising if there is folk influence again.

 

[DE4life]

I don't trust Anders and Bjorn with the older material. I'd only be okay with it if Jesper was involved, and in fact it would make more sense for THE to rerecord Lunar Strain considering the personnel involved. The time for rerecording LS from an IF perspective was around 99 when they did Clad in Shadows and Behind Space. Those turned out great.

 

[Ilias7]

I've listened to the 3 mini leaks a couple of times. As far as I can tell from a phone recording, Cynosure sounds the most interesting. In The Dark is also cool and Bleeding Out totally generic.

 

[The Grayfox]

I don't trust Anders and Bjorn with the older material. I'd only be okay with it if Jesper was involved, and in fact it would make more sense for THE to rerecord Lunar Strain considering the personnel involved. The time for rerecording LS from an IF perspective was around 99 when they did Clad in Shadows and Behind Space. Those turned out great.

I would love to hear THE do it. I think that's even less likely unfortunately. I'm sure they want don't want to feed into that.

It would be cool if they played some of those songs live though.

 

[DE4life]

I would love to hear THE do it. I think that's even less likely unfortunately. I'm sure they want don't want to feed into that.

It would be cool if they played some of those songs live though.

Still holding out hope for Upon an Oaken Throne '23 on THE's next release

 

[ThePhobiac]

My problem with Cynosure is that the chorus reminds me a lot of We Will Remember and I can't unhear it.

This is what Scandinavian folk sounds like.

Absolutely, but so does this (just using an In Flames-related example):



I think the feel is very similar.

 

[The Grayfox]

My problem with Cynosure is that the chorus reminds me a lot of We Will Remember and I can't unhear it.

Must be why I like it

 

[eochaid]

I think the feel is very similar.

Interesting. I don't see the relationship.

 

[Xpyro125]

Must be why I like it

You know, making that connection makes me feel the same. I've never really understood why so many people, even amongst those who love ITM, dislike We Will Remember. It's definitely in my top half of the tracks from that album.

 

[The Grayfox]

You know, making that connection makes me feel the same. I've never really understood why so many people, even amongst those who love ITM, dislike We Will Remember. It's definitely in my top half of the tracks from that album.

Yeah, I don't know. I think it's a really catchy song and I love the all the throwbacks in it.

 

[eochaid]

The weak part, for me, are the lyrics during the verses. They feel forced. The chorus is ok. And, overall, the song doesn't feel too different, in style, from Ropes.

 

[DE4life]

From memory I rated WWR a 6.5 or 7/10. It's uninspired and as always the autotune on Anders' voice is annoying, but it's not like it's House or In This Life. It's just... pedestrian. There's nothing really to the song. Also lyrically feels like Anders is trolling somewhat by throwing in all the old album titles and making it a tribute to the band's past, considering WWR is very much typical new In Flames with the Benson chorus

 

[The Grayfox]

Oh it's pedestrian is it? Somebody bring DE a plate of pork belly, smoked figs and foie gras

 

[DE4life]

Yo, Slave ain't calling me the board's Shakespeare for nothing bro.

 

[galvanized]

Problem with We Will Remember is that it’s just a radio song like Jimmy Eat World or The Offspring.

The verse of We Will Remember is interesting and kind of good. I will admit that.

Chorus is pure radio rock. Heavy heavy autotune.

Intro is more “hard rock” than “metal”. Like Godsmack or Sevendust

In This Life is better overall.