New album Foregone out February 2023

[The Grayfox]

Battles (title track) is one of the few songs from that album that I can stand, along with Wallflower. The catchy chorus is enough to keep me entertained. The rest of the album can eat shit. And ALL of Siren Charms can also eat shit. I tried again today. I listened to snippets of In Plain View, With Eyes Wide Open, Through Oblivion and Monsters in the Ballroom and I just can't do it. It is so bad.

S: The Jester Race
A: Whoracle, Colony, Clayman
B: Lunar Strain, Subterranean, Sounds of a Playground Fading, Soundtrack to your Escape
C: Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity, A Sense of Purpose
D: Battles, I, The Mask, Foregone
E: Metallica's "St. Anger", Machine Head's "Supercharger", Iced Earth's "The Glorious Burden"
F: --
""
""
""
Z: Siren Charms

 

[DE4life]

The other nice thing about the Battles title track is that it's short. It does what it needs to do and then dips. In the context of that album, this is a good thing.

In SC context Monsters is actually an okay track. Up-tempo and Anders does some decent screams on it. For whatever reason I have never liked it though.

Become the Sky would have been a good track if done during the SOAPF sessions. I think it has a lot of potential, but ultimately ends up sounding like a Battles prototype song, albeit a better Battles song, if such a description even makes sense.

 

[eochaid]

The only virtue of Battles is that the songs are easy to remember. I only listened to the album twice and I can remember almost all of the songs. So, in that sense, I guess, they got that right. It's kind of what Jake wants to do with THE with less success.

 

[Xpyro125]

Become the Sky would have been a good track if done during the SOAPF sessions. I think it has a lot of potential, but ultimately ends up sounding like a Battles prototype song, albeit a better Battles song, if such a description even makes sense.

I think Become the Sky would be one of their best [Post-Clayman] songs if the chorus didn't completely kill the momentum of the song. I quite like the chorus, don't get me wrong, but the verses and everything before just blow it out of the water.

 

[DE4life]

We're dealing with an abnormal heatwave here in the UK at the moment, so I figured I might as well put myself in a suitable location. Always fun to cruise around Los Santos in GTA V in VR with SOAPF on the radio unfortunately it doesn't end well, but there's something poetic about crashing head first into a concrete wall and dying as Anders is singing "we are ghosts in a concrete world".



Also despite the video showing a gap in the bike frame at the bottom and the camera slightly zooming in and out when I turn my head, you don't see any of that in VR. Experience is smooth.

 

[Midas]

Hello guys, it has been a while. I've been diagnosed with Schizophrenia so I am literally a psycho. More specifically, I hear voices that aren't real, but imaginary.
I've been hospitalized for it and am now taking medicines to fight it. Imagine voices that threatens to harm or kill your family and others or to make the world explode if I don't do this or if I do this and that. It is VERY unpleasant.
This disease is one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. It is plain torture.
Anyway, leaving this.

I'm very happy to see you people still active.
DE4life, ciko_gfb, eochaid, and all of you old fuckers. *Hugs* A hello to the new people, nice to meet you. Now then...

I have yet to listen to Foregone, but from what I have read, I am excited, and that is saying much.

I've always been of the opinion that they (the members of In Flames) should do what they want, even if it ends up with me not liking the result.
I will now start to listen to their album stream over on YouTube.

1. [The Beginning To All Things That Will End]
A nice intro. I am a fan of the strings - a very nice start to the album.
Score: 8/10

2. [State of Slow Decay] - Score: 8/10
I love Anders's growling, makes me think back to the live version of F(r)iend.

v- Below is F(r)iend from Sticky Fingers. The growls are at ... Just listen to all of it, he sounds great. -v



3. [Meet Your Maker] - Score: 8/10
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooaaaaaam!! I'm a cow?!
I like it. Good riffs. I like the solos too. Glad Björn isn't using the wah-pedal for every solo.
Sorry Björn, I know you like the wah. :3

4. [Bleeding Out] - Score: 7/10

5. [Foregone Part I] - Score: 8/10
BLASTBEATS OF THE DRUMS is sounding great. Actually, the drums overall sound really good. None of that MIDI sound.

6. [Foregone Part II] - Score: 8/10

7. [Pure Light of Mind] - Score: 7/10

8. [The Great Deceiver] - Score: 7/10

9. [In The Dark] - Score: 6/10

10. [A Dialogue in B Flat Minor] - 6/10

11. [Cynosure] - 7/10
Ouch, the distortion effect on Anders's voice doesn't sound too good at the start of the song.
Still a pretty good song.

12. [End The Transmission] - 6/10
Hoped for a banger of a song but my hopes was not met.
-
Overall album Score: 8/10
It is up there with Whoracle, Come Clarity, and Clayman. (My opinion.)
-
I also want to remind everyone of this gem from the deluxe version of Siren Charms:

I can't believe they restricted this gem as a deluxe track. Should've been on the base album.

 

[DE4life]

Hey bro, it's good to see you back. Sorry to hear that you've been struggling, but hopefully you're in a better place now and the medicine is doing what it needs to do. I won't even pretend to understand what you're doing through, but if you're on the right path then that's cool.

I feel like I should hate the chorus to Become the Sky, but for some reason I actually quite like it. The rest of the song... well, it's generally better than most of SC, but that's not a high barometer.

 

[Moonshield_]

Nice song but not as good as « With Eyes Wide Open », « Dead Eyes » , « Through Oblivion », « Siren Charms » or « Rusted Nail » (the five songs actually making the album worth it to me)

 

[DE4life]

The melodic section of Dead Eyes about 3/4 into the song is one of the few moments in Siren Charms when Bjorn and/or Niclas wake up and do something useful with their guitars. It actually briefly sounds like In Flames. Doesn't last long, but it's something.

 

[Midas]

Thank you DE for your comment. I am feeling pretty good at the moment.

I cooked up something a few days ago. It lacks bass at the moment, and it needs more layers, and the intro choir is kind of pointless, so I may remove it.
Maybe replace it with something that makes the build-up more epic.

I know this is an IF forum, but screw it. - Suggestions on riffs and whatelse is very welcomed.
The tuning on the guitars is Drop D, so not as dark as IF. IF plays in Drop A Sharp (#)
Current name is Rafe, which has no meaning, I just mashed letters.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[The Grayfox]

So there’s a Reddit thread right now about perfect albums with no weak tracks…



What an asshole lol

 

[Midas]

Oh wow. ASOP is decent, but in my opinion it isn't perfect.
I think I'd pick Siren Charms and Battles as perfect albums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I'm kidding.
If I'd pick any IF album to be at least near perfection, I think I would put The Jester Race to be that album.
It has some downs, to me it is a 9/10. Then again, I don't chase perfection. BUT overall, I know a band that to me is very close to it.
That band is FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE. Never heard of them? Listen to this masterpiece:

 

[The Grayfox]

For me, The Jester Race isn't just In Flames' greatest album, but it is a seminal album in the melodic death metal genre as a whole. I would say it's top 3 best MDM albums ever. And everyone is going to have their opinions and what they like/dislike but man it sure is a hot take to say ASOP is a perfect album. To be completely honest, sometimes I forget ASOP even exists because I never listen to it and don't have much of a desire to either. Songs like Disconnected, The Mirror's Truth, The Chosen Pessimist... those are songs that I genuinely think are some of the worst they've ever done. And then half of the album just sounds like filler to me. Even by newer In Flames' standards, I think it sucks. SOAPF is much, much better.

FA is a good band. I used to listen to them more but haven't in a while. Extremely talented regardless.

 

[DE4life]

Eh, there are some truly bizarre takes on Reddit. I don't see how anybody with a working brain and ears could objectively say ASOP is the perfect album. Subjectively I guess you could consider it the perfect album, but even then... I'd reconsider. It means you think terrible vocals, wimpy, weak guitar tone and whiny lyrics are the peak of music. I mean, sure bro, you do you... but in reality, no.

In terms of perfect IF album, I don't know. I like the entirety of TJR, Whoracle, Colony and Clayman - not a single song on any of these that I dislike, just some that I like more than others. Strongest overall for me is hard to say, as it's too close between them to be meaningful if I say I prefer one over the other.

 

[ThePhobiac]

Welcome back, @Midas I dig the song you posted. Trying to think of what that main riff reminds me of -- Pantera, maybe? My only suggestion would be maybe adding distortion on that clean lead in what I think is the chorus, but you may have already tried it.

As far as perfect, I mean, even TJR peters out toward the end. Wayfarer gets a bit too guitar-wanky for me in its second half, and Dead God In Me doesn't have quite the same vibe as the songs that preceded it and, imo, doesn't really work all that well as a closing track. And Anders' performance is underwhelming, though he's far enough in the background that he may as well just be white noise.

If you put a gun to my head I would say Colony is the closest you'll get to a perfect IF album, but even that album is prone to homogeneity and Bjorn going a little too hard with the Van Halen worship -- understandable as it may be after being stuck behind the drum kit for two albums.

 

[The Grayfox]

Eh, I think Colony has more weak tracks than TJR does personally. I’d take Wayfaerer over Pallar Anders Visa and Dead God In Me over Resin any day. And I’d certainly take anything on TJR over songs like Insipid 2000. Don’t get me wrong, I like Colony. It has some great songs — Zombie Inc., Embody, etc. but I will always pick TJR and Whoracle over it. Something about the production and mix of Colony bothers me as well.

 

[DE4life]

Thank you DE for your comment. I am feeling pretty good at the moment.

I cooked up something a few days ago. It lacks bass at the moment, and it needs more layers, and the intro choir is kind of pointless, so I may remove it.
Maybe replace it with something that makes the build-up more epic.

I know this is an IF forum, but screw it. - Suggestions on riffs and whatelse is very welcomed.
The tuning on the guitars is Drop D, so not as dark as IF. IF plays in Drop A Sharp (#)
Current name is Rafe, which has no meaning, I just mashed letters.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c01s...nder.mp4?rlkey=c9lebbfdo6syulohfd8emhgay&dl=0

Just listened to your track, the start reminds me a bit of the start of one of SC's heavier tracks, then as @ThePhobiac mentioned, it transitions into a Pantera 'Walk' type of riff. I like the gothic touches after that. Overall it's a pretty interesting piece, it'd be cool to hear how you refine it going forward.

 

[DE4life]

Eh, I think Colony has more weak tracks than TJR does personally. I’d take Wayfaerer over Pallar Anders Visa and Dead God In Me over Resin any day. And I’d certainly take anything on TJR over songs like Insipid 2000. Don’t get me wrong, I like Colony. It has some great songs — Zombie Inc., Embody, etc. but I will always pick TJR and Whoracle over it. Something about the production and mix of Colony bothers me as well.

Embody is probably my favourite opening to any album I've heard. Just a melodic punch to the face which doesn't let up at all. Anders' vocals on Colony are my favourite overall the IF discography. I just think he absolutely nails that balance between the deeper growl and higher scream. I can understand why he couldn't keep it up though. It's what I tried to emulate back in the day, and whilst I had achieved the sound I wanted by the end, it was murder on my throat. That was just with me doing a handful of vocals across a single song every so often, I can't imagine doing that repeatedly live as well. I couldn't have done it. You can hear the toll it's taken on him by the time Clayman comes out, and even on Reroute. It sounds amazing on Colony though, and in the live performances around the 1999 period. As he wasn't utilising any kind of safe technique, though, it was inevitable that he wouldn't be able to keep it going. I'm glad we got at least one album with him doing that style of vocal almost flawlessly though.

 

[The Grayfox]

Yeah, I mean, the songs on Colony that I like, I really like. The first five songs are among my favorite IF songs ever. But in terms of petering out, I think Colony suffers from that more so than TJR. If it wasn’t for Behind Space, which shouldn’t even count because it’s a re-record, I wouldn’t listen to the last 1/3 of the album. I do agree that it’s Anders’ best vocal performance. I’ve always wished that he had kept the style of cleans he used on songs like Colony and Coerced Coexistence, but as you said, it wasn’t sustainable. Who knows, as AI gets better and better maybe we can see what albums like RTR and STYE would have sounded like with that vocal style

 

[Midas]

New track. Not done as it lacks bass. I like the calm parts, but I figure the intro could need some more spice. I don't think I like it. It is too repetitive.

Nero <- Click

Nero, take 2 <- Click

For take 2 I lowered the kick drum as they caused clipping, and were too "present". I also removed the clean guitars near the end of the track.

Nero has a few brutal parts, and I kind of like what I came up with. I still do think that it is too repetitive. - Again though, ideas and suggestions are very welcomed.

As for Rafe, I tried to do what you said, @ThePhobiac and distorted the chorus and I liked it. I'll post it later. Thank you guys for showing interest. You too @DE4life