New album Foregone out February 2023

[DE4life]

Well, maybe she listened to his crooning and realised he was the only man for her. Although she'd have to get through Ciko first. Possibly Phobiac as well, idk, from memory Phobiac is more of a Bjorn fanboy.

 

[The Grayfox]

I think there are just a lot of Anders apologists to be honest. Fanboys who will make excuses. It's that crowd that believes you need to love everything IF does to be considered a 'true fan.' I'm not saying there aren't people who legitimately like what he does, even if I also think those people have shitty taste. That's their problem. But there is a large portion of the fan base that will make excuses for him. The fact is, he's never been able to sing the way he wishes he could -- the way he pretends to in the studio. Instead of finding the part of his voice that allows him to use some form of clean vocal, he just 'fakes it until he makes it.'

He wanted mainstream fame for In Flames and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But the way he tries to do it feels dishonest, disingenuous. It's not just an attack on Anders either. There are plenty of artists who do it. My wife listens to a whole bunch of trash that I feel the same way about. It isn't about the genre of music either, it's about the person(s) and the way they go about doing things. They're free to do it however they want obviously, I'm not over here trying to tell anybody how to do things. But there are always going to be those of us that see through it and call it what it is.

These big pop acts that people gush over for instance. Most of these people sound like absolute garbage when they sing. It's been shown too. I'm thinking back specifically to when Britney Spears got called out on it and somebody leaked what her actual voice sounded like when playing live and it was horrendous. If you like the way all of that jumbled together shit sounds, cool. But I'm a simple guy. I want a drummer, a bassist, a couple of guitarists, a vocalist, maybe some keyboards. The basic approach STILL works... when you're actually good at what you do. When you have to hide all your flaws with backing tracks and other fakery, I'm sorry, but to me that's bullshit. I don't pay to go to a show to hear an album being played back through a PA.

 

[GraemeSinclair]

Wow I was being sincere when I said I thought that on the whole the concert was excellent, but now I'm wondering if I'm the delusional one. I mean, I'm not deaf and I can obviously hear Anders struggling/failing to hit the notes on the clean vocal passages but I guess I'm mainly listening for the harsh vocals anyway and I honestly think his growls sound fantastic so the clean vocals (and the times when he replaces clean vocals with growls) don't really detract from my enjoyment in any significant way.

 

[The Grayfox]

I think you should like what you like, you know? There's just a few of us here who are very vocal about what we DON'T like.

 

[eochaid]

Well. I judge him by his whole. Because cleans are an important part of his singing. He has pushed the band into that direction. He's clearly unable to understand that he is not a real singer and will never be because he simply lacks the ability for it.

 

[DE4life]

His growls are technically fine. Your typical lower growl type vocal - not very unique but competent and acceptable considering his age and the way his voice box has been wrecked over the years by his fry scream. I don't find it very interesting to listen to an entire show with this kind of vocal, however that's just my personal preference. If you like that kind of vocal and find it good to listen to for a whole set then that's cool too.

As far as his cleans - no, I can't understand anyone enjoying those. Objectively awful, but even subjectively I just can't see how anyone could listen to Anders attempting to sing and think 'yeah, that sounds OK'.

Most of the set is Anders doing low growl as, frankly, he lacks the confidence to sing and rightly so. If @GraemeSinclair likes the low growl thing Anders is doing then it's understandable he'd enjoy the performance, as the instrumental side is solid and the footage is shot at a high level of quality.

To me, it's just not the same watching the band in its current format. It feels like a shell of what once was. I watch older videos of the band, before the American bros began joining, and it just feels different. Anders, Bjorn, Daniel, Peter and one of Niclas/Jesper on stage is what I associate as In Flames. Moreso Jesper, but I'm OK with Niclas as well. As soon as it became Anders/Bjorn plus American bros or random others, it ceased to be what I consider to be In Flames. It's basically Howard Benson's In Flames, now, which is not an incarnation of the band I care for very much.

 

[eochaid]

At this point, I'm pretty sure that the main reason for them to not using more songs from the last album is Anders inability to put them live. And that goes back to one of my first comments after listening to the whole thing, and that was "how is he going to put this live?" He just can't. He's, now, the weakest element of the band. In a more critical world, that would pushing back their success. In reality, the fact that a band with such an incompetent singer is one of the more succesful bands from Europe goes beyond my comprehension.

And I'm going to make some comments about his growls that people might not share and it's ok. I do not only think that they're not something special, but also that he's struggling to make them. And I can hear that when he's finishing a lot of his sentences not growling but talking or when he's choking after growling two consecutive sentences. I also don't think that they're real growls. More like he's faking them so that he's able to pretend that he can still be a death metal frontman. But, that's my opinion.

 

[The Grayfox]

Yeah, I really don't like watching video of this incarnation of In Flames because it looks off. To me, it's like looking at Guns N Roses in 2002, where you're like "who the fuck are these guys? This is just Axl Rose and Friends." That's how this feels. It's Anders & Bjorn & Friends. I understand not wanting to give up on the band when members leave because this is their livelihood. I think it's unfair to say "wrap it up, boys, it's over." None of us should have a say in that. However, I don't think it's unfair to believe this is no longer the In Flames most of us loved at one point or another. For most (not all) of us, that core group of Jesper, Anders, Bjorn, Peter and Daniel will always be In Flames. As Derek... Einstein said, Niclas also fits the bill.

Chris Broderick is an amazing guitar player. But I just don't care for him in In Flames. And the rest of them are just generic dudes who most people don't even know. They might as well be hired guns, and let's face it... they probably are.

 

[eochaid]

The fact that they're still labelled as a swedish band says a lot about who are really a part of the band.

 

[Pallbearer]

Also, Anders said in an interview that it will always be just Björn and himself writing the songs.

EDIT: he probably meant out of the bandmembers since Benson is credited as co-writer on all the tracks on Foregone.

 

[DE4life]

Unless Howard decrees otherwise. Battles II, the nightmare returns.

 

[Xpyro125]

I mean, Anders has never, ever been able to do Dead Ships live. What makes the track so epic is the chorus, and he can't pull it off live because it's all studio magic. Very well done studio magic, but studio magic nonetheless. Live he either lets the crowd sing the chorus or butchers it himself. Either way it doesn't even come close to what it sounds like on the album. It genuinely sounds terrible whenever he tries to do these studio magic choruses - Leeches, Mirror's Truth, The End, TTL, Cloud Connected, Trigger, Come Clarity, Here Until Forever - whatever it is, if the song has a clean sung chorus on album it will sound terrible live. That's a given. I'm not entirely sure how Anders has gotten away with it for all of these years. I can't think of any other singer who has such a huge disparity between vocals in studio and vocals live. People just seem to be hypnotised to ignore it, though. It's bizarre.

I think he did/does both Leeches and Take This Life fine enough— Leeches is generally fun to listen to back in the end of the middle era, and Take This Life especially was a fucking rush to experience live. Absolutely fucking loved it.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that the main reason for them to not using more songs from the last album is Anders inability to put them live. And that goes back to one of my first comments after listening to the whole thing, and that was "how is he going to put this live?" He just can't. He's, now, the weakest element of the band. In a more critical world, that would pushing back their success. In reality, the fact that a band with such an incompetent singer is one of the more succesful bands from Europe goes beyond my comprehension.

Certainly fucked to think that they put In the Dark on the setlist then. One of six Foregone songs, everyone.

And I'm going to make some comments about his growls that people might not share and it's ok. I do not only think that they're not something special, but also that he's struggling to make them. And I can hear that when he's finishing a lot of his sentences not growling but talking or when he's choking after growling two consecutive sentences. I also don't think that they're real growls. More like he's faking them so that he's able to pretend that he can still be a death metal frontman. But, that's my opinion.

It’s very possible that his vocals are starting to fall apart again. When your voice is shot, it’s tough to properly project anything powerfully or correctly enough. Not an excuse mind you; if anything, it might just be time for him to take a rest again. It won’t happen because money, but still.

Yeah, I really don't like watching video of this incarnation of In Flames because it looks off. To me, it's like looking at Guns N Roses in 2002, where you're like "who the fuck are these guys? This is just Axl Rose and Friends." That's how this feels. It's Anders & Bjorn & Friends. I understand not wanting to give up on the band when members leave because this is their livelihood. I think it's unfair to say "wrap it up, boys, it's over." None of us should have a say in that. However, I don't think it's unfair to believe this is no longer the In Flames most of us loved at one point or another. For most (not all) of us, that core group of Jesper, Anders, Bjorn, Peter and Daniel will always be In Flames. As Derek... Einstein said, Niclas also fits the bill.

Chris Broderick is an amazing guitar player. But I just don't care for him in In Flames. And the rest of them are just generic dudes who most people don't even know. They might as well be hired guns, and let's face it... they probably are.

I like Chris and Tanner simply due to their contributions, but they’re just Benson-era IF to me. Still IF, sure, but the classic lineup (Plus Engelin and Ljungstrom) is what I think of IF as. I don’t believe that they’re hired guns, particularly with how much they’ve been allowed to contribute and shape as their own, but I do believe they’re replaceable at the drop of a hat. I hope they aren’t replaced, as they make better IF music than Anders and Björn at this point, but it’s possible. The new era is fucking depressing, I know.

 

[DE4life]

I think he did/does both Leeches and Take This Life fine enough— Leeches is generally fun to listen to back in the end of the middle era, and Take This Life especially was a fucking rush to experience live. Absolutely fucking loved it.

I think the CC tracks benefit somewhat from the singing still being somewhat natural for Anders. The autotune is there but not excessively so. If you listen to Come Clarity it's objectively terrible singing, even if subjectively some people may like it. If CC was recorded in modern times the clean vocals would sound completely different, and that's where Anders suffers most - basically everything from ASOP onwards, where he increasingly used studio magic to cover up his inability to sing. He can pull off the more 'natural' sounding cleans from the 2002-2006 period, to a degree, because they still have a degree of authentic, amateurish charm to them. It's a different ball game from 2008 onwards, and he simply can't replicate that stuff live in any way that sounds good.

 

[DE4life]

Giving some love to the title track of what is, imo, the best modern In Flames album - Sounds of a Playground Fading.



What I love about this song is that it acts as both an introduction and a superb opening track. The first 52 seconds are a really cool, metallica-ish start, and then the track bursts into life with those awesome riffs that embody the overall feel of SOAPF. It's hard to explain, but the riffs on this album are just very distinctive. Repetitive at times, but you know music from SOAPF when you hear it. I'm sure someone better versed in music theory could explain it better than me.

The first verse reminds me of everything that got lost after SOAPF. Just listen to how much is going on in that first verse. None of the instruments are taking it easy. The drumming in particular is really eclectic, but it works. Daniel is missed. Anders' vocals are the same as ASOP in the sense they are that weird mix of half-yell and scream, but for whatever reason it sounds so much better on this album. On ASOP I didn't think it sounded natural, but on SOAPF the vocals just fit within the mix like a glove. I also really like the way Anders screams "Reach inside, numb the pain, come around with answers".

Then you've got the chorus, which succeeds in being authentically epic in a way very few IF songs have since then. The soaring instrumental combined with Anders acceptably (imo anyway) ProTooled singing and intelligent lyrics combines to create a memorable 20 seconds or so. Also love how Anders just randomly screams "Yeah!" after that first chorus. Just makes it sound fun and spontaneous, like he's really getting into it. It's the kind of thing badly missing from modern IF, which is manufactured to the nth degree.

I also appreciate that each chorus in the song is slightly different. Nice detail which IF used to do on many tracks.

Second verse is pretty short, but I do love the "Staring into bright lights" scream.

The second chorus transitions into probably my second favourite Bjorn solo, just behind Satellites and Astronauts. Two very different solos though. S&A has a beautifully melancholic vibe, whereas the SOAPF solo is just upbeat, infectious energy. It's a track that's buzzing with life and energy throughout, and the solo embodies that perfectly. Much like S&A, it fits into and is a crucial element of what makes the song so great. It's a shame we went from this to copy and pasting largely generic, lifeless solos from Siren Charms onwards.

Anyway, more great screams from Anders in the third and final verse "we're running out of time, can't seem to recognise". Final two choruses are even more epic than the first two, love the little amendments to the arrangement and the vocal delivery which elevate it even further. The ending riffs, honestly, aren't necessary but whatever. Minor nitpick.

Ultimately, one of my favourite IF tracks and always makes me feel good listening to it.

 

[Xpyro125]

Giving some love to the title track of what is, imo, the best modern In Flames album - Sounds of a Playground Fading.



What I love about this song is that it acts as both an introduction and a superb opening track. The first 52 seconds are a really cool, metallica-ish start, and then the track bursts into life with those awesome riffs that embody the overall feel of SOAPF. It's hard to explain, but the riffs on this album are just very distinctive. Repetitive at times, but you know music from SOAPF when you hear it. I'm sure someone better versed in music theory could explain it better than me.

I’m only theoretically knowledgeable in music theory, so take my explanations with a grain of salt.

Before going on with In Flames guitarwork as a whole, I’ll also highlight the intro. I’d say that for the first time since Dawn of a New Day (Which was the first time since Everlost Pt.2), we’ve gotten truly bluesy music from IF— With this intro, with The Attic, with the clean guitars that play in tandem with the cellos in A New Dawn, and in Liberation, though that one’s a more upbeat type beat in a bittersweet way. It’s almost haunting, like going through a graveyard to visit departed souls, which I feel both contrasts and complements the rest of the album’s tone incredibly nicely.

What I’ve noticed with old IF guitarwork that’s been mostly but not completely lost are two bigs things. Firstly, the use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, particularly used with 5-7–5 with two sixteenth notes before an eighth note (Hence the length of the dashes) or a 5-7-5 sixteenth triplet note before a 3 (Or 9-7-9 triplet before a 10) eighth note— The numbers are just examples based off of what I’ve used before, but the principle still stands. I forget exactly what it’s called, but I know there is a term for it. I believe its use was originally in classical music, which Jesper picked up from playing violin, though it’s mainly used in rock and metal to create something more ‘active’ than just two eighth notes.

In SOSD, they’re only used in the pre-verse parts and four times in the main solo. This may not sound like a big deal, especially since those numbers might sound big, but SOSD for example has 118 bars and four or five guitar layers, with two or three of those being solo guitars depending on where you look. Three instances in each rhythm guitar track per pre-verse part, making twelve altogether there, and four in the main solo, making for sixteen instances throughout the entire song. There are eight instances of that in Satellites and Astronauts’ intro and four more right after, making for twelve before you even get to the first verse. Even Rusted Nail has seven before you even get to the first verse, and that’s just viewing a version without any harmonies.

Meanwhile in Foregone Pt. 1 for example, guess how many times that sort of thing appears? Five times— Four in Chris’ solo, once in Björn’s solo.

It’s a small thing when put into words, but when listening to something like Foregone (the album), not employing them makes the lead melodies in particular far more boring.

Secondly, particularly in SOAPF, Björn tends to use 0 on whichever string as a baseline for each melody— Typically I’ve just seen that on the lowest string, but he even does it for the lead parts of Deliver Us’ verses. He also tends to conclude certain parts, like fourth bar intervals of Deliver Us’s verses, pieces of WTDSD, and fourth bar intervals the title track’s verses with pieces of four rising or descending notes. It’s a bit tougher to explain in text, but Deliver Us’ verse has a part that goes 15-14-12-10, then 14-12-10-9. Björn does that in Foregone as well, but this rarely rises above the second-lowest string, relegating it to downtuned melodies— Which are also made boring by the exclusion of the 5-7-5 style note melody. Sounds of a Playground Fading, particularly with certain fourth bar intervals of 0-0-(Some three note chord here, I dunno) in Deliver Us, nearly the entirety of All For Me (Which includes a low string 5-7-5 type of note sequence in the chorus) particularly due to the 3/4 time signature, also The Puzzle, and especially the chorus of Enter Tragedy with its 0-0-(r)-0-0–(r)—0-0-(r)-0-0-(r)-0 rhythm guitar pattern. It’s something that In Flames has gotten right in Whoracle, Come Clarity, and I’d say a few songs on each album beforehand, but this is what I feel is the third album to really get the groove feel right. It’s why I fully believe that Björn was the one who did the main writing on Pinball Map. I also feel like I’ve heard Foregone get this praise, and I just do not feel it whatsoever, save for the pre-hook(?) part of A Dialogue, where it is genuinely phenomenal. Albums like the aforementioned three, Stabbing the Drama (My favorite Soilwork album), The Panic Broadcast (Not even close to my favorite Soilwork album), Vulgar Display of Power, etc. also have a sense of melody along with their groove, which is essential for a groove metal sound to me.

The first verse reminds me of everything that got lost after SOAPF. Just listen to how much is going on in that first verse. None of the instruments are taking it easy. The drumming in particular is really eclectic, but it works. Daniel is missed.

I don’t think it’s all studio magic, like with how you mentioned it below, but I do very much believe that excellent production and instrument tones is a massive part of SOAPF’s success. Compare the 0 notes of the lowest two strings (The lowest pitch chord) on Foregone to even the 0 note on the single lowest string (The lowest pitch note) of The Puzzle (Even the palm muted 0 notes in the verse), SOAPF, Enter Tragedy, etc. Despite being “heavier” than SOAPF, I’d argue that the guitar tone on Foregone is actually not nearly as punchy as SOAPF, instead being somewhat scratchier and weaker. On albums with weaker production, Daniel’s kit has sounded significantly weaker, and drums in particular are susceptible to bad production, as not highlighting the right frequency for each drum in particular can make or break it. You can really hear Daniel use the entirety of the kit here, but on something like STYE, where not only does he less frequently use the toms, they’re somewhat less distinctive than on an album with clearer production. That’s a bit of a problem with STYE as a whole, but I don’t think it’s entirely fair to only rip Foregone apart. Besides, I’d actually argue that Tanner’s kit sounds pretty great there. Even on something like House (which I did listen to again for this message, please pray for my soul), it’s actually the snare that isn’t nearly as powerful as it should sound. Surprisingly, the toms sound fine in the song, but God, that song really should’ve been left off of ITM, what the fuck.

Anders' vocals are the same as ASOP in the sense they are that weird mix of half-yell and scream, but for whatever reason it sounds so much better on this album. On ASOP I didn't think it sounded natural, but on SOAPF the vocals just fit within the mix like a glove. I also really like the way Anders screams "Reach inside, numb the pain, come around with answers".

Then you've got the chorus, which succeeds in being authentically epic in a way very few IF songs have since then. The soaring instrumental combined with Anders acceptably (imo anyway) ProTooled singing and intelligent lyrics combines to create a memorable 20 seconds or so. Also love how Anders just randomly screams "Yeah!" after that first chorus. Just makes it sound fun and spontaneous, like he's really getting into it. It's the kind of thing badly missing from modern IF, which is manufactured to the nth
degree.

I also appreciate that each chorus in the song is slightly different. Nice detail which IF used to do on many tracks.

I’d also argue that despite Anders’ voice being in a weaker state here than what it is now, he tends to scream far better in the studio than when he’s performing live— There’s less stress, less strain from not doing back to back songs in one sitting day after day, and probably more excitement and ambition to it. I don’t think he’s going to give 100% to his 1051st performance of OFTW, but for a new studio album of original material? I’d believe it. Even if that wasn’t the case, listen to his vocals in Graspop 2006. CC Anders is arguably at his fucking peak, with TJR and Whoracle being the only albums where I’d dispute that claim, but his vocals are about as strained live as they’d been since 1999.

I will say, Rusted Nail actually has pre-chorus variations, and it’s clear that Siren Charms would have received a better level of care like that should it have gotten more time in the oven. This isn’t even a comment on the rushed recording process, I just genuinely think there should’ve been more time and care overall since it’s clear that for as bad as Siren Charms was, it was the final passion project the band (Or at least Anders) had. Seriously, they got a bunch of fans to do some choir type vocals for the first pre-chorus part, and not only does it not sound like shit, they were credited as The Head Jester Choir. Come on, that’s just fun and cool all on its own, and I wish there was more neat little things like that on the album.

Second verse is pretty short, but I do love the "Staring into bright lights" scream.

The second chorus transitions into probably my second favourite Bjorn solo, just behind Satellites and Astronauts. Two very different solos though. S&A has a beautifully melancholic vibe, whereas the SOAPF solo is just upbeat, infectious energy. It's a track that's buzzing with life and energy throughout, and the solo embodies that perfectly. Much like S&A, it fits into and is a crucial element of what makes the song so great. It's a shame we went from this to copy and pasting largely generic, lifeless solos from Siren Charms onwards.

It’s weird to try to put into words, but Sounds of a Playground Fading generally has this amusement park rollercoaster kind of tone with its guitarwork— Which is fitting both because of the Deliver Us video taking place in a ferris wheel in an amusement park and because, well, an amusement park is essentially a giant playground with actual organization and mechanizing behind it. There’s a genuinely fun kind of grandiosity to it all that transcends what can be described using music theory. I still have absolutely wonderful memories of breezing through Saints Row 4 to Deliver Us— A game I dropped midway through the intro because I wasn’t feeling it and would’ve probably never come back to had it not been for Deliver Us fitting it so perfectly and thus enhancing the experience for me. There’s nothing like skydiving with superpowers to the soaring melody of “Fly into the distance, disappear for a while”. Many fans of the game have said that this song or that song fit Saints Row 4 perfectly, but I truly believe that Deliver Us is the song that fits the game perfectly.

Anyway, more great screams from Anders in the third and final verse "we're running out of time, can't seem to recognise". Final two choruses are even more epic than the first two, love the little amendments to the arrangement and the vocal delivery which elevate it even further. The ending riffs, honestly, aren't necessary but whatever. Minor nitpick.

Ultimately, one of my favourite IF tracks and always makes me feel good listening to it.

I think one of the things I love about SOAPF which I get from very few albums in general is that it’s an album where when I listen to one song, I want to listen to the whole thing. I’ve gotten that feeling with most other IF albums, but I’d argue I get it with Letters To Myself more than any other album out there. Listening to albums is a process that’s honestly become a bit dull to me, particularly if it’s a new album or one that isn’t one of my favorites through and through, but SOAPF has this sort of magic and almost unpredictability despite having listened to it countless times. Don’t get me wrong, I very much do still feel that with other In Flames albums, but most In Flames albums feel like another In Flames album. Hell, I generally sort them into pairs going from Lunar Strain and Subterranean, to TJR and Whoracle, to Colony and Clayman, then… Alright, RTR and STYE don’t really sound like each other too much, but I’d argue a lot of compositional similarities are there. Then there’s Come Clarity and the shitty Come Clarity, which is a horrific insult to Come Clarity, and I guess one could say SOAPF and Siren Charms, given that the sound is rather similar… Despite it just being another Come Clarity and shitty Come Clarity situation (I still like you, Siren Charms, even if you aren’t good), though I could see the case being made for it and Battles. Honestly though, I think I’d pair Battles with ITM, given the poppy, alt metal sound of both. That being said, I don’t really know, SOAPF genuinely does sound like its own thing. Siren Charms is rather different despite a similar sound, and it’s certainly a downgrade, though it doesn’t make me think of SOAPF like ASOP makes me think of Come Clarity. I realize I’m rambling, and I really don’t entirely understand my feelings about SOAPF in relation to the rest of In Flames’ discography, but I’d actually argue that that’s part of the magic of it. I know we’ll never get something like it again, but I can always dream of a world where this was the first bold step in a new sonic direction that would stick for them. It wouldn’t be the classic lineup, or even like the middle era, but it’d be a new era we could enjoy for its genuinely high quality musicianship.

Instead we have House.

 

[The Grayfox]

It's definitely the best modern IF album imo. In fact, I like it better than some of the albums that people consider "classic" at this point. I'll take SOAPF over Come Clarity and Reroute to Remain any day of the week. The title track is an interesting one. I love it. It never got a lot of love in their setlists though. I mean, it did during the touring cycle for the album. I think they opened with it during the tours for SOAPF and it never came back once Siren Charms was out. Which is insane to me because it's such a good song.

There are a few low points on the album, but which modern IF albums don't have low points? The highs, however, are high enough that they outweigh the few lows. The title track, Fear is the Weakness, A New Dawn, Ropes and Liberation specifically are all songs that I consider excellent.

 

[DE4life]

I’m only theoretically knowledgeable in music theory, so take my explanations with a grain of salt.

Before going on with In Flames guitarwork as a whole, I’ll also highlight the intro. I’d say that for the first time since Dawn of a New Day (Which was the first time since Everlost Pt.2), we’ve gotten truly bluesy music from IF— With this intro, with The Attic, with the clean guitars that play in tandem with the cellos in A New Dawn, and in Liberation, though that one’s a more upbeat type beat in a bittersweet way. It’s almost haunting, like going through a graveyard to visit departed souls, which I feel both contrasts and complements the rest of the album’s tone incredibly nicely.

What I’ve noticed with old IF guitarwork that’s been mostly but not completely lost are two bigs things. Firstly, the use of hammer-ons and pull-offs, particularly used with 5-7–5 with two sixteenth notes before an eighth note (Hence the length of the dashes) or a 5-7-5 sixteenth triplet note before a 3 (Or 9-7-9 triplet before a 10) eighth note— The numbers are just examples based off of what I’ve used before, but the principle still stands. I forget exactly what it’s called, but I know there is a term for it. I believe its use was originally in classical music, which Jesper picked up from playing violin, though it’s mainly used in rock and metal to create something more ‘active’ than just two eighth notes.

In SOSD, they’re only used in the pre-verse parts and four times in the main solo. This may not sound like a big deal, especially since those numbers might sound big, but SOSD for example has 118 bars and four or five guitar layers, with two or three of those being solo guitars depending on where you look. Three instances in each rhythm guitar track per pre-verse part, making twelve altogether there, and four in the main solo, making for sixteen instances throughout the entire song. There are eight instances of that in Satellites and Astronauts’ intro and four more right after, making for twelve before you even get to the first verse. Even Rusted Nail has seven before you even get to the first verse, and that’s just viewing a version without any harmonies.

Meanwhile in Foregone Pt. 1 for example, guess how many times that sort of thing appears? Five times— Four in Chris’ solo, once in Björn’s solo.

It’s a small thing when put into words, but when listening to something like Foregone (the album), not employing them makes the lead melodies in particular far more boring.

Secondly, particularly in SOAPF, Björn tends to use 0 on whichever string as a baseline for each melody— Typically I’ve just seen that on the lowest string, but he even does it for the lead parts of Deliver Us’ verses. He also tends to conclude certain parts, like fourth bar intervals of Deliver Us’s verses, pieces of WTDSD, and fourth bar intervals the title track’s verses with pieces of four rising or descending notes. It’s a bit tougher to explain in text, but Deliver Us’ verse has a part that goes 15-14-12-10, then 14-12-10-9. Björn does that in Foregone as well, but this rarely rises above the second-lowest string, relegating it to downtuned melodies— Which are also made boring by the exclusion of the 5-7-5 style note melody. Sounds of a Playground Fading, particularly with certain fourth bar intervals of 0-0-(Some three note chord here, I dunno) in Deliver Us, nearly the entirety of All For Me (Which includes a low string 5-7-5 type of note sequence in the chorus) particularly due to the 3/4 time signature, also The Puzzle, and especially the chorus of Enter Tragedy with its 0-0-(r)-0-0–(r)—0-0-(r)-0-0-(r)-0 rhythm guitar pattern. It’s something that In Flames has gotten right in Whoracle, Come Clarity, and I’d say a few songs on each album beforehand, but this is what I feel is the third album to really get the groove feel right. It’s why I fully believe that Björn was the one who did the main writing on Pinball Map. I also feel like I’ve heard Foregone get this praise, and I just do not feel it whatsoever, save for the pre-hook(?) part of A Dialogue, where it is genuinely phenomenal. Albums like the aforementioned three, Stabbing the Drama (My favorite Soilwork album), The Panic Broadcast (Not even close to my favorite Soilwork album), Vulgar Display of Power, etc. also have a sense of melody along with their groove, which is essential for a groove metal sound to me.

I don’t think it’s all studio magic, like with how you mentioned it below, but I do very much believe that excellent production and instrument tones is a massive part of SOAPF’s success. Compare the 0 notes of the lowest two strings (The lowest pitch chord) on Foregone to even the 0 note on the single lowest string (The lowest pitch note) of The Puzzle (Even the palm muted 0 notes in the verse), SOAPF, Enter Tragedy, etc. Despite being “heavier” than SOAPF, I’d argue that the guitar tone on Foregone is actually not nearly as punchy as SOAPF, instead being somewhat scratchier and weaker. On albums with weaker production, Daniel’s kit has sounded significantly weaker, and drums in particular are susceptible to bad production, as not highlighting the right frequency for each drum in particular can make or break it. You can really hear Daniel use the entirety of the kit here, but on something like STYE, where not only does he less frequently use the toms, they’re somewhat less distinctive than on an album with clearer production. That’s a bit of a problem with STYE as a whole, but I don’t think it’s entirely fair to only rip Foregone apart. Besides, I’d actually argue that Tanner’s kit sounds pretty great there. Even on something like House (which I did listen to again for this message, please pray for my soul), it’s actually the snare that isn’t nearly as powerful as it should sound. Surprisingly, the toms sound fine in the song, but God, that song really should’ve been left off of ITM, what the fuck.

Wow, thanks for all of this analysis. It's really cool to see in technical detail what I can only describe on a surface and emotional level. I genuinely appreciate the effort. I really believe a track like A New Dawn, assuming Bjorn wrote the entire thing, shows that he is capable of writing intricate and energetic songs. He just hasn't put anything close to that kind of effort in since SOAPF, really. I appreciate people will argue that Foregone is a good effort as well, but Broderick wrote many of the solos on that, and who knows how much involvement Benson had. They've lied to us before about his input. SOAPF is one album where we can say, for sure, it's pretty much all Bjorn and a showcase of what he's capable of when he puts his mind to it.

It’s weird to try to put into words, but Sounds of a Playground Fading generally has this amusement park rollercoaster kind of tone with its guitarwork— Which is fitting both because of the Deliver Us video taking place in a ferris wheel in an amusement park and because, well, an amusement park is essentially a giant playground with actual organization and mechanizing behind it. There’s a genuinely fun kind of grandiosity to it all that transcends what can be described using music theory. I still have absolutely wonderful memories of breezing through Saints Row 4 to Deliver Us— A game I dropped midway through the intro because I wasn’t feeling it and would’ve probably never come back to had it not been for Deliver Us fitting it so perfectly and thus enhancing the experience for me. There’s nothing like skydiving with superpowers to the soaring melody of “Fly into the distance, disappear for a while”. Many fans of the game have said that this song or that song fit Saints Row 4 perfectly, but I truly believe that Deliver Us is the song that fits the game perfectly.

Yeah I agree, SOAPF has this frenetic, bouncy energy which gives it a really unique vibe. It's funny you mention associating it with Saints Row 4. Last year I realised I could manually upload music to GTA V to use on the radio station. I specifically uploaded SOAPF and now whenever it comes on I immediately think of driving around San Andreas in the sun - probably even more so because I play the game in VR.

I think one of the things I love about SOAPF which I get from very few albums in general is that it’s an album where when I listen to one song, I want to listen to the whole thing. I’ve gotten that feeling with most other IF albums, but I’d argue I get it with Letters To Myself more than any other album out there. Listening to albums is a process that’s honestly become a bit dull to me, particularly if it’s a new album or one that isn’t one of my favorites through and through, but SOAPF has this sort of magic and almost unpredictability despite having listened to it countless times. Don’t get me wrong, I very much do still feel that with other In Flames albums, but most In Flames albums feel like another In Flames album. Hell, I generally sort them into pairs going from Lunar Strain and Subterranean, to TJR and Whoracle, to Colony and Clayman, then… Alright, RTR and STYE don’t really sound like each other too much, but I’d argue a lot of compositional similarities are there. Then there’s Come Clarity and the shitty Come Clarity, which is a horrific insult to Come Clarity, and I guess one could say SOAPF and Siren Charms, given that the sound is rather similar… Despite it just being another Come Clarity and shitty Come Clarity situation (I still like you, Siren Charms, even if you aren’t good), though I could see the case being made for it and Battles. Honestly though, I think I’d pair Battles with ITM, given the poppy, alt metal sound of both. That being said, I don’t really know, SOAPF genuinely does sound like its own thing. Siren Charms is rather different despite a similar sound, and it’s certainly a downgrade, though it doesn’t make me think of SOAPF like ASOP makes me think of Come Clarity. I realize I’m rambling, and I really don’t entirely understand my feelings about SOAPF in relation to the rest of In Flames’ discography, but I’d actually argue that that’s part of the magic of it. I know we’ll never get something like it again, but I can always dream of a world where this was the first bold step in a new sonic direction that would stick for them. It wouldn’t be the classic lineup, or even like the middle era, but it’d be a new era we could enjoy for its genuinely high quality musicianship.

Instead we have House.

From my perspective the two misfits of the IF catalogue are Come Clarity and Siren Charms. CC was a complete detour from where they had been going with Reroute and STYE, whilst SC was a complete detour from everything good they had done up until that point. I've never seen SOAPF and SC being similar in terms of sound. SOAPF is upbeat, positive and energetic, SC is the literal opposite in that it's downbeat, negative and kind of depressing. Not to mention Bjorn clearly put a lot of effort into SOAPF, and seems to have put barely any into SC. I don't really understand why the albums often get twinned when they have such vastly different vibes. I understand TJR and Whoracle, Colony and Clayman, Reroute and STYE, Battles and ITM... but not SOAPF and SC.

If anything, SOAPF, to me, is closer to ASOP. It retains the upbeat energy of ASOP and Anders' vocal performance is basically the same, but production across the board is vastly improved. You do lose Jesper's 'classic IF' touch, which is noticeable, but in that sense it's basically an improved-production ASOP with Bjorn as the sole writer. SC, meanwhile, reminds me of nothing they have done before or since.

The title track is an interesting one. I love it. It never got a lot of love in their setlists though. I mean, it did during the touring cycle for the album. I think they opened with it during the tours for SOAPF and it never came back once Siren Charms was out. Which is insane to me because it's such a good song.

There are a few videos of it being played live on YouTube and, to my ears at least, it sounds good. Maybe the crowd response wasn't what they wanted, or they just weren't feeling it when playing it, idk. They seem to have defaulted to All For Me, Fear is the Weakness and WTDSD as the 'staples' of SOAPF on the live set, with stuff like Ropes and Darker Times getting a showing every so often. I don't like All for Me, but I do understand why they put it in there as it's got those heavy, headbangable riffs. WTDSD is an obvious choice too, even if Anders can't pull off the chorus live. FITW also an obvious live pick. I'd have SOAPF in there over Darker Times, but again, I'm guessing it's the heavier riffs that gives Darker Times the advantage in terms of being selected. SOAPF is indeed a great song, one of the best they've released post-2006, but maybe suffers from not being engaging enough to a live audience to be put in the setlist. I somewhat understand it at this point, considering they only have a few slots for SOAPF tracks, but I'd personally love to hear it live again.

 

[eochaid]

I think he did/does both Leeches and Take This Life fine enough— Leeches is generally fun to listen to back in the end of the middle era, and Take This Life especially was a fucking rush to experience live. Absolutely fucking loved it.

In the shared show, the cleans for both songs are ridiculously bad. TTL chorus is not specially difficult to sing and still he does not only fail but he sounds awful. How difficult is for him to hit two consecutive correct notes?

 

[The Grayfox]

I kind of wish In Flames would do something similar to what Maiden does. Pick one or two albums per tour and just make a setlist with those albums being represented more heavily than everything else. For instance, pick SOAPF and CC and then play 4-5 songs from each one and then pepper other stuff in to fill out the set. With an 18 song setlist, you'd get a combined 8-10 songs from those two albums and still another 8-10 songs from other albums. But rotate the albums so the setlists stay sort of fresh. In Maiden's case, this gives them a chance to bring back songs that otherwise would probably never get played again. I'm sure that will never happen because we can't be having IF setlists that aren't just loaded with the hits. Fuck man, even when they do switch it up, they always go right back to their more traditional style setlist.

 

[Xpyro125]

Wow, thanks for all of this analysis. It's really cool to see in technical detail what I can only describe on a surface and emotional level. I genuinely appreciate the effort.

I missed out on some parts like Björn’s use of the wah pedal and vibrato not being too over the top like on later albums, but I don’t think that matters quite as much as the main melody stuff.

It’s nice to be able to talk about this sort of stuff since I don’t really have anyone else with a similar level of knowledge of music theory as me (Which isn’t to say everyone I know knows less about it, quite a few actually have way more knowledge than I do) and as much love for the band as I do. There never really comes the opportunity to do so, so I generally end up just looking into it for fun at most. I’m sure if I asked my father and showed him some tabs and whatnot, he’d be able to describe far more about the music theory aspect of it than I ever could.

I really believe a track like A New Dawn, assuming Bjorn wrote the entire thing, shows that he is capable of writing intricate and energetic songs. He just hasn't put anything close to that kind of effort in since SOAPF, really. I appreciate people will argue that Foregone is a good effort as well, but Broderick wrote many of the solos on that, and who knows how much involvement Benson had. They've lied to us before about his input. SOAPF is one album where we can say, for sure, it's pretty much all Bjorn and a showcase of what he's capable of when he puts his mind to it.

I don’t feel quite as much lying about Benson’s involvement as I do Engelin’s. They at least credit Benson quite a bit for which songs he’s written for, even if we don’t know the extent of it. Meanwhile, Engelin didn’t really get credited for stuff he wrote, like Wallflower and I’m assuming I Am Above due to the Engel-sounding riff (I forget which song, but I’ve brought it up before, it’s very similar). If anything, I’d actually argue that the band’s been rather transparent about how involved Chris has been, pointing out not just which songs he’s contributed solos to, but also which solos are his and which ones are Björn’s— Even going as far as to say that Chris had the first one on Foregone Pt.1, and Björn had the second one. At 2:38 specifically you can tell that it goes from Chris’ solo to Björn’s. At no point was that ever the case with Engelin’s second stint with the band, and that’s incredibly aggravating and slimy.

When it comes to giving Foregone its due credit, it almost hurts to say that my issues with it stem from Anders and Björn (And Benson, but look, I have a point to make) rather than the new American additions. Tanner puts in a wonderfully technical performance on the kit, and while Daniel is still my favorite IF drummer for his sense of groove and his range of styles which all have a ton of character, I can in fact admit that Tanner is, in a certain objective respect, the best and most technical drummer IF has had. I’d take Daniel over him if I could, even with the somewhat lackluster performance on DOTL, but still. Meanwhile Chris’ solos are genuinely exciting, actually IF-feeling, and quite masterful. Compared to the more recent noodling where Björn primarily fumbles around, Chris’ solos bring a rather skilled and professional touch that’s desperately needed for Foregone to be taken seriously. It’s the first time that anyone’s talked about the solos since SOAPF, and among casual fans/reviewers, I’d argue the first time since ASOP. It genuinely feels like Chris studied the band’s old guitarwork and did something reminiscent of it while still very much being recognizably his own. It’s everything I’d want from a new addition.

Meanwhile, Anders and Björn are doing 40 miles an hour in a school zone. Björn’s guitarwork does not fucking feel like I’m Flames for me for the first time in their discography. It’s genuinely my Reroute moment where the lack of classic IF melodies is a fucking dealbreaker. It’s primarily just downtuned modern metalcore bullshit, and the only real times when that isn’t felt comes in the opener, Pure Light of Mind, TGD, In the Dark, and Cynosure— The latter-most of which feels like Passenger rather than In Flames, though I’ll take that over nothing. Meanwhile Anders’ vocals despite being objectively better just carry no emotion and are kinda just fucking there. I don’t want to enjoy the autotuned bullshit that Benson decided to bring back in full force despite dialing it down in ITM, but it’s the some of only times I actually feel something aside from like the pre-hook part of A Dialogue and the chorus of SOSD. Are Pure Light of Mind’s vocals manufactured as fuck? Yes, but it’s the only song that really feels human and down to earth otherwise. Foregone, for me, fails because the legacy members of In Flames make the album not feel In Flames— Something that even Benson couldn’t entirely put out, if you will. The lack of Foregone songs in the setlist makes me think that they’re going to continue in this direction to appease critics and naysayers in particular while keeping the setlist full of legacy stuff like they want for themselves and for the fans, and I just hope I’m wrong in the former part of the theory.

I guess that’s just it for me when it comes to SOAPF— It’s genuinely phenomenal and full of life in spite of Jesper’s departure. Jesper’s my favorite guitarist too, this isn’t some “Björn supremacy” sort of thing, but I think Björn just really felt inspired being on his own to make the album. The one-two punch of A New Dawn and Liberation really send SOAPF off on the best note possible for me, they really do leave so much hope for what would come next. Just a shame that fucking In Plain View (Or Rusted Nail if we’re talking singles, but I’d argue that’s far better than In Plain View) would come next.

From my perspective the two misfits of the IF catalogue are Come Clarity and Siren Charms. CC was a complete detour from where they had been going with Reroute and STYE, whilst SC was a complete detour from everything good they had done up until that point.

I think in terms of quality and direction, you’re absolutely right, though I do see similarities between them and albums like ASOP and SOAPF.

I've never seen SOAPF and SC being similar in terms of sound. SOAPF is upbeat, positive and energetic, SC is the literal opposite in that it's downbeat, negative and kind of depressing. Not to mention Bjorn clearly put a lot of effort into SOAPF, and seems to have put barely any into SC. I don't really understand why the albums often get twinned when they have such vastly different vibes. I understand TJR and Whoracle, Colony and Clayman, Reroute and STYE, Battles and ITM... but not SOAPF and SC.

If anything, SOAPF, to me, is closer to ASOP. It retains the upbeat energy of ASOP and Anders' vocal performance is basically the same, but production across the board is vastly improved. You do lose Jesper's 'classic IF' touch, which is noticeable, but in that sense it's basically an improved-production ASOP with Bjorn as the sole writer. SC, meanwhile, reminds me of nothing they have done before or since.

The tones of SOAPF and SC are rather different, and the production certainly is as well. Compositionally, they definitely are different as well, but songs like WEWO, Rusted Nail, The Chase, and Become the Sky do have pieces and melodies that do very much feel like they could fit in SOAPF. Not all the time, and in fact I do see the two albums being far different than I realized upon re-examining SC, but I do think there are remnants of SOAPF. That being said, yeah, you might actually be right about that one.

In the shared show, the cleans for both songs are ridiculously bad. TTL chorus is not specially difficult to sing and still he does not only fail but he sounds awful. How difficult is for him to hit two consecutive correct notes?

Yeah, I got to Leeches there, and it’s just fucking awful— Not even just the cleans either.