New album Foregone out February 2023

[galvanized]

To be fair, the main riff is absolutely inspired by classic ATG.

But you guys should know that the intro and evil parts would also fit well anywhere on the “new ATG” albums or maybe The Lurking Fear (ATG side project thing).

 

[eochaid]

The thing is, Anders listens to a lot of extreme metal even still to this day, whereas Bjorn has typically listened to more classic metal, always naming Billy Gibbons and Dio as 2 of his main influences, which is strange considering the generally accepted (and likely true) view that Anders is the one trying to make the band change their sound.

You make it sound as if Anders is not a fan of pop music or as if Bjorn does not also listen to extreme metal.

I'm not sure if Anders is trying to make the band change their sound or if they simply don't have any sound with them. Since Jesper left, there has been zero consistency in their sound.

 

[eochaid]

To be fair, the main riff is absolutely inspired by classic ATG.

But you guys should know that the intro and evil parts would also fit well anywhere on the “new ATG” albums or maybe The Lurking Fear (ATG side project thing).

"Inspired"...

 

[CladInShadows971]

I'm really digging it honestly.. the best single they've had in a very long time

 

[DE4life]

The thing is, Anders listens to a lot of extreme metal even still to this day, whereas Bjorn has typically listened to more classic metal, always naming Billy Gibbons and Dio as 2 of his main influences, which is strange considering the generally accepted (and likely true) view that Anders is the one trying to make the band change their sound.

You could argue SOAPF had a lot of classic metal vibes though, and the production was distinctly wider, almost AOR-like, compared to previous releases. So for me that's fit Bjorn's influences.

As for what came after... I think SC was Anders' attempt to fuse In Flames with his love of Depeche Mode. Huge fail. No idea what Battles was meant to be. ITM seemed to be a halfway house between SOAPF and SC/Battles.

New single suggests they're now going in a totally different direction. More metal, seemingly, but I wonder how original? I really hope the ATG hero worship is a one off, as if I want to listen to ATG ultimately I'll just listen to ATG. I don't need IF to attempt to copy it. That's not the way (imo), even though I find this track decent enough to listen to standalone.

 

[TheJestersDoor]

You make it sound as if Anders is not a fan of pop music or as if Bjorn does not also listen to extreme metal.

I'm not sure if Anders is trying to make the band change their sound or if they simply don't have any sound with them. Since Jesper left, there has been zero consistency in their sound.

That's very true but it's also missing the point, if someone only listens to specifically one genre of music then they're a very one dimensional person. I disagree about zero consistency as there is a core handful of songs that sound like the same band (with very different mixing mind you) but there has been too much of a focus on experimentation and a steep decline in production quality.

 

[TheJestersDoor]

You could argue SOAPF had a lot of classic metal vibes though, and the production was distinctly wider, almost AOR-like, compared to previous releases. So for me that's fit Bjorn's influences.

As for what came after... I think SC was Anders' attempt to fuse In Flames with his love of Depeche Mode. Huge fail. No idea what Battles was meant to be. ITM seemed to be a halfway house between SOAPF and SC/Battles.

New single suggests they're now going in a totally different direction. More metal, seemingly, but I wonder how original? I really hope the ATG hero worship is a one off, as if I want to listen to ATG ultimately I'll just listen to ATG. I don't need IF to attempt to copy it. That's not the way (imo), even though I find this track decent enough to listen to standalone.

Also notice the complete different reaction to IF and THE writing and releasing melodeath songs this year - I'm not going to try argue that SOSD is better than any of the THE songs as it's not - but neither is more original than the other.

 

[DE4life]

Also notice the complete different reaction to IF and THE writing and releasing melodeath songs this year - I'm not going to try argue that SOSD is better than any of the THE songs - but neither is more original than the other.

I guess the main difference with THE is that they are a project who have made it clear their goal is to pay tribute to the Swedish MDM scene. So you expect to hear similarities to what has come before - and even then, at no point have I listened to a THE song and instantly been reminded of another track. With SoSD it was like, immediately... that's Blinded By Fear. Didn't even need a few seconds to think, it was that clear to me.

 

[eochaid]

Also notice the complete different reaction to IF and THE writing and releasing melodeath songs this year - I'm not going to try argue that SOSD is better than any of the THE songs as it's not - but neither is more original than the other.

Well. THE songs might sound like their previous bands but they're original and that's expected. This song... Well. It is what it is.

And, even in the case that they were trying, on purpose, to copy anyone, then they are trying to copy themselves. IF is just a herd without a head.

 

[galvanized]

Maybe Anders is trying to outdo THE. Trying to be more “trve” or “kvlt”.

 

[TheJestersDoor]

Maybe Anders is trying to outdo THE. Trying to be more “trve” or “kvlt”.

I can imagine it kicked their asses a little, put pressure on what they did.

It's interesting no info on the album has leaked, I imagine like the last 2 nuclear blast releases they will release 2 singles and then announce the album further down the line. I expect were looking at late August to October for a release window.

 

[DE4life]

If they kept Engelin and let him write some stuff they'd have gotten a lot closer to an organic MDM sound, if that's what they want to do now. Dude has written most of THE songs and clearly has a very strong grasp of how that sound works. Moreso than Bjorn, I'd wager. Baffling that they'd let Niclas go just as they pivot back to a more traditional metal sound, if that is what they're doing.

 

[eochaid]

I think that the "THE put them into metal again" narrative doesn't match with the "they've been working in the new album for more than a year" one.

 

[JesterSlaveSucks]

thx for link!

this song is reminding me of the sense of purpose but a metal version so i would provide 6 stars from 10 stars and i hope for more songs like i am mask because this was my favorite in flames album since claymen

 

[TheJestersDoor]

I think that the "THE put them into metal again" narrative doesn't match with the "they've been working in the new album for more than a year" one.

Fully agree, I remember seeing an Instagram post from February 2021 from Bjorn saying he was writing. I think there's many factors in the "change in sound" - until we hear the full album we don't know how deep it goes - but some possible reasons are:

- Time at home in the pandemic giving them time to reflect and perhaps they decided to ditch the Sirius XM approach to just write and play what they enjoy, considering the stage of their career they're at, grateful for the fact they're able to go back out and play post pandemic.
- a genuine attempt to move back towards a more metallic sound - we know for ITM they wanted to go more guitar driven than SC and Battles - even if it was a baby step.
- Chris and Tanner bringing their own energy and vibes to the mix - even if they weren't directly involved in the writing, it could have influenced the process.
- The news of THE being a band (although if they're still in touch Bjorn may have known before it was announced)

I can't think of any logical reason for the band to want to rip off ATG as it'll not only alienate their "modern" fans but piss off the MDM listeners. That's what makes it a bizarre choice of single, if it was an album track I doubt it would have got such a negative reaction from some of you, because first impressions are important.

 

[galvanized]

Fully agree, I remember seeing an Instagram post from February 2021 from Bjorn saying he was writing.

Well, we’ve only heard one song so far. And we know IF drastically changes things in the studio. And also THE has been doing their thing for a long time. According to Wikipedia they started in 2020 during the pandemic. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Halo_Effect_(band)

On many of these topics maybe we are smarter than Wikipedia but it makes sense to start in 2020 if they are recording full albums in 2021.

I mean, the whole thing was recorded around 6 months ago. Their first single was 8-9 months ago. 8-9 months before IF.

That tells me THE was first.

If they kept Engelin and let him write some stuff they'd have gotten a lot closer to an organic MDM sound, if that's what they want to do now.

Ironically, if Engelin hadn’t left IF, perhaps THE would never have been formed. And then this next IF album would have been weak and boring because IF would have no competition and Engelin would have had no inspiration.

 

[TheJestersDoor]

Well, we’ve only heard one song so far. And we know IF drastically changes things in the studio. And also THE has been doing their thing for a long time. According to Wikipedia they started in 2020 during the pandemic.

I mean, the whole thing was recorded around 6 months ago. Their first single was 8-9 months ago. 8-9 months before IF.

That tells me THE was first.



Ironically, if Engelin hadn’t left IF, perhaps THE would never have been formed. And then this next IF album would have been weak and boring because THE would have no competition and Engelin would have had no inspiration.

I do agree that if Nicolas was still in IF then THE wouldn't exist, and yes, IF probably would have recorded a similarly lifeless album again (we'll have to see what we get, but at least this song has the most intricacies going on in any IF song since SOAPF, that bit isn't up for debate).

 

[DE4life]

Niclas is clearly passionate about MDM so I think if he'd been given some serious latitude by Anders and Bjorn he could have written some great stuff for an IF album. Unfortunately I can't imagine he'd be given that much freedom. Certainly not as much as he gets in THE. His ideas would likely be neutered by Hipster and Bjorn, at which point he'd just be like fuck it and half ass the rest. So yeah, probably better he moved on.

 

[galvanized]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually Tanner, Bryce Paul, and maybe Chris Broderick pushed or “challenged” Anders and Bjorn to go more metal. They have more to prove and honestly would be playing in IF due to the classic legacy, not the new music. Imagine if you joined a legendary band to replace old members that quit. Then those old members made a band better than your own. Of course you would rise to the challenge because it would be a personal affront.

 

[eochaid]

Ironically, if Engelin hadn’t left IF, perhaps THE would never have been formed. And then this next IF album would have been weak and boring because IF would have no competition and Engelin would have had no inspiration.

It still can be. I mean, to me, this song is yet weak and boring and the album can be worse.

For I the Mask, with the exception of House, they released all the "heavy" songs as singles and then the rest of the album was far softer.