New album Foregone out February 2023

[drawntoblack]

The solo in Evil in a Closet always gives me a Sega Genesis vibe for some reason. Reminds me of something that could have come from Streets of Rage or something. Just a random comment. Love that track overall though. Vocals are the weak point but not bad enough to drag it down massively. Just would have been better with a proper singer, the track is kind of built for it. Anders does a passable job though.

I will never not be upset that Bjorn fucked up that solo on the Used and Abused live dvd. That track has always been a favorite of mine off that album, it has a very interesting atmosphere and I even enjoy the semi-whispered verses, vocals work in the context of the song well. STYE is not an album that I revisit often, and I don't think I ever listen to it in completion because I quite like the first 8 tracks and then the last 4 are dull and filler, that album would've benefited greatly from a different order of songs.

And I agree with Xpyro, Discover me like emptiness is a great track. I just didn't count it because it's a bonus track. Regarding the production, it's indeed weird on STYE. I think that album has more samples and additional electronica trinkets on it than any other IF record. While it's style is not my favorite, I also don't really mind it because it is unique at least unlike R2R/ASOP that have terrible production.

 

[eochaid]

Man. Borders and Shading is easily my favourite song from the album and on my top 20 IF songs ever. My only concern in that album is, as DE4life knows, in search for I. Stupid lyrics.

If I would think of which songs are, for me, fillers, that would be Dead and Alone, Like You Better Death and Bottled.

 

[Xpyro125]

I will never not be upset that Bjorn fucked up that solo on the Used and Abused live dvd. That track has always been a favorite of mine off that album, it has a very interesting atmosphere and I even enjoy the semi-whispered verses, vocals work in the context of the song well. STYE is not an album that I revisit often, and I don't think I ever listen to it in completion because I quite like the first 8 tracks and then the last 4 are dull and filler, that album would've benefited greatly from a different order of songs.

And I agree with Xpyro, Discover me like emptiness is a great track. I just didn't count it because it's a bonus track. Regarding the production, it's indeed weird on STYE. I think that album has more samples and additional electronica trinkets on it than any other IF record. While it's style is not my favorite, I also don't really mind it because it is unique at least unlike R2R/ASOP that have terrible production.

Completely fair- I think bonus tracks are generally something In Flames tends to really get right too.

I think R2R is mainly overly compressed due to everything being really forward in the mix (The down-tuned guitars and bass both being rather forward in the mix will really fuck that up due to the similar frequency). ASoP... Yeah.

Man. Borders and Shading is easily my favourite song from the album and on my top 20 IF songs ever. My only concern in that album is, as DE4life knows, in search for I. Stupid lyrics.

If I would think of which songs are, for me, fillers, that would be Dead and Alone, Like You Better Death and Bottled.

I like "Like You Better Dead", but I was mopping the floors during my closing shift at fucking Burger King when I really came to appreciate "Dead Alone". It's an awesome song that doesn't get enough love to me. Then again, it's understandable.

 

[The Grayfox]

Dead Alone is a hidden gem to me. I can't remember which tour it was, but they opened with it. I didn't think much of the song one way or another when it was released, but I was listening to a live bootleg shortly after and something clicked for me. Dead Alone and Borders and Shading are the standouts for me for sure.

 

[The Grayfox]

Looks like it was the first tour after STYE's release:

Dead Alone
Pinball Map
System
Episode 666
Embody the Invisible
Watch Them Feed
Coerced Coexistence
Cloud Connected
Touch of Red
Like You Better Dead
Square Nothing
In Search for I
Clay Man
Trigger
Gyroscope
Only for the Weak
Behind Space
The Quiet Place
F(r)iend
Colony
My Sweet Shadow

Interestingly, at the time I can remember thinking "meh, not enough old stuff." I think most of us would be ecstatic to see this set now.

 

[Xpyro125]

Looks like it was the first tour after STYE's release:

Dead Alone
Pinball Map
System
Episode 666
Embody the Invisible
Watch Them Feed
Coerced Coexistence
Cloud Connected
Touch of Red
Like You Better Dead
Square Nothing
In Search for I
Clay Man
Trigger
Gyroscope
Only for the Weak
Behind Space
The Quiet Place
F(r)iend
Colony
My Sweet Shadow

Interestingly, at the time I can remember thinking "meh, not enough old stuff." I think most of us would be ecstatic to see this set now.

Man, they had "Watch Them Feed" on there. What a fucking setlist.

 

[DE4life]

Dead Alone I had very little interest in for a long time, until I was watching the U&A DVD a few years ago and it just clicked with me, and now I really like it. Although I think that's mainly because I know how it sounds live, which in a weird way enhances the less impactful studio version. Basically the same thing with LYBD. Probably some of the best guitar melodies on STYE, albeit in short bursts.

 

[galvanized]

Dead Alone I had very little interest in for a long time, until I was watching the U&A DVD a few years ago and it just clicked with me, and now I really like it. Although I think that's mainly because I know how it sounds live, which in a weird way enhances the less impactful studio version. Basically the same thing with LYBD. Probably some of the best guitar melodies on STYE, albeit in short bursts.

Yeah, Dead Alone is decent. I really like the picked chord melody in the outro starting at 3:00. Very memorable.

 

[ThePhobiac]

Dead Alone is one of the best songs on STYE, always enjoyed it.

 

[eochaid]

Well I think it's boring and way too simplistic.

 

[The Grayfox]

Opening night of the US tour setlist:

The Great Deceiver
Fear Is the Weakness
Cloud Connected
Stand Ablaze
Behind Space
Graveland
Episode 666
Scorn
Only for the Weak
State of Slow Decay
Wallflower
Deliver Us
The End
The Mirror's Truth
I Am Above
Take This Life
My Sweet Shadow


I don't hate it if I'm being honest. It could be much worse.

 

[Jester Slave]

Dead Alone is easily in the top 3 worst songs of IF if we exclude LS. Always skipped it.

That set is close to being pretty good, but I am not into Scorn and Graveland and it's annoying that they could play Colony or Artifacts instead. Or switch out Colony to Embody, because the latter had a small run a few years ago. Also very glad that they are sticking with Stand Ablaze.

 

[DE4life]

After all these years they are finally doing setlists representing basically every album. Almost like an external trigger caused them to reassess...

Actually, I think Siren Charms is the only album with zero representation RIP Slave and Phobiac

 

[The Grayfox]

Dead Alone being considered top 3 worst IF songs when Siren Charms and Battles exist.

 

[Jester Slave]

After all these years they are finally doing setlists representing basically every album. Almost like an external trigger caused them to reassess...

They are playing ONE new song from the old catalog, so The Halo Effect is totally in their head. John Smith was like "nah, I ain't going to this IF show, I better be waitin' for The Halo Effect in the off chance they get some 30 minutes long gig here", but then IF put Stand Ablaze in the setlist, a song most US fans did not even know existed, so John Smith is going to their show now.

For someone so eloquent, you can be really dumb sometimes.

Dead Alone being considered top 3 worst IF songs when Siren Charms and Battles exist.

Exactly. Goes to show you how bad and boring that song is.

 

[DE4life]

Dead Alone being considered top 3 worst IF songs when Siren Charms and Battles exist.

That's Slave for you, a total dunce.

They are playing ONE new song from the old catalog, so The Halo Effect is totally in their head. John Smith was like "nah, I ain't going to this IF show, I better be waitin' for The Halo Effect in the off chance they get some 30 minutes long gig here", but then IF put Stand Ablaze in the setlist, a song most US fans did not even know existed, so John Smith is going to their show now.

For someone so eloquent, you can be really dumb sometimes.

Exactly. Goes to show you how bad and boring that song is.

Remind me of the last time they did a tour where LS/Subterranean/TJR/Whoracle/Colony and Clayman were all represented? Or where even 4 of the 6 were represented at once? Might take you a while to find as it's probably back in the very early 2000s.

 

[Jester Slave]

Remind me of the last time they did a tour where LS/Subterranean/TJR/Whoracle/Colony and Clayman were all represented? Or where even 4 of the 6 were represented at once? Might take you a while to find as it's probably back in the very early 2000s.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/in-flames/2019/senator-theatre-chico-ca-4b9d53b6.html - LS, Clayman, Colony, Whoracle. I assume 2019 is not the "very early 2000s" in your book either.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/in-flames/2020/stadium-live-moscow-russia-6b99da46.html - LS, Clayman, Colony, Whoracle, TJR. 2020. Covid sabotaged the tour, but it was consistent on the 2 shows they played.

As I said it numerous times: It all started with the In Our Room tour (2019), where they were having quite interesting setlists and ever since that they were consistently playing songs from the older records unlike previously, when they threw in The Hive or Scorn as their way of saying take it or leave it fuckers, because that's all you're getting.

 

[DE4life]

Whilst that was nice for those on the US and Russian part of the tour, they did not play anything close to that setlist during the first part of the ITM tour. When I saw them in March '19 (which was still the ITM Tour) the earliest song they played was Colony.

 

[TheJestersDoor]

I really like this set list. If they play this when I see them in November I'll be very happy.

 

[Jester Slave]

Whilst that was nice for those on the US and Russian part of the tour, they did not play anything close to that setlist during the first part of the ITM tour. When I saw them in March '19 (which was still the ITM Tour) the earliest song they played was Colony.

Isn't that besides the point though, when there are two strong arguments against your claim? One is that they did already have setlists like today before THE was even an idea, and two that they were inching closer and closer to setlists like this at the very least since the In Our Room tour, maybe a bit earlier. For the longest time pretty much all of us gave them crap for refusing to play anything older than Clayman, and they just put one token song (if at all) from that era, which was like insult to injury. The Moonshield-Jester's Dance duo from that 2019 tour was very unexpected and they kept piling up on that on later tours, the return of Behind Space being the next notable milestone. It is just shit-stirring and baseless to suddenly blame their current setlists of being influenced by THE.

Now, if they were to play TJR from start to finish I would immediately agree, because that would be completely out of left field. But incorporating a new-old song to their set, while also rotating other old songs out is pretty much on course for them given their recent years.