New album Foregone out February 2023

[A88]

Def among top 10 songs...on the new album.

Sounds OK, but it is missing something. Can't really define it. Song is good, but I just don't have the need to go back and listen to it on repeat.

Main problems maybe:
- overall production. Too plastic for this kind of music.
- heaviness sound forced from time to time
- even though a lot of interesting things happen in this one, they still managed to ripoff previous songs in intro and solo sections
- solo, while this time actually having some quality and direction, is still just the most basic thing you can do on a guitar

Most importantly...

- you don't have to sing over every fucking note. So this songs lacks the space to breathe. Maybe another 30 sec of instrumental buildup between singing parts missing. Not everything has to be around 3 min long.

Still, it's a better song than all the other singles and most of the previous album. So that's a win.

 

[Xpyro125]

It's fine. It's better than the last two and at least it doesn't feel as generic to me. The middle section is nice. A top 10 for me it is not. Besides, saying a song that just came out is a top 10 is weird. I don't know why people do this. I understand being excited by something new, but Jesus, let it breathe. Digest it. I don't know why people need to put something that just came out up on a pedestal. Listen to it, enjoy it, all that good shit.

The new songs all lack something for me, and I don't know what it is. There's just something missing here. It's almost like they're trying too hard to be heavy and something is getting lost in translation. It's not that entirely, but it's part of it. It doesn't seem natural in some way, I don't know. This is closer though. I've never expected Whoracle pt. 2, so its not like I'm sitting around waiting for that. I think SOAPF is a good example of their newer style in a way that works. Something about this isn't working for me.

The band always had their trademark melodies, even in something as trite as Battles. Sure, it wasn't Jesper's melodies, but even in Colony and Clayman, Bjorn was the other half of the compositional dynamic. SOSD pretty much just stays at the bottom three strings outside of the solo, whereas most of the band's melodies generally reside in the third or fourth strings. That, and they usually use either triplets or two sixteenth notes before an eighth note, typically in a one note ascent then descent with hammer ons and pull offs. SOSD doesn't have that either, and aside from TGD's lead, I really can't find anything substantial there either. Admittedly, Siren Charms very much breaks those structures, but there's a very different sort of hard rock feel with that album that isn't there for this one, leaving just the down-tuned metalcore sound. I'm just nervous that they're doing the standard modern metalcore thing where heaviness is emphasized to the point where everything else suffers. If you don't have melody, technicality, etc., then it just isn't going to pull me in- And this is especially an issue for a band whose entire discography is built around melody and melodic leads. Classic IF rarely had riffs, but they made up for it with some of the best leads to grace the earth. Even when they finally had riffs in spades, they never abandoned their sense of melody. That's the band I fell in love with. Shit, for as groove metal as Whoracle is, it still thrived in regards to melodies. While the lack of clean vocals is absolutely a good thing because it's out of the band's norm, that also provides less room for melody there as, well, Anders' growls, while dynamic, can't capture melody quite as well as they used to.

Also, I'm pretty sure the top 10 thing was a joke, but I could totally be wrong.

 

[eochaid]

On one hand complaining that the song is heavy but without any melody, then specifically pointing out the most melodic section of the song to complain about XD

Because melody always means good?

 

[The Grayfox]

Also, I'm pretty sure the top 10 thing was a joke, but I could totally be wrong.

Well it wouldn't be the first time I've missed a cue.

 

[shad0w__]

The band always had their trademark melodies, even in something as trite as Battles. Sure, it wasn't Jesper's melodies, but even in Colony and Clayman, Bjorn was the other half of the compositional dynamic. SOSD pretty much just stays at the bottom three strings outside of the solo, whereas most of the band's melodies generally reside in the third or fourth strings. That, and they usually use either triplets or two sixteenth notes before an eighth note, typically in a one note ascent then descent with hammer ons and pull offs. SOSD doesn't have that either, and aside from TGD's lead, I really can't find anything substantial there either. Admittedly, Siren Charms very much breaks those structures, but there's a very different sort of hard rock feel with that album that isn't there for this one, leaving just the down-tuned metalcore sound. I'm just nervous that they're doing the standard modern metalcore thing where heaviness is emphasized to the point where everything else suffers. If you don't have melody, technicality, etc., then it just isn't going to pull me in- And this is especially an issue for a band whose entire discography is built around melody and melodic leads. Classic IF rarely had riffs, but they made up for it with some of the best leads to grace the earth. Even when they finally had riffs in spades, they never abandoned their sense of melody. That's the band I fell in love with. Shit, for as groove metal as Whoracle is, it still thrived in regards to melodies. While the lack of clean vocals is absolutely a good thing because it's out of the band's norm, that also provides less room for melody there as, well, Anders' growls, while dynamic, can't capture melody quite as well as they used to.

Also, I'm pretty sure the top 10 thing was a joke, but I could totally be wrong.

I agree that classic IF is melody driven but i wouldnt go as far as saying that the entire discography is like that.

Most songs in STYE for example dont have a lot of guitar melodies.

Same with songs in CC eg. Crawl through Knives which most people enjoy and which i wouldnt say is more melodic that TGD as far as guitars are concerned.

In that sense, the first 3 songs remind me the mid 2000s era where IF were experimenting with a more straight up american metalcore sound. Though the main difference is that they have less cleans now and trying to sound more heavy.

And to the point that some people are making that this doesnt sound like In Flames. I dont agree with that, it may not sound like classic 90s In Flames but it does draw a lot from the mid 2000s and the modern era.

 

[Pallbearer]

Dont understand why we have to wait 5 more months for the album.

This is only conjectural but I thought maybe the record label prefers to spread out their releases over a certain time period?

IMO the song was the best one out of the three. I like the heaviness and that they're trying different things. Not super hyped about the album though. I'm still not fully convinced Björn has come up with an album's worth of goodness without any help from another guitarist. Pulled it off with SOAPF though so it's not completely outside the realm of possibilities.

P.S. Inspired by The Grayfox I too made a name change request. I never liked the old one that much actually, but it just kind of got stuck.

 

[eochaid]

If there's something that CTK has that's melody.

 

[The Grayfox]

You will always be Jabi to me, dammit.

 

[shad0w__]

If there's something that CTK has that's melody.

Not guitar melodies, it may have some vocal melodies but i was talking about the guitar specifically.
Neither does Take this Life btw.

 

[DE4life]

On Phobiac's top 10 comment being a joke... this is Phobiac we're talking about here so I'm assuming he's serious unless he specifically says otherwise.

 

[miniroch]

I'm really loving that one. It's so much closer to what I listen to nowadays, so it's only fair they're travelling with Fit for an Autopsy and At The Gates (I do recommend both band latest attempts, especially since I know AtG is being ignored, while The Nightmare of Being deserves a lot of love).

While Everything's Gone easily can be called for being heavy just for the sake of it, Foregone does it just right, I don't suppose there's any pretending. The heavy, fast paced drums, the beautiful synths in the background, the AtG-ish, perhaps even Mors Principium Est-esque riffs create that beautiful atmosphere that reeks of apocalypse. Finally, we got some good lyrics that fit the theme well and don't make it cringeworthy.

I'm also a big fan of those acoustic snippets here and there on the singles, hopefully, they do come to some full unveil on the album.
Vocal-wise, Anders could get intense on ITM, but that's a whole different level, which I'm super happy about. With his Lamb of God performance in mind, I'm hoping he can go even more brutal on that album, but still, it's just the extreme side of metal I've been digging for a while now. The first 30 seconds really kick ass, which caught me by surprise.

Solo isn't a spectacular one, but it fits the vibe and doesn't feel like it's just tossed there randomly, this time I feel like it's a prolonging of the entire track, so that's a big yay from me.

Overall, that's a grand, unexpected win. The only downside is outro, which cuts kind of abruptly, but other than that, I can't think of any particular element I would mind. It doesn't sound like In Flames, but it didn't really since SOAPF, did it now? I'm fine with Anders & Bjorn reinventing themselves. Also, same could be told about Dark Tranquillity, which didn't do them any good with Moment.

Foregone part two please!

 

[eochaid]

Not guitar melodies, it may have some vocal melodies but i was talking about the guitar specifically.
Neither does Take this Life btw.

Man. CTK it's pure guitar melody. The intro, the riffs, the bridge, the chorus... There's nothing not melodic about it. Unless, by talking about melodies, you exclude all the riffs in every song. But anyone who has played that song on guitar knows that.

 

[DE4life]

I'm really loving that one. It's so much closer to what I listen to nowadays, so it's only fair they're travelling with Fit for an Autopsy and At The Gates (I do recommend both band latest attempts, especially since I know AtG is being ignored, while The Nightmare of Being deserves a lot of love).

While Everything's Gone easily can be called for being heavy just for the sake of it, Foregone does it just right, I don't suppose there's any pretending. The heavy, fast paced drums, the beautiful synths in the background, the AtG-ish, perhaps even Mors Principium Est-esque riffs create that beautiful atmosphere that reeks of apocalypse. Finally, we got some good lyrics that fit the theme well and don't make it cringeworthy.

I'm also a big fan of those acoustic snippets here and there on the singles, hopefully, they do come to some full unveil on the album.
Vocal-wise, Anders could get intense on ITM, but that's a whole different level, which I'm super happy about. With his Lamb of God performance in mind, I'm hoping he can go even more brutal on that album, but still, it's just the extreme side of metal I've been digging for a while now. The first 30 seconds really kick ass, which caught me by surprise.

Solo isn't a spectacular one, but it fits the vibe and doesn't feel like it's just tossed there randomly, this time I feel like it's a prolonging of the entire track, so that's a big yay from me.

Overall, that's a grand, unexpected win. The only downside is outro, which cuts kind of abruptly, but other than that, I can't think of any particular element I would mind. It doesn't sound like In Flames, but it didn't really since SOAPF, did it now? I'm fine with Anders & Bjorn reinventing themselves. Also, same could be told about Dark Tranquillity, which didn't do them any good with Moment.

Foregone part two please!

Fair points my friend and I think it'll definitely appeal to people who prefer the heavier end of the metal spectrum.

 

[DE4life]

Looks like for the Montreal show last night they replaced Behind Space/Graveland/Episode 666 with Moonshield and The Jester's Dance.

 

[eochaid]

I really fail to see what's not melodic about this song .

 

[DE4life]

Plenty of melodic guitar on CTK. It's one of the most melodic songs on Come Clarity. Totally different to what we're hearing now, which is far more centred around heavy riffage interspersed with melodic moments.

 

[shad0w__]

I really fail to see what's not melodic about this song .

The intro riff is melodic for sure and you have a solo but i fail to see how this is more melodic than TGD. And i play guitar heh.

 

[eochaid]

I don't think that I have said that the songs aren't melodic. Heavy and melodic do not fight each other. It all depends on how the bands approach the music. I just said that Heavier doesn't mean good, like some people seem to be implying. SOAPF is melodic and it's good. Scream is Heavy and it's not very good.

About how I see the new songs, I'll try to explain it with a picture. It's a picture about transmitted feelings or sensations. For this, I use a greyscale map to represent light and dark. And I'll use a few bands as examples of what they transmit to me.



I think this summarizes it pretty well. I usually tend to like more bands that move towards the light espectrum of the map. I also like the bands in the "dark side" but not as much. I don't "receive" those many empotions from their music and I think that emotions have an important role when experiencing the music.

I'm not sure if this makes sense anyway. In my case, light would be the transmission of positive feelings through the music while dark is about negative feelings.

 

[The Grayfox]

This is a pattern that happens to many, many fanbases. I'll just use Trivium as an example.

They released some stuff that was all clean vocals. It was stripped down and "old school." Fan base wasn't happy. All they wanted was Matt Heafy to scream. As soon as Trivium released a new song that had screaming, it was an immediate "this is the best fucking thing ever!" The song itself didn't matter. Just the fact that it had screaming was enough for people to automatically think it was great.

Something similar is happening here. Everybody is so blinded by the fact that they haven't been "heavy" in so long that as soon as they hear In Flames doing anything heavy at all, it's a "return to form and it's the best thing ever." If you like the songs, that's cool. But let's not pretend that this is some "back to the roots" kind of thing happening. People over on Reddit and on In Flames' socials are trying to convince themselves that this is Clayman pt. 2 because "omg heavy!"

It isn't.

 

[eochaid]

While it doesn't have too much in common with the heavier IF albums. These singles sound like the american bands that were inspired by IF and other european melodeath bands, not like something that they could have come with in any of their previous releases. Anytime that someone compares this to R2R or CC I keep wondering if that person has even heard those albums.