People talking about this sounding like Clayman or 'the old days' are simply wrong. I'm listening to the instrumental of the song now and the verses are straight up Siren Charms. If you've listened to the SC instrumental mix you'll hear it. There's also heavy similarities to the verses of "The End". Main difference is slightly better production and more energetic drums. Chorus is definitely Come Clarity-esque. Solo is a post-SOAPF Bjorn special.
Don't you know, heavy melodic death metal = Clayman. Sure, it doesn't have any of the stylings of Clayman, but guys, come on, it's just like the good old days that we weren't around for!
Anyone mentioning Clayman knows shit about that album and the band. They know of it because of the remaster and probably think that's the peak of their melodeath era.
They aren't even able to mention TJR or Whoracle. That's fucking funny.
Now, if these two songs were the first that I hear from this band, I wouldn't be caring to listen to anything else or digging into their discography.
To be fair, people were saying that when "I Am Above" and "I, the Mask" came out, which it made at least a little more sense there, particularly when it comes to the title track.
And of course they don't mention TJR or Whoracle, those aren't nearly as accessible or iconic to the majority of newer fans. You might get someone maybe mentioning "Moonshield" or "December Flower" here or there when it comes to TJR, but that's about it. TJR just isn't as revolutionary to newer fans because they weren't there for its impact nor feel it's as accessible or 'good' as something like Clayman, which are takes I disagree with. Then again, this much is just speculative, but unless if you really love melodeath or metalcore and the history of either or both (And not just djent-y modern metalcore), chances are good that TJR and Whoracle are simply afterthoughts. I dunno, that's my best guess when it comes down to it. They're old guard albums, with Colony and Clayman being the far more approachable ones in the classic era of their discography.
I like it.
I feel like in present company, that makes me look like someone who's happy to mindlessly lap up whatever IF decide to put out, but I have been pretty critical of a lot of their recent output, particularly Siren Charms and Battles, where I'd maybe give pass marks to one or two songs across both records. I thought after those albums that they'd completely abandoned all the elements of their sound that I liked, and that there was nothing left for me as a fan except nostalgia.
However, as I said when it was released, I really liked the more aggressive songs on I, The Mask. They did feel much closer to the In Flames sound I love than anything on Siren Charms and Battles, and I'd argue that in some ways they felt closer to that than a lot of songs on Reroute, Come Clarity or SOAPF because Anders' harsh vocals were lower in tone, and I feel like the transition from the growl to the high scream was one of the real cut-off points between "old" and "new" In Flames.
The two songs that I've heard from the forthcoming record feel like they're in the same vein as the more aggressive songs on ITM, but I actually think they have more punch to them. Anders' vocals are pretty growly, there are a lot of little melodic flourishes with harmonies in the rhythm guitar parts and the lead guitar parts have that trademark In Flames tonality. I'd probably like the melodies to be a little bit more complex, but I don't think they're bad as they are. I also really like some of the subtle touches on the drums in The Great Deceiver, that syncopated rhythm at 0:56 is very cool, possibly the most charmingly idiosyncratic bit of drum work that IF have had in many a year, so kudos to Tanner, I hope he's able to shine similarly on the rest of the album. I also love that little melodic break at 2:49, I wish it lasted a bit longer, but I can appreciate it as something short and sweet too.
I'm not trying to say that those who're being critical here are wrong, the lyrics could probably be better, and the production could definitely be more dynamic, but I can't help it. I don't want to hate it, and there's enough about it that I like that I've had it on repeat most of today (whereas with most of Siren Charms and Battles, I listened to those songs once or twice and have never gone back to them). I feel like it -is- closer to classic In Flames than a lot of their post-2000 material, even if it's not exactly the same.
If these are the singles, then I'm looking forward to hearing some of the album tracks, which might (fingers crossed) be even heavier and less formulaic. If that's the case, and the Halo Effect album is of the same quality as their EP (which I think genuinely has moments that could belong on Whoracle or Colony), then this could be the best year for fans of Gothenburg melodic death metal for a long time.
SoSD really grew on me, especially since there is something really bouncy and fun about it. While I love that TGD has no clean vocals for the first time in a long while, it just doesn't resonate with me in the same way. Sure, In Flames is somehow finally melodeath again, but it's arguably the least In Flames album so far stylistically, particularly in the melody department. I don't really buy the hype that The Halo Effect riled them up enough to start doing heavier music again. They were in the studio before the band was even announced, and even then, they were likely in the middle stages of it all once "Shadowminds" was released. It feels like the two just so happened to exist at the same time, being THE and a new, heavier In Flames. It's just weird because it feels like the album's playing itself straight this time around with the more melodic stylings nowhere to be found. I'm all for it if it's a one-off for this album, I suppose, but I like the band at their most dynamic, with I, the Mask doing a surprisingly good job at it. Then again, it did have "House", which is fucking awful, and it did just come off the heels of Battles, so... Yeah, it definitely has its handicaps and low points. I'll be kind of sad if there aren't any sort of standard alt metal/alt rock songs like "All the Pain" because I actually feel like the band can pull it off well enough, and I really hope we get more acoustic stuff.
In a way, I think In Flames just feels incredibly American now musically-speaking, and they have since Battles. I, the Mask just felt really inspired, dynamic, and it had its Swedish feeling songs, but... I dunno, TGD kind of killed my excitement a little, and I can't say I'm 100% sure why. I didn't care
too much for SoSD at first, but I really came around to it. I hope there's more stuff like that. Heavier doesn't automatically equal better, and I think that goes especially for In Flames. If it doesn't feel like them, then I probably won't love it like I love even their bad releases.
Except you, Battles. You will always be garbage, even if you are an unfortunately guilty pleasure of mine sometimes.
