New album Foregone out February 2023

[eochaid]

Borders and Shading
The Quiet Place
Touch of Red
My Sweet Shadow
Dial 595
Superhero
Discover me
Evil in a Closet
Like you Better dead
Dead Alone
Friend
Bottled
In search for I

Tilt
Sleepless Again
Alias
Condemned
Sober and Irrelevant
Delight and Anders
Drenched in Fear
Diaconnected
Eraser
I'm the highway
The Chosen Pessimist
The mirrors Truth
Move through me
Abnegation (ep edit)
March to the shore.

In asop there aren't any songs that blow up my mind. It's an ok album with a few songs that I dislike.

 

[The Grayfox]

The problem with ranking ASOP for me is that it's basically ranking which songs I dislike more than the others because as a whole, I don't enjoy the album at all. If we're including the EP, that's a bit easier I guess.


Eraser
Tilt
Abnegation
I’m The Highway
Condemned
Sleepless Again
Sober and Irrelevant
Alias
Disconnected
Move Through Me
Drenched in Fear
The Mirror's Truth
Delight and Angers
March to the Shore
The Chosen Pessimist

 

[DE4life]

I try to rate ASOP songs based on what they could/should have been rather than what they turned out like on CD. Sometimes, as with STYE, you can hear how the songs should sound a lot better in a live environment. ASOP hasn't had much coverage in that regard though. Feels like outside of D&A, TMT, TCP and Alias very few of these songs have gotten any significant run in setlists. Disconnected was played a lot in 2008 and 2009, then pretty much dropped entirely.

Abnegation, never played. Tilt, never played. Condemned, never played. Drenched in Fear, never played. Most of the other tracks were played briefly in 2008 and then never again.

Can't help but get the feeling Anders and Bjorn don't like this album as a whole much.

 

[The Grayfox]

Yeah, like you said, most of the songs on that album haven't stood the test of time in IF's setlists so it's easy to assume they're not super fond of a lot of those songs. Then again, they are fond of some of the absolute worst ones on there... in my opinion. Not only has The Chosen Pessimist stuck around, they've fucking OPENED shows with it. Part of me understands that they just look at the metrics and see what songs get a lot of play from fans and include those in the sets. You want to please the majority of your fanbase at shows, totally understand it. It just sucks that my personal taste doesn't align with 99% of their fanbase

I think what it boils down to is that I hate that they just can't escape the "hits." There are so many bands who have hits that don't insist on making sure they cram in as many as possible into every single setlist. If Metallica only played songs that got radio play or they made a video for, their setlist would never change. But here they are, still playing sets that, sometimes, consist mainly of material from their first 4 albums. I like the way Maiden does it. They have a few hits that they rotate in and out, but they don't try to cram every single one into every single set. They rotate songs a LOT. Sure, it's for a whole tour, but just because they didn't play Rime of the Ancient Mariner on tour A, doesn't mean they won't play it on tour B. With In Flames, I think we can be fairly sure on their next European tour that Condemned won't magically be pulled out of a hat. If that ever happens, it'll be at Dalhalla and that's it. Their setlist variation is terrible.

 

[DE4life]

They're just fucking lazy, honestly. They make the effort at Dalhalla and phone it in everywhere else as far as the songs they choose to play. They had a period in the mid-2000s where they were playing some really interesting and varied setlists, albeit far too light on the older stuff, but they even briefly busted out stuff like WWTM and TJR (in a medley, but still). Nowadays they can't even be bothered to play songs from their brand new album. Now admittedly most of them suck, and all of their new stuff sucks compared to pre-2014 output, but nonetheless... the lack of effort is sad. Just give it up already if you can't be bothered.

 

[DE4life]

Happy Christmas all. Have fun, eat a lot and drink responsibly.

 

[eochaid]

Happy Christmas.

 

[GraemeSinclair]

Nollaig Chridheil dhuibh uile/Feliz Navidad a todos/Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a great one!

 

[Xpyro125]

STYE:

Evil in a Closet
The Quiet Place
Touch of Red
Borders and Shading
Like You Better Dead
Dead Alone
Superhero of the Computer Rage
Discover Me Like Emptiness
In Search For I
Dial-595 Escape
My Sweet Shadow
F(r)iend
Bottled

I've italicised six of the songs because I basically rank all of those in the same place, they're all 7/10 tracks for me. A better way of grouping for my selections would be by ratings:

9/10 - Evil in a Closet
8.5/10 - The Quiet Place
7.5/10 - Touch of Red, Borders and Shading, Like You Better Dead
7/10 - Dead Alone, Superhero of the Computer Rage, Discover Me Like Emptiness, In Search For I, Dial-595 Escape, My Sweet Shadow
5/10 - F(r)iend
1/10 - Bottled

As far as ASOP is concerned...

Eraser
Abnegation
Condemned
Tilt
Sleepless Again
The Mirror's Truth
Disconnected
Alias
Sober and Irrelevant
I'm the Highway
Drenched in Fear
Move Through Me
March to the Shore
Delight and Angers
The Chosen Pessimist

Again, a lot of songs basically in the same or similar brackets:

8/10 - Eraser, Abnegation, Condemned
7.5/10 - Tilt, Sleepless Again
7/10 - The Mirror's Truth, Disconnected, Alias
6.5/10 - Sober and Irrelevant, I'm the Highway, Drenched in Fear, Move Through Me, March to the Shore
3/10 - Delight and Angers
2/10 - TCP

Production and vocals on this album drag everything down, though, and make even the good songs tough to listen to. Most of them sound a lot better live. TMT live is awesome, but on album it's quite average.

Although I'm not really sure about the number gradings, STYE goes like this for me-

Borders and Shading [10/10]
Discover Me Like Emptiness [10/10]
Touch of Red [9.5/10]
The Quiet Place [9.5/10]
F(r)iend [8.5/10]
My Sweet Shadow [8.5/10]
Dead Alone [8.5/10]- Criminally underrated imo
Like You Better Dead [8.5/10]
In Search For I [7.5/10]- I like the vocals, the lyrics don't really take me out of the moment, but it's probably the one song that doesn't work with STYE's production
Dial 595-Escape [7.5/10]
My Sweet Shadow (Remix) [7.5/10]- I quite like it for the most part, but I hate that one really loud electronic noise in the second verse
Varmlandsvisan [7.5/10]- I always forget about this one, but it's good
Evil in a Closet [6/10]- Don't care for the latter half of the song
Superhero of the Computer Rage [2/10]- The melodic lead is cool, that's it
Bottled [0/10]
Average- 7.5/10

It's always strange and surprising to me just how much Superhero resonates with everyone else except me. Sure, the lead is absolutely classic In Flames, but that's pretty much the only really enjoyable part of the song for me. I'm not exactly sure what I'm just not hearing, but yeah, I wish it was better. I don't necessarily think it should've been left off the album though- That honor is reserved for Bottled exclusively.

ASoP-

Disconnected [10/10]
Move Through Me [10/10]
Eraser [10/10]
The Mirror's Truth [9/10]- Ranked higher than some with better scores because I love the composition and hate some production choices that aren't just the guitar tone
Tilt [9.5/10]
Drenched In Fear [9.5/10]- Also underrated as fuck
Abnegation [9/10]
Sleepless Again [8/10]
Alias [8/10]
The Chosen Pessimist [7.5/10]- Would rate this a lot higher if they just cut out a minute of the buildup because it just doesn't quite justify its length in the same way as other long songs or even Wallflower
I'm the Highway [6.5/10]
Condemned [6/10]
March to the Shore [6/10]
Delights and Angers/Sober and Irrelevant [0/10]- Both should've been left off the album
Average- 7.5/10

I've always tended to believe that I like ASoP more when I'm more depressed, and these scores are genuinely startling to me because of that. I don't know if it's actually grown on me or if I'm in a worse headspace than I realize- Though then again, I work retail and have been forced to listen to Christmas music nonstop since November started, so maybe anything's honey for the wound.

Also, I swear that that tie wasn't intentional, I generally find STYE to be way more enjoyable than ASoP.

 

[The Grayfox]

Superhero of the Computer Rage [2/10]- The melodic lead is cool, that's it

It's always strange and surprising to me just how much Superhero resonates with everyone else except me. Sure, the lead is absolutely classic In Flames, but that's pretty much the only really enjoyable part of the song for me. I'm not exactly sure what I'm just not hearing, but yeah, I wish it was better. I don't necessarily think it should've been left off the album though- That honor is reserved for Bottled exclusively.

Boo this man!

For me, I think it's a pacing thing. I love the pace of the song and I like the overlaid vocals in the chorus quite a bit. I wouldn't put it up against anything from Clayman, for instance, but on a pretty subpar album like STYE, it sticks out to me as being quite enjoyable. And then in comparison to anything from Siren Charms or Battles, I'd say it's a masterpiece.

 

[A88]

Ah, STYE. Fucking hate that album and its sound. Dead Alone and MSS are good songs I guess.

In retrospect, and as I had the chance to hear masterpieces like Siren Charms, Battles and the last album, STYE isn't so bad, especially the used and abused version.

On the other hand, ASOP is a great album buried somwhere in the mass grave filled with bad production, awful artwork style, filler songs, Anders' "singing", lyrics and ideas.

 

[drawntoblack]

I could swear we've had this conversation at least 5 times over the years.

Nowadays I enjoy STYE/R2R for the timestamps that they are, of that era and of where I was and the things I did while listening to them throughout 2000s. That's probably better even if less fair compared to extremely unbiased and impassive rating of newer albums. I'm probably also a bit nostalgic for that whole era of post-nu metal alternative metal of 2000s, there's no music like it anymore.

Also, hope you all had a nice Christmas and new years eve.

 

[ThePhobiac]

It makes sense that topics would repeat, tbh. Everything about the band has been discussed to death already. We are cursed to be here and rank In Flames albums and songs until forever.

 

[Xpyro125]

In fairness, it is generally interesting to see how people’s opinions have changed or stayed the same over time

I haven’t been here too long anyways, so I’m pretty sure this is my first time ranking those albums’ tracks on the forum.

Also, Foregone just isn’t interesting to think about or talk about. I could go on about how I finally listened to it with my father and he loved it, but honestly? I’m not really sure how much more than I need to say other than how he enjoys modern metalcore and thinks Chris’ solos are incredible, which help to make sense as to why he enjoyed it a lot more than I did. Sure, A Dialogue sounds a hell of a lot like Voices, but nothing on here really hits as hard or feels as good as THE or their older stuff, and considering how much of a clusterfuck Cyhra is, that also makes for a more fruitful conversation. Sorry if I’m coming off hostile, I don’t mean to be.

I guess I could say that Down, Wicked, and No Good was interesting sonically and is something I would like to see more of, but there’s no way in hell that’s happening.

 

[Xpyro125]

I'm probably also a bit nostalgic for that whole era of post-nu metal alternative metal of 2000s, there's no music like it anymore.

Though I do feel that shit completely

 

[eochaid]

I guess I could say that Down, Wicked, and No Good was interesting sonically and is something I would like to see more of, but there’s no way in hell that’s happening.

I would only say that as evidence to my family that I've been abducted.

 

[DE4life]

It makes sense that topics would repeat, tbh. Everything about the band has been discussed to death already. We are cursed to be here and rank In Flames albums and songs until forever.

Lol, yeah, I don't think there's anything new to talk about at this point - especially with Foregone giving us little to talk about and the band in general being pretty boring these days. My opinions have certainly changed over time, although that's at least partially due to newer albums making me realise the older albums weren't as bad as I thought. I can tolerate the likes of STYE a lot more now than I could back when the most recent album was Come Clarity or even SOAPF.

As far as ASOP is concerned, it'll always just be a case of wasted potential to me. Maybe the most frustrating album in the band's entire discography, because all of the ingredients are there for a solid followup to Come Clarity - it's just fucked over by the production and Anders' shitty vocals. Two things that I can't really overlook or ignore when I listen to the album. I simply can't stand Anders' vocals on ASOP. There's no technique or talent to anything he's doing, it's just annoying yelling, bad attempts at singing and a smattering of mostly weak growls. Some of this could be masked by decent production, as was the case with SOAPF, but the production just makes everything even worse.

 

[Xpyro125]

I would only say that as evidence to my family that I've been abducted.

Compared to Foregone, I’d happily take it. It’s pretty clear that the guys love 80s stuff, and while that much isn’t always my cup of tea, I think going in the direction of their cover of It’s No Good in particular would actually make for something pretty good. Maybe it’s just me being tired of downtuned metalcore/deathcore shit with little to no melody, maybe it’s me feeling that In Flames’ heavy these days isn’t very heavy, but I just want something I can feel. I probably should’ve clarified that I absolutely don’t want anything in the direction of their Wicked Game or Hurt covers. The former worked enough for what intended to do, though I don’t think they could meaningfully take it any further. The latter… No.

I simply can't stand Anders' vocals on ASOP. There's no technique or talent to anything he's doing, it's just annoying yelling, bad attempts at singing and a smattering of mostly weak growls. Some of this could be masked by decent production, as was the case with SOAPF, but the production just makes everything even worse.

I don’t think I quite agree with the take of SOAPF’s vocals being in the same territory as ASOP’s vocals, even if they also lacked defined technique. Even though there’s only a difference of three years between albums, I feel that there’s a far older and wiser sort of raspiness to his clean vocals in particular, which is far different sonically and just lyrically from ASOP. In fairness, ASOP’s a lot of whining, so I don’t think comparing the lyrics is entirely fair. I think the lower register that’s generally on display in SOAPF also helps with that. I’m not very educated on vocals nor on describing them, so I don’t really think I’m the one to make this argument, but I guess it’s a start.

 

[DE4life]

I don’t think I quite agree with the take of SOAPF’s vocals being in the same territory as ASOP’s vocals, even if they also lacked defined technique. Even though there’s only a difference of three years between albums, I feel that there’s a far older and wiser sort of raspiness to his clean vocals in particular, which is far different sonically and just lyrically from ASOP. In fairness, ASOP’s a lot of whining, so I don’t think comparing the lyrics is entirely fair. I think the lower register that’s generally on display in SOAPF also helps with that. I’m not very educated on vocals nor on describing them, so I don’t really think I’m the one to make this argument, but I guess it’s a start.

Before I isolated the vocal stems I would have said exactly the same thing, but once I heard the vocals removed from the music I realised that Anders himself is not doing anything significantly different on SOAPF. There are some changes but it's mostly the same - it's just that whoever produced the vocals and mixed it with the music did a much better job on SOAPF than on ASOP. I don't know if it was the same person/people or somebody different, but regardless. It could also be that the musical production on SOAPF - which is quite different to ASOP - lends itself better to those type of vocals too. I don't know.

Lyrically there is a bit of an improvement on SOAPF, but I wouldn't say it's a huge leap forward or anything. ASOP has some really shitty lines (the obvious one from Disconnected, some of Sleepless Again and a lot of Delight & Angers) but in total the lyrics aren't significantly worse than Come Clarity, which had such classics as "I cut myself to sleep" and "You should realise it hurts in me too". So much depends on vocal delivery and production, and ASOP fails massively in that department.

 

[ThePhobiac]

I always thought that Come Clarity was Anders' peak, in that his screams and clean signing with both mostly good, and distinct from one another. Before CC his clean vocals were always too weak to be featured prominently, but CC is where they started putting them front and center without detracting from the music (Crawl Through Knives, Leeches, Reflect the Storm).

I don't have an issue with Anders' 100% pure screams on ASOP or SOAPF, nor with his 100% purely clean singing (The Chosen Pessimist, the verses of Ropes, the chorus of Alias, Liberation, etc). The issue I have is that shitty hybrid scream-sing yelling he does throughout most of ASOP and too much of SOAPF. I get what he's going for -- kind of a Layne Staley delivery. He wanted to add some melody to his screams without actually singing his lines. But it just sounds bad to me. And sometimes he tries to make his clean singing too forceful and kind of "bakes" it, like in the chorus of Where the Dead Ships Dwell and almost all of Deliver Us, and that sounds awful to me, too. He can't do 50% sing, 50% scream. It has to be 100% one or the other for me.

Much to my satisfaction, he mostly* did away with this on Siren Charms, instead doing either 100% screaming or 100% singing like he did on Come Clarity, with little hybridization.

*It's still there in places like the choruses of In Plain View and Rusted Nail, but nowhere near as prominent.