Wow thx for the warm welcome
Well, the pre-Soundtrack to your escape era at least.
It's cool to see that the so-called "In flames forum" is in fact "Let's-bitch-In-flames-for-trying-something-new forum" ... Nice nice
I tried to explain my point and start a reflexion about this subject, but if you guys don't know how to spell anything else than Failed, well go for it and have fun.
this forum ->
Have you read many of the posts here, or just assuming from an assorted few? Opinion here is somewhat divided on albums and taste. Of course there's a larger per-cent of people preferring the older stuff - but that's not a bad thing, because their older stuff is superior musically, if not commercially.
Clay-man said:
ASOP is shit. The production is so unmetal it's not funny.
See, I like ASOP, but I agree it is the least 'metal' of In Flames albums. It still is melodic metal, but the production strays very close to hard rock along with the structures. It makes me worry for In Flames next release.
Furious George said:
I'd go further, personally. I can't stand anything after Clayman. There's a small handful of decent riffs on Reroute, then everything goes to shit.
Everything pre-Clayman is some of the finest music ever written IMO.
Unlike the majority of older fans, I actually like In Flames new as well as their old stuff. The older shit is vastly superior in every aspect, but I don't think the stuff In Flames released after that was bad, it was just no where near the level they had achieved up until Clayman. R2R is a hugely underrated album, and with a better production would have been received better. It's just a shame most of the melodies are buried under that shitty mix. STYE is.... well, it is what it is. I don't hate it but of the In Flames albums it has the least replay value for me, even the heavier songs ("F(r)iend) are fairly lacklustre and Bottled is their shittiest song by far. Come Clarity is an extremely one-dimensional, though catchy, metal album and ASOP is a mellowed out In Flames that is still catchy but losing steam.
Fratt said:
But I don't agree whith you on the nu-metal point : First of all I don't listen to Nu-Metal at all, and I don't think In flames became a Nu-Metal Band. Yes the vocals are softer, and the music is more accessible ... but saying that it's only a commercial initiative is another story. Maybe In flames just wanted to get a bit softer, because they felt more like it ? A lot of bands are doing that (Gojira, All that Remains, Manowar, Rammstein ...). You can't force a band to stay in the same fuckin style for his whole existence.
I somewhat agree with this (though as Furious George pointed out, this is being discussed in another thread), though In Flames decision to mellow out and create catchy songs is definately a commercial drive. Not only that - but it's easier for them. Easier songs = moar money and moar faggy fans who'll buy your shit, why wouldn't you? Considering some people labelled Colony and Clayman sellout albums I think any of that shit goes right over their heads by this point.
Clay-Man said:
They should be known what they're supposed to be known for, if they want to sing they can sing.
Good experimenting would be Clayman. More singing, more ballads. But it still carried their old format and their old sound.
I think R2R was on the border of acceptable experimentation for a melodic death metal band, and most people hoped would be as commercial as In Flames got, but of course, that was proved badly wrong by STYE, CC and ASOP. Clayman didn't feature any 'singing', only mumbling, and one "ballad" (S&A), which is still heavy, Reroute is the real experimental album with actual singing, two ballads and a bunch of catchy MTV-friendly tunes.
Furious George said:
In Flames have set about ripping the melody from their music, dumbing down the song structure and musical sophistication and relying instead on a single catchy chorus (provided by a guy who clearly cannot do clean singing!) and 'bouncy' rhythms to motivate the listener. In essence, they have moved their music further from metal and closer to pop in terms of the devices it uses to appeal to the listener.
I agree with this assessment, however, it's worth noting a lot of metal singers cannot really sing very well. Anders is hardly the only one, especially in the alt. metal genre people like to compare In Flames to. I think the experimentation actually worked fairly well on Reroute, but from STYE onwards has caused a steady decline in the band's creativity.
Furious George said:
As for the 'commercial side' of things, I am pretty surprised that you would even question this. It's not just the fact that they've made their music into a more popular style, it's the whole image they're projecting. Cool clothes, hum-vees, bikini chicks... you're honestly suggesting that it's an artistic change and not a commercial one?
You know the Touch of Red video was a parody, right? Not meant to be taken seriously?
Anyhow, seperate from that, In Flames have certainly changed their image. Contrast the awesomeness of the artwork prior STYE and then the artwork on STYE afterwards (Soundtrack's album art work sucked, CC's was gay, ASOP's is beyond description in the worst way) and you can see a shift towards the utter lame. Obviously it connects with their new pathetic fanbase (not all fans, but most of them - I saw for myself in london) and thus brings them moar monies.
Veenox said:
I have the utmost respect for Daniel's drumming capabilities, but as far as I'm concerned, he's a compelete moron. He has blatantly disrespected the band's older albums in a number of interviews, especially The Jester Race, which he didn't even fucking play on.
Shit, really? I haven't seen him rip on the old In Flames albums, but if he has, shame on him. Also, i'm hoping those pics of him being emo are a joke. Else, double shame on him.
. Well this is my opinion. 
