The Halo Effect - New Album 2023/2024

[Xpyro125]

As a whole album, I think MotU is a lot more fluid and just flows really nicely together. It feels like a cohesive effort. And it's a very solid one.

Also, their setlist for the headline tour:


This Curse of Silence
March of the Unheard
Feel What I Believe
In Broken Trust
The Needless End
Detonate
Conditional
Cruel Perception
A Truth Worth Lying For
Become Surrender
What We Become
Gateways
Last of Our Kind
Days of the Lost
Shadowminds
Coda (outro)


Kind of sucks they're only playing video songs from MotU, but oh well.

Ten to six if you count Become Surrender as part of DotL’s roster, which is a bit of a shame. I think dropping The Most Alone was the right call, but they could’ve trimmed the fat a bit more. I get the feeling that we’ll get one more single off of March in due time, but it won’t be on the setlist for now. I would’ve loved to see something like Between Directions into Gateways or Conditional into The Burning Point, but the setlist still kicks ass. I think In Broken Trust and A Truth Worth Lying For are songs that come alive a lot more live, so I’m glad they’re still there even though it would’ve been easy to drop one or both of them. Although IF’s setlists have been a lot better recently, there is no Graveland here, so maybe THE wins out here. Don’t tell Anders that.

Well, opinions are what they are, I'm just thankful I really love both albums.

I will absolutely agree with this though.

 

[DE4life]

The main thing is that both albums are great - in the end the minute details are just that to me, minute. Interesting to consider, particularly in regards to how other people hear the songs and regard the albums, but ultimately to me it's the difference between a 9 and a 9.5, so, it becomes unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Compare to IF latest releases and it's glorious, really. IF release is like picking a carcass for a tiny piece of meat. Desperately looking for something to like, because you know there's something there, buried in the husk of what's left of the band. You find a tiny sliver of what once was and cling onto it, because you want it to be better than it really is. I still like I, the Mask as an album - but it isn't a patch on DotL or MotU. It just isn't. SC and Battles aren't even worthy of being considered a part of the same sphere. I'll leave Foregone alone as I've already voiced my opinion on that.

With DotL and MotU, for me, it's more like... what tiny details am I thinking about that makes this a 9 instead of a 10/10? And that's a beautiful position to be in.

 

[The Grayfox]

After sitting with DotL as long as I have, there are low points for me personally. In Broken Trust and A Truth Worth Lying For are like 4, maybe 5/10 songs for me. Other than the occasional full album listen, I seriously doubt I'll ever listen to those songs. But there are songs like Gateways, Last of Our Kind, Conditional that I give solid 8 or 9/10's. If you asked me which album I'd rather listen to all the way through, it's MotU. If I was cherry picking individual songs, I'd say my favorites are on DotL. Also, totally agreed with @eochaid on the clean vocals being far superior on MotU.

With the setlist, Become Surrender is actually considered a MotU song because that and the Defiant One are the deluxe edition. They really should just stand alone as a small EP or something because I think they're subpar leftover tracks and they really don't fit well on either album.

 

[eochaid]

Well, opinions are what they are, I'm just thankful I really love both albums.

Yeah. Me too. In this time, having two consecutive albums from the same band that we can enjoy feels like a miracle.

 

[eochaid]

IF release is like picking a carcass for a tiny piece of meat. Desperately looking for something to like, because you know there's something there, buried in the husk of what's left of the band.

Ah. That's what got me out of the band. I stopped looking for something because I'm convinced it's not there anymore.

Six songs out of four albums and an EP is not a good sign. And even those six songs aren't really what I'm expecting from the band. They are just enjoyable but pale when compared to what they gave us in the past.

Now, I don't even see SOAPF as a release from the IF that I used to like and time, and the following releases, have made me appreciate it less, far less, than I did when it was released.

 

[Moonshield_]

I never really got into SoaPF since guitar riffs had already changed for something less refined (due to Jesper departure obviously) and too many fillers along the album.

 

[A88]

Out of IF last 15 years, 5 albums and 2 EPs I could probably compile a good 10-12 song album. And even that would not be as good as any of THE albums.

Quite sad actually.

 

[DE4life]

I still personally enjoy SOAPF - the title track and WTDSD remain two of my favourite IF songs, and the overall vibe of the album resonates with me for whatever reason. Nostalgia might play a part, but I do think objectively it's a solid effort. It's definitely different to what came before it though, which makes sense when you consider it is the first album Bjorn created by himself. You'd think he'd get better as time goes on, but alas. I'd hesitate to compare it to DotL or MotU as those albums are aiming for a totally different sound. I can appreciate SOAPF for what it is, whilst also appreciating THE's albums for what they are. One doesn't detract from the other, for me at least.

Once Jesper left IF did become a totally different band. He has an intangible quality that can't be replaced or replicated. Bjorn and Jesper balanced each other well when they worked together, but separate they are very different musicians. Nowadays I separate IF pre and post Jesper because, to me, it's not the same thing. It'd be like comparing a a Mars Bar with a a Twix or something. They're both chocolate but the ingredients are different - you can say you like one more than the other, but otherwise it is what it is.

 

[eochaid]

Yes. I enjoy it but, everything that came before it makes me see it in a different perspective. It's the starting point of the new version of the band and it's so significantly different from what was before as to not considere it as a part of "old" In Flames.

I mean, if it was a single effort into that direction then it would be ok. But, as I said, everything that came after that album has diminished, to le, its value.

 

[DE4life]

I pretty much see SOAPF as a standalone Bjorn album with Anders still doing vocals. Everything after that is the "new" IF with Anders, Benson and others influencing, but by all accounts SOAPF was Bjorn's creation and pretty much the only IF album where that's the case. Makes me wonder what Bjorn might have been capable of if he struck out on his own with some genuine motivation and nobody holding him back, but I guess we'll never know.

 

[Xpyro125]

I think there was a completely different mentality and need to prove something on SoaPF from both Björn and Anders. While the riffs are very much downtuned core, they’re still very much Björn, and they have what feel at least to me like IF melodies and technique. They’re not Jesper’s melodies at all, so maybe they aren’t IF melodies to you, but they are to me. Even just reading the lyrics, it’s clear that Anders is actually writing with purpose and clarity unlike later albums. While it isn’t a concept album, lines like “we are ghosts in a concrete world/genetic codes of a dying breed”, “
The same road for far too long/It's not meant to be, we are losing identity”, “
So, I need to change direction/Nothing special and far from perfect”, “
All of this will turn to ash/A change for a piece of mind”, quite a bit of Ropes, and the entirety of Jester’s Door very much feel like they’re addressing the need to forge their own new direction and identity, particularly with Jesper’s leaving. And while they don’t deal with these themes, I’d argue that The Attic, Darker Times, A New Dawn, and Liberation are all written with purpose as well. Admittedly, I don’t quite understand Liberation’s meaning, but it’s still incredibly poignant nonetheless. I’d make more of an argument and better arguments for SoaPF, and I have in the past, but I just woke up.

I absolutely love SoaPF, it’s easily a top 3 album for me in spite of Jesper being my favorite guitarist, but it’s not something I’d ever compare to MotU. MotU is the triumphant return of 2000s melodeath for these members, SoaPF is that final move away from melodeath into something new for IF. I think SoaPF established a wonderful new direction for the band that was immediately undermined in totality by Siren Charms. If you see the album as the beginning of the end, that’s understandable, but I don’t think it’s due to a poor foundation. Meanwhile MotU is an album that gives me so much hope for the future, having expanded on what I loved about DotL to make it even better. Maybe I’m misunderstanding what’s being said here, but I don’t feel like they’re comparable.

The rest of the discography after that? Doesn’t even touch DotL in spite of my problems with that album.

 

[DE4life]

Lyrically Anders' decline started from Clayman, but the lyrics on Reroute, STYE and Come Clarity are still good if not great. ASOP's lyrics are generally OK with a few exceptions - it's mainly certain lines that are stupid rather than entire songs. Conceptually there's a lack of maturity though. Somewhat the same for SOAPF although I'd say that album is an improvement on ASOP. SC and Battles, total shit. Massive decline in effort. ITM a bit improved but not by much, and Foregone's lyrics are again slightly better, although still not anything special. At least he somewhat moved away from the 'woe is me' narrative that pervades so much of the material post-Clayman.

Musically SOAPF would have been a fantastic foundation for a new direction, but let's face it, In Flames haven't been consistent with a direction in sound since Clayman either. Production, mixing and general sound have been really different on pretty much every album after they left Nordstrom. Sometimes sounding decent, sometimes sounding shit, but they never carried any sound on to the next album. It's not necessarily a bad thing if good quality is still guaranteed, but that fluctuated pretty aggressively as well. It became a situation where you never knew what to expect from them, and it still continues to this day. Not many people would have predicted Foregone's sound after ITM. They are fortunate to have had a very strong base from the 1996-2000 period, because a band doing it this way from the beginning would have really struggled. Any fanbase needs to have some level of expectation to be willing to purchase an album, as otherwise you're just gambling on it being something you'll enjoy. Granted nowadays that's less of an issue with music streaming.

One thing you know with THE is that you can trust them to deliver a specific sound. They aren't going to veer wildly into California-punk or write lyrics that sound like they've come from an angsty 13 year old's diary.

 

[Gums]

I listened to this new Halo Effect album twice. I'm in agreement with a lot of the opinions here. However, I'm a lot less positive about the record overall. I don't think I'll listen to it again, and I didn't add any of its songs to my favs. I agree with the points that it's more consistent, better clean vocals, and I like the dual guitars.

I wish that the guitars had been more front and centre.. to me I felt like I was listening to songs that are focused on the vocals. It sounded like a pop album. The vocals are what my attention would be drawn to the most, and they were really boring and predictable. Very standard and basic, nothing interesting whatsoever in the vocals, to the point that I found it distracting and couldn't stop noticing that I'm hearing the same thing I've heard many times in recent years. Some of this is a little out of his control, I guess.. I do notice that when the music is more varied, he follows along and makes the vocals more interesting. Maybe different patterns, speed, emphasis, etc. There is only so much he can do without sounding out of place with the music. The other thing is he's been doing this for like 100 years and it can't be that easy to keep coming up with ideas when he's also in 10 bands at once. Anyway, bottom line is, if I'm going to be focused on the vocals, they better be really good, and this was the opposite for me.

I wish the guitars were up top, and that they had some bite to them. I need to feel like I'm listening to a metal album, with a bit of an aggressive and raw quality to the guitars. If there had been more points where it is guitar-only, and they just jammed the fuck out, rather than having it feel like background music that you really have to listen hard to hear. Could have been way better imo.

Overall, this is still fine, and I appreciate what the guys are doing and it's a good effort. Just didn't really work for me. Oh well. I did like some songs from their first album. I like the experimental qualities. I really like to hear something new and interesting. That's what drew me into metal in the first place. I find that there is way better stuff out there that still gives me the feeling I'm seeking. I don't want basic and easy comfort music to fall asleep to. But I'm glad you guys like it a lot and I hope they sell many records. I still will check out their future releases for sure and wouldn't be surprised if I really enjoy the next one, with some tweaks.

As for In Flames - I still cannot for the life of me understand how anyone likes this stuff. I don't even agree with the idea that 'it's just boring'. It's not boring.. it is outright offensive pedophile metal. The horrifically bad vocals with children, autotuned squealing, song titles about monsters in the bedroom.. wtf? How can you seriously be ok with I'm a Mask or Foregone.. those vocals are 100% deal breaking, no exceptions. It could be the best music in the world and I would still IMMEDIATELY TURN THAT SHIT OFF when the pedophiliac choruses begin. And the music is far from being the best.
Their nursery rhyme choruses started on Reroute to Remain and they are all over a Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading, etc. If you then add children choirs and autotune to that, you end up with I'm a Mask, Foregone, Battles. It's Sickening! Keeping the Playground alive and well aren't you Anders.. fucking creepy!

 

[Moonshield_]

Some quick guitar covers for fun

 

[GraemeSinclair]

Some quick guitar covers for fun

Great tone, dude (nice playing, too)!

 

[CladInShadows971]

Lyrically Anders' decline started from Clayman,

Which is really telling when you realise Clayman was only the second album he actually wrote the lyrics for, and the first one where he was doing it without assistance. Anyway, one thing IF and DT have in common for me is that their lyrics were best when they were being written by Nicolas Sundin instead of their actual vocalists.

As for MotU, it addresses my only real criticism of DotL by having far more constant lead guitar melodies spread throughout each of the different songs. If I had to nitpick, I wish there was a bit more of a Jester Race / Whoracle-esque folky feel to them rather than the Clayman / Iron Maiden style, but it's really a minor complaint.

 

[Cobra8472]

I listened to this new Halo Effect album twice. I'm in agreement with a lot of the opinions here. However, I'm a lot less positive about the record overall. I don't think I'll listen to it again, and I didn't add any of its songs to my favs. I agree with the points that it's more consistent, better clean vocals, and I like the dual guitars.

I wish that the guitars had been more front and centre.. to me I felt like I was listening to songs that are focused on the vocals. It sounded like a pop album. The vocals are what my attention would be drawn to the most, and they were really boring and predictable. Very standard and basic, nothing interesting whatsoever in the vocals, to the point that I found it distracting and couldn't stop noticing that I'm hearing the same thing I've heard many times in recent years. Some of this is a little out of his control, I guess.. I do notice that when the music is more varied, he follows along and makes the vocals more interesting. Maybe different patterns, speed, emphasis, etc. There is only so much he can do without sounding out of place with the music. The other thing is he's been doing this for like 100 years and it can't be that easy to keep coming up with ideas when he's also in 10 bands at once. Anyway, bottom line is, if I'm going to be focused on the vocals, they better be really good, and this was the opposite for me.

I wish the guitars were up top, and that they had some bite to them. I need to feel like I'm listening to a metal album, with a bit of an aggressive and raw quality to the guitars. If there had been more points where it is guitar-only, and they just jammed the fuck out, rather than having it feel like background music that you really have to listen hard to hear. Could have been way better imo.

Overall, this is still fine, and I appreciate what the guys are doing and it's a good effort. Just didn't really work for me. Oh well. I did like some songs from their first album. I like the experimental qualities. I really like to hear something new and interesting. That's what drew me into metal in the first place. I find that there is way better stuff out there that still gives me the feeling I'm seeking. I don't want basic and easy comfort music to fall asleep to. But I'm glad you guys like it a lot and I hope they sell many records. I still will check out their future releases for sure and wouldn't be surprised if I really enjoy the next one, with some tweaks.

As for In Flames - I still cannot for the life of me understand how anyone likes this stuff. I don't even agree with the idea that 'it's just boring'. It's not boring.. it is outright offensive pedophile metal. The horrifically bad vocals with children, autotuned squealing, song titles about monsters in the bedroom.. wtf? How can you seriously be ok with I'm a Mask or Foregone.. those vocals are 100% deal breaking, no exceptions. It could be the best music in the world and I would still IMMEDIATELY TURN THAT SHIT OFF when the pedophiliac choruses begin. And the music is far from being the best.
Their nursery rhyme choruses started on Reroute to Remain and they are all over a Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading, etc. If you then add children choirs and autotune to that, you end up with I'm a Mask, Foregone, Battles. It's Sickening! Keeping the Playground alive and well aren't you Anders.. fucking creepy!

Can we not do the "everything that has anything to do in the slightest with children is pedophilia" right-wing MAGA bullshit schtick here?

 

[drawntoblack]

I personally thought that line was hilarious and such a great way to describe IF with brevity

 

[The Grayfox]

Can we not do the "everything that has anything to do in the slightest with children is pedophilia" right-wing MAGA bullshit schtick here?

Yeah, I don't really understand all the pedophile references there either.

 

[Gums]

Can we not do the "everything that has anything to do in the slightest with children is pedophilia" right-wing MAGA bullshit schtick here?

Sure pal. I'm a left wing Canadian (not the best of times to be me)

What can I say.. if you're a 50 year old man singing like a little kid and naming songs like a child.. that's not "slight". The next step is pushing kids on the neighborhood park swingset with a full blown erection.

Look, I'm sure Anders isn't actually a pedophile. But it is extremely weird. These choruses, it is so off-putting that I can't continue listening. It catapults it way below virtually all other metal songs I've ever heard. I'd rather listen to just about anything than a 50 year old man making these sounds, or making a computer make these sounds or whatever.

One time I spent some time with this lady who eventually showed me pictures of her being suspended in the nude by hooks through her skin. I had a hard time understanding why anybody would choose to do that. When I listed to Battles, I'm a Mask or Foregone I have the same thoughts and feelings. I can't understand why, of all the tunes to listen to in the world, you would choose to listen to Anders doing this. Explain yourself, Greyfox!!