I'll be honest, I feel like I got Rick Rolled. Although I should have known better, I did not anticipate the amount of corny clean singing and choruses that would be on this album. The singles certainly didn't give me that vibe for the most part. Although I can agree it's better than the last three albums, this is still a huge disappointment.
Anders whiny vocals. My fuck. I can’t do it. It just ruins it for me. Instrumentation is good. The lyrics are a bit cringe. No catchy res to the songs at all.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I do feel kinda slighted on this one. I'm glad I got some stuff that's more akin to the stuff I love by In Flames but I feel like I got a lot of filler too. They're still stuck on what they've been doing over the course of these last few albums so they're not going to abandon all the poppy choruses it seems. Man, those singles were pretty misleading though.
@@thrallsofmetal I refrained from pre-ordering when it was announced because I said I need to listen to the album first. With six singles that were pretty darn good I figured, what the hell. My stupid ass preordered it the day before release. Luckily I was able to get a refund haha.
I think the record should've been called "The Great Deceiver". Kinda how I felt after getting so excited after the singles, then the feeling of "haha, got you" once I listened to the whole thing. Good job, guys. You got me.
Yeah, definitely a return to form for me, easily the best album they've done since Come Clarity. Even the more alternative leaning tracks are so much more well crafted and thought out than any of their 2010s output. I do think there is a dip in the quality of the material after The Great Deceiver though. It's still decent, but it's nowhere near as strong as all the tracks before. Overall, a really good effort and one that I will definitely be returning to in future. I'm interested to see what you guys think, I personally would be comfortable saying that In Flames is indeed back. It may have taken them 17 years, but they are finally back 🤣🤘🤘
Necrotic Nick- I definitely agree it's the best since Come Clarity but my problem with that statement is I really haven't liked much since that album so it feels like a low standard. I don't think this is a terrible album but it was a bit misleading with the single choices being the more old school sounding ones on the album and the rest ranging from decent to kinda bland. This is a step in the right direction but I don't feel like this is comeback just yet. Maybe the next one though.
For me they dropped in quality after Reroute To Remain. I'm very excited to see y'alls opinion on the new record. I enjoyed it quite a lot it's not my favorite In Flames record. I'm glad they are going back to the traditional sound that they are known for.
Yea pretty much. You could even argue soundtrack to you escape and even come clarity. But that’s pushing it a bit. Their first few records will never be beat. I’m still a bit hesitant to give this a listen but i gotta. To curious not to
Necrotic Nick- I didn't mind the middle era from Reroute to Come Clarity but after that it got pretty spotty. This is definitely the best thing they've done since Come Clarity for me but that isn't the highest of benchmarks and I honestly don't quite see this as the full comeback yet. They are pointed in the right direction so maybe this is just getting their bearings for the next one.
For anyone reading this, if life is difficult for you right now, then please bear in mind that if In Flames can return to form after their ungodly string of L's, then so can you.
Compared to the fucking hate campaign against all mankind that they deployed with those clayman rerecordings it may as well be the second coming of christ himself. Does it match their earlier stuff? No, too much saccharine warbling for that, but at least they've proven they can still deliver the goods, and that alone is reason enough to feel positively about this band for the first time in a while.
After absorbing nothing but their back catalog for the past two weeks in preparation/anticipation, I can honestly say one of two things is happening here. I wish were getting the album after “I the..Mask,” instead of this one. And or(I said two things) this album follows “I the Mask,” and it’s pretty cool 🤘🏽 🇸🇪
I've been hurt too many times. In Flames was THE band that got me into melodic death metal around the release of Soundtrack to Your Escape. Come Clarity was pretty good, but after that I had to walk away. Chris B. seems like a really heavyweight addition so I will give this a couple listens, which is more than I can say for the last few albums.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I feel you there. I've just been doing my best to ignore In Flames because I don't want to get my hopes to high. They tugged at my heartstrings on this one and while this is an improvement I'm still not completely sold on this one. Chris definitely made his presence felt on this for sure. I'm hoping the rest of the band feeds off his energy a bit for the next one.
I did a little backtracking through In Flames. The musical style definitely changes after the first three albums. It feels very melodic but evil yet so metal so I can get why everything in Come Clarity is the last swan song to heavy but wonderful melodies. I think this is the closest they’ve gotten to their classic formula
Question. Would your rating be different if you hadn't heard the 5 singles released prior to the album release? 5 songs are quite a lot of the album. 5 out of 12. If those are really that good (I've not checked out) then that might be enough for some fans to come back.
Integrity's "Humanity Is The Devil" remaster drops today. Arthur Rizk did wonders on the previous two albums. I'll always love the originals I grew up with but these Relapse versions are definitely worth the listen.
Necrotic Nick- I have most of the originals for Integrity so I haven't checked out those Rizk remasters yet. I've been kinda curious about them so I might check them out.
Necrotic Nick- They need to get away from these poppy choruses all the time. Musically their on the right track though. Still needs some work though in my opinion.
I can't believe In Flames is still going with no members from their first two releases. They only have two guys left from the Jester Race. Can they even be considered the same band?
@Kaptain K that's true but Anders is the voice everyone associates with the band. Their classic period that everyone misses started with him really. That's cool!
You guys should do an album rankings of In Flames, that would be very interesting. I absolutely love their older stuff. Some of the best Melo Death ever.
Personally, I am just happy they are moving back in the melo death direction even if it is not fully melo death yet. Hopefully they experiment and get heavier and heavier again.
Necrotic Nick- I'm happy they got back some of the older sound but as much as I think they're moving in the right direction they're still holding on to what they're been doing over the last few. I imagine they didn't want to make it a huge shift right away but putting out the singles that they did really made it seem like the glory days were coming back. It's not a terrible album but I did hope for more.
I 100% agree with pretty much everything you all said. I pre-ordered the album based on the strength of the singles. My first full listen was during a gym session thinking I would be pumped whilst listening to 90’s in flames. Then I realised I had been duped. Every time I heard a chorus I was just thinking - WTF is this whuss rock tripe? I love Megadeth so was excited to hear Broderick in full form again, but I do feel like a big sucker for thinking I would get a 90’sesque in flames album again. On the plus side I think it’s the best they have done for 20 years.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, it feels like a such a bait and switch. I've been seeing this sentiment echoed a lot in the comments and I still 100% feel it. If maybe half the songs had a poppy chorus I wouldn't mind as much but they pretty much all did minus 2 of them I think. It really didn't help that they released 5 singles and they were legit the best songs on the album. Everything else just felt like filler. Maybe on the next one they commit more to the heavier stuff but for now this is definitely a compromise.
Listened all the way through this morning and pretty much enjoyed it all.. None of it was hated like previous records. Best LP since Come Clarity, which isn't hard. A Metalcore/Linkin Parki-sh effort in places. A 4 for me- mainly as it's their best effort in ages, so 1 skull for encouragement and a solid 3 for the record. I'll listen to it more than I will last 15 years of records.
Necrotic Nick- I would agree that it's their best since Come Clarity but at the same time I really haven't enjoyed much since Come Clarity. I think they're heading in the right direction but I want to hear a bigger commitment to the heavier stuff on the next one.
@@thrallsofmetal couldn't agree more. When it riffs up, this LP is banging. Love to hear them put out a raging piece of melodic death metalcore. Thing is, they all know that's what we want and if they do, that's that. .. they'll know anything else after that will fall flat if it doesn't live up to the full heavy shit. Still think the riffs on this record are better than anything they've written in years. I too have not really listened to any of their releases since Sense of Purpose days.. I couldn't even tell you the title of the record that was straight after that.
while it was a step forward in many parts it just didnt hit like i was hoping for a full album wasnt the right choice but a ep would have been so good filled with the singles those killed
Necrotic Nick- That's pretty much exactly how I felt. Expectation vs. Reality can be a bitch lol. They're heading in the right direction which is a positive I can pull from this one.
I got into In Flames with Soundtrack to your Escape as a teen and the songs " The Quiet place and My Sweet Shadow" changed my life musically. I like all there stuff new and old, but I was curious what you guys would think, and I was guessing around a 3. This album feels like it has an identity crisis between new and old, and flip flips between the two. I will say though production wise this album was tight, and love it or hate it But Anders hasn't sounded this good in a long time.
Yeah, I felt the same as y’all when this album came out, and it hasn’t grown on me since. It’s far better than their 2010’s output, but that’s not saying much. To me, it almost feels like a compilation album; it has the sounds of all three decades of In Flames, from the 90s, 00s and 10s. Calling it a “compromise” seems accurate, and the singles were definitely the best songs on the album. Again, it’s a fairly good album, and it’s better than all their recent releases, but it doesn’t come close to their first 5 albums, or even some of their 00’s albums like Reroute to Remain or Come Clarity.
It’s a good album, I think there is only one song I dislike. A couple of great songs and some good songs. Anders got a vocal coach when doing this album. I respect that as a vocal guy, I think he sounded great on this. There’s some hooks and it’s some catchy stuff on this. I can listen to this album again no problem. I can’t say that to their last like 5 albums
I once managed to sneak into a festival where In Flames were playing at that moment. In my opinion the In Flames guitar sound on resent live recordings is garbage, but seeing and hearing that right in front of you was pure power. Also it was good to hear their classic songs live: Only For The Weak, Cloud Connected, Behind Space and Alias (yes, I like Alias)
Don't get the weird hate In Flames seem to get. Sure their last few albums are not as great if you compare to their 90s and 2000s stuff, but musically they were still fine. In regard to Foregone, I think it's a great album and hope to hear more.
Probably my biggest disappointment of 2023. When State of Decay released and people said it was a return to form, I thought it was alright but not the style of melodeath of old In Flames I'm looking for. But when The Great Deceiver dropped, it felt like I was listening to Colony for the first time again. Unfortunately it was the only track that came even close to that. At this point In Flames have doing alternative metal for 2 decades longer than melodeath, so I think it's just time to move on. We still got Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity, Halo Effect, etc. carrying the mantle anyways.
I don't really see this album as any sort of return to form for In Flames, at best some of the songs are more reminiscent of the Come Clarity - A Sense of Purpose Era, which is fine, but there are still too many modern In Flames-isms to say that this is anything more than a decent In Flames record at best. Chris Broderick can still bring it as a guitarist but I have no idea what Anders in thinking with those clean vocals, they do not work well at all (and haven't really since he started doing them). I will say as a whole the album is better than I, The Mask and Battles, but that's not exactly the highest bar to clear. I'm way more excited about the new Insomnium record that's out in a couple of weeks, those guys have never let me down and the snippets of the songs I've heard outside of the singles seems to indicate they're going in a more blackened direction a la Winter's Gate. Also, for those looking for new music in the vein of Lunar Strain/The Jester Race era In Flames the debut full length from Majesties will be out next month. The two singles they've released so far are great and given there are members of Obsequie and Inexorum involved I'm confident the record will be good.
Necrotic Nick- I see it as a slight return. Definitely not enough to call it a comeback but more like a flirtation with their old sound. I think this is better than anything post Come Clarity but that isn't necessarily the most glowing statement. I thing Chris does bring some solid guitar flair but the clean vocals do take me out of it. I don't think Anders is a terrible singer I just don't like how poppy overproduced his vocals are here. I definitely have both Insomnium and Majesties on my radar. The track I jammed by Majesties hit me right in the Jester Race feels so I'm pretty excited for that one.
I really don't see the massive change from Come Clairty to Sense of Purpose. Playground fading is where they fell off for me and a definitive change of a sound
Necrotic Nick- I think the production changed and Anders' vocals definitely went more clean on A Sense of Purpose. What I really noticed on that one was how muddy and downtuned the guitars were. They lost a lot of the crunch they had before that one. Playground and Siren Charms was where I really fell out though.
Hey, Nick. How come you're sitting on the left instead of front and centre? Did you get demoted? Get caught listening to Five Finger Death Punch and this is your punishment???? Kidding, of course and great review as always. Cheers ;-)
I will say this i think they made a mistake in releasing half the album before it came out as singles . Chris Broderick is a hell of a good guitar player (check out his work in Jag Panzer).
Necrotic Nick- Agreed. They didn't leave much meat on the carcass after those singles. It didn't help that the singles didn't necessarily reflect most of the album's sound.
@@thrallsofmetal Well Half the sound lol ,kind of like hald their career lol, As a semi fan of the post reroute to remain stuff (minus Siren Charms and Battles ,i couldnt find anything decent on those two records)It didnt bother me but I would have loved a bit more of the Melodic Death Metal lol.
Hi guys, huge "old" in flames fan here. First I watched your review, I was like damned they are a bit rude, 2.5* and 3*, but I know you are not the biggest melodeath/modern fans. Then I had a listen to this album and yeah... half of the album is great, reminds me the late 90's/early 2000's IF era, but the other half is filler or sounds like the past few years. Happy I ordered the cd and not the vinyl for this one ^^' but I'm also glad to hear some heavy IF songs again! I'll give it a 3.5*
Necrotic Nick- Honestly, I still hold this band in relative high esteem but I definitely feel a bit mislead by the singles as to what this album was going to be. I like my melodeath more balanced or maybe just favoring the melody more in the riff work than the vocals. This went hard for the poppy choruses on too many tracks and I feel like there's still a lot of carryover from the last few here mixed with the more Clayman-ish tracks. I still enjoyed the more revitalized songs but I feel like those should have represented the bulk of the album.
Having an opinion about art is TOTALLY subjective. I love older films but most people today don't give a shit about that. And that doesn't matter to me. If somebody wants to watch only Marvel stuff and not old classics from the 60's and 70's, okay, that is your choice. But I just take exception with this "I was like damned they are a bit rude." These guys are cool (never rude) and (especially Nick) have great knowledge of heavy music which I very much respect. If they call something mediocre, I am genuinely with them and will consider. Watch their other videos if you want to get what Thralls of Metal is all about. And to me, even the singles In Flames released are only okay and not great. In Flames never had the punch of Bloodbath, Amon Amarth, Nile, CC, ALL Soilwork, etc. I don't even know how much I consider their 90's stuff death metal, but it was good. Now it isn't good IMO. Maybe I just like "burn your ears to the ground" heaviness these days?! This, coupled with a love for heavy rock from the 70's and thrash titans like Testament, Sepultura and Slayer. Even Architects has been killing it on their last three albums; and Parkway Drive as well, not to mention Lamb of God. To each their own, but this is a great channel!
@@mattirealm I know, they are cool guys, and it wasn't a reproach. English is not my main language, I think I did a mistake using the word "rude", I should have say harsh or severe? I don't know. Anyway everything is cool I love thralls of metal's channel :) and you are right, art is subjctive.
I agree with Nick,Come Clarity was the last decent In Flames album,but tbh I kinda lost interest in em after that...I dunno really,I wasn't that blown away by the singles anyway,so I'll probably give this a miss...I'll just keep listening to whoracle and Colony,or the other superior In Flames that came out last year called The Halo Effect.
Necrotic Nick- That was the last one that really felt like an In Flames album. I still bought the ones that followed but none of them came close to Come Clarity and they really started deviating from their OG sound with each release. This gets back some of it but not enough of it. The Halo Effect definitely beat them at their own game.
Ah man I don’t know about this one. Sure there’s glimpses of IF older sound. But it’s just still not doing it for me like the old stuff. But anyway I’ve beat that dead horse into the ground now. It’s been 15 almost 20 years since that IF sound we came to love. The back half of this album I like more. I definitely would not call this a comeback that’s for sure. But it is their better stuff they put out in few years Id say it’s their best work since “ A Sense Of Purpose”
Necrotic Nick- It's a mixed bag for sure. It's not quite the return I wanted but it's still better than anything past Come Clarity in my opinion. I just feel like they marketed it like it was going to be a comeback and it was only a slight return. Maybe they'll get it on the next one.
Being an old fart having discovered In Flames when "The Jester Race" came out and pretty much followed their "career" since then , this is just an abomination because the whole thing feels like a marketing plot. it's obvious than Anders has no desire to go back to the band's roots and w/o Jesper all hope is lost for this band. I have more respect for when Korn released "The Path Of Totality", because at least they tried something different and it wasn't that bad for what it was. I am happy for C.Brodrick to get a decent check as a hired gun though.
Necrotic Nick- I got into them with Reroute to Remain and worked my way backwards. I'm huge fan of Jester Race and Whoracle especially and I didn't think I was going to get anything like that but I was at least hoping for something along the lines of Clayman. Yeah, they definitely hooked me with the singles being heavier but there's a ton of filler on here but not much I'd call flat out terrible just very misleading for what I think this album was being billed as. Wish I had something positive to say about Path of Totality but that album is awful. I just can't with that album lol
Jesper was the one pushing them from the Gothenburg sound towards the synths and keyboards more dude lol listen to the last couple albums with him before he went to rehab
I got into In Flames around Whoracle and Colony....In fact 1998 Mill Metalfest in WI, In FLames, Marduk and Nile stood out to me. Great review. I agree with this review totally. Broderick has some good solos. Arch Enemy just when you think Loomis is having a coming out party, the solo is only 4 bars long, then goes into Amott's wah pedal. Back to this album, I did enjoy it working out on Friday moring. Second spin, I will say some of the clean vocals I heard in my head being sang a little different way, and felt the producer fucked up on some of the vocal notes. Coulda been better and less straight notes. Anybody wanting a bit more, I feel Nightrage's latest album "Abyss Rising" does In Flames better than In Flames. Check out that release. It is a fun listen.🤘🤘🤘
Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I didn't get a chance to see In Flames live until they were touring on Soundtrack to Your Escape but they put on a killer live show. I would have loved to have seen them in '98 though. Yeah, I like stuff about this one but I feel like they hooked the old schoolers with the singles and outside of the singles we ended up getting a mixed bag. The clean vocal production was just too much. Nothing about them sound natural with all those filters on them. It's not a terrible release though honestly.
The choruses and cleans would've been MUCH better if they weren't so overproduced. Everything else sounds great really, not sure why they had to add all those effects to his clean singing.
Necrotic Nick- Possibly. There's so many filters and possibly autotuning going on here on these cleans that they don't even sound natural anymore. He had a more gruff singing style on A Sense of Purpose that might have worked in place of the poppy cleans but who knows. Those cleans are definitely an issue I have with this one.
Necrotic Nick- Reroute was where I became a fan so I still dig that one and honestly a lot of The Halo Effect reminded me of that album as well as Clayman. This album had potential but it just ended up being better than what they've been releasing here lately.
I meen I haven't heard the album yet other than the singles (which I plan on listening to it later after seeing afew reviews) but I think them releasing 5 songs, so long before release date may have been a bad option in the long run, especially if those 5 are the best too, because firstly that's nearly half an album heard before the release and then it's just setting up for dissapointment if those other songs don't hit so hard, having said that, there previous albums going back to come clarity I haven't liked much at all on an album maybe a couple songs at best, so even if only those 5 tracks are good it's still better than there last couple of decades or releases
Necrotic Nick- I agree. They didn't leave much of the stronger material left on the album to be discovered. I think Shred hit the nail on the head when he brought up the movie trailer comparison. They gave us the best stuff off the album. It feels deliberate two because I don't think much else outside of those singles would have roped in the old fanbase. It's still a decent album but I think I may have got my hopes up too high on this one.
I completely agree with you assessment, gents. I *wanted* to love this record so bad, but alas, it's a solid 3 for me, tending towards a 2.5. The singles on this album are pretty much the best thing they've released since Clayman, and I was pumped for the album. The intro is perfect and reminds me of all those beautiful melodies of yore, but the rest of the songs are really cheapened by this constant push to be anthemic (same reason why I can't stand modern Kreator and Arch Enemy). My first experience with In Flames was when they released The Tokyo Showdown. The local magazine back in Brazil rated it a 9 and I bought the CD because of that review. That is not a great live album, but the tracklist is perfection. Their repertoire up to that point was unbelievable. I bought the back catalog and became a hardcore In Flames fan. For my money, the run from Lunar Strain to Clayman is one of the most incredible runs in metal history and it's deeply imprinted on my soul from my first metalhead days. When Reroute to Remain came out, I remember still jamming it a lot but also feeling something was missing, and the following release killed that band for me. Man, how the mighty have fallen. I only listened to Come Clarity some 10 years after it came out, and everything they've put out since Soundtrack to Your Escape has been not just bad music, but also heartbreaking in a way, because to me, In Flames was never just a cool band, they wrote some of the best metal albums I've ever heard. I hope this is the beginning of something, because this record is indeed much better than anything they've done in a good 20 years. But it still doesn't hold a candle to their best stuff. Let's see what happens.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I think I may have been a bit guilty of getting my hopes up too high on this one but at the same time the singles may have been slightly misleading. I still think this is the best thing they've put out since Come Clarity but that really isn't saying much. There's definitely stuff that still reminds why I still carry a torch for this band but not enough of it.
"Good" old marketing trick to release them "throwback" songs as singles before the whole platter. I might get it for a very cheapo price... Not gonna pay full price for elevator in mall-core muzak. Thanks for the tip, guys.
Necrotic Nick- It's not terrible or anything but it's not what I hoped it would be. The singles are the best part on this one but honestly The Halo Effect put out a much better album in my opinion.
I loved everything from Jester Race to Clayman but like many of you I think their mid 000's/10's albums have been from the meh to down right horrible! Forgone is a welcome return to form. They got their aggression back, it's guitar driven with catchy riffs and melodies. I still wouldn't listen to this over their classic albums but this is their first album since Reroute that's going on my shelf 👍
Necrotic Nick- I got into them on Reroute to Remain so I still enjoy that mid period to Come Clarity but I definitely prefer their earlier stuff. Everything from A Sense of Purpose to kinda right now has been a lot of diminishing returns for me. This had more potential with the singles but there's still a lot of the stuff that preceded it on this one. They're still trying to write poppy songs and shoehorning a lot of clean choruses with really overproduced vocals all over this but they've at least made an effort to get some heavier material on this one.
Hell yea man great review….in flames is arena rock melo death it is what it is the guitar work on this album is insaneeee…yea the singles def shine …Bleeding out is a badass song the tone on pure is epic…I agree on the clean vox on here it takes you out of some of the meatiness of the band. This to me is like an all encompassing in flames album…the ingredients for the recipe were right but the way the dish was executed could’ve been better with too many cleans the music is heavy and epic…Majesties is gonna be the one that makes us all say…here we fucking gooo…Foregone is an appetizer…new Kommand, Kruelty, and Hyperdontia singles are all killerrrr some sick sick albums coming the next few months cheers boys
I’m with John on this one. I don’t hate cleans per sé, in fact I love me some good cleans when done well, but if only these weren’t so poppy and over-processed. They are such a big plasticky turn-off. As Shred put it, he’s Chad Kroegering all over it, and it just sounds like awful sports arena butt-rock. Foregone Pt 1 is my favourite, because none of cringy, vomit-inducing cleans.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I don't mind cleans either but they have to fit the music. Even on the heavier tracks with them they feel so out of place. Anders has become a better since but it's what he's singing that doesn't work and they drench his vocals in so many effects it doesn't even sound natural anymore.
As always... The new Soilwork is better. The album was a definite marketing attempt to get the old school fans listening again. Even those 1st 5 singles, to me, were just OK. They sound like a more brutal version of come clarity, but without the ideas fully fleshed out. The rest of this is a lot more alternative leaning. This is definitely one of the stronger albums since they've decided to go full Korn complete with Tim Burton-esque artwork and a shitty scratch logo. As a whole, I would put this on par with a sense of purpose. Still no Inflames we trust; But at least it's not last place in the Jester race. At least they are utilizing Chris Broderick better than Jeff Lomis in AE. Inflames are the Swedish Metallica. Let's just pretend that inflames died after Clayman; which is pretty much the case to any of the old school fans. Reroute to come clarity seemed like they were trying to fit in with the melodic metal core sound. But once they got the scratch logo going; I was completely off the wagon. The dip in quality after come clarity is just as dramatic as the dip after clayman. There are 4 iterations of this same band. 1. Inflames in the making, which is pre-Anders. 2. Mellodeath pioneers, Jester Race to clayman 3. Melodic metalcore followers 4. Full Korn. At least I'd say they are back to a bic lighter. Even if it's not the raging fire they were trying to dupe us with on the singles.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, even Soilwork's missteps aren't as huge as In Flames in my opinion. I do think this, at it's heaviest, is on par with Come Clarity but I still feel really mislead by the singles versus the rest of the album. That still feels like a deliberate marketing thing to me too. I've never liked the scratched logo either. It's always screamed "generic Hot Topic metalcore" to me. All the complaining aside, I do appreciate the effort they put in on the heavier tracks and Chris is a great addition. Maybe he'll push for more of that classic melodeath sound on the next one.
@Thralls Of Metal The reason I don't feel duped is because I don't expect anything from inflames. This new material is more or less just hype. Yeah, there are some strong songs on there in the vein of come clarity. It's not like we got the Jester race part 2, With the singles. And then got silent charms with the rest of it. I will admit it's better than the vast majority of their most recent material. But I don't know if I would even put this ahead of the sense of purpose. Soilwork, to me, only has 2 bad albums. Stabbing the drama and verglighten. They're more mainstream stuff like natural born chaos and figure number 5 I even like. I just thought stabbing the drama and verglighten only had a couple of good songs The only part of the new inflames that felt disingenuous was the marketing. And I would say a lot of the fans built this up to be much better than it was. This is no come back of an album. Unless you are talking about reroute to remain to come clarity. Then, sure.
I freaking loved it! Easily their best since at least Come Clarity! Not only brings back their classic melodeath sound, but also brings a great balance between melody and heaviness. Every song stands out on its own. I've been listening all day. Excited to see your review.
Necrotic Nick- I agree it's definitely their best since Come Clarity but I honestly don't really like much in between Come Clarity and this one. I kinda feel a bit mislead by the singles being notably heavier and more akin to their old sound versus a lot of the other tracks which definitely sound more like their more current material. It's still decent but I think I got my hopes up too high.
Necrotic Nick- Chris definitely gave this album some slick moments and I hope they let him do more on the next one. Here's to hoping that one is the full return to form.
Necrotic Nick- Best since Come Clarity but that really isn't saying much. I don't mind Anders as a singer but the unnecessary levels of overproduction on his vocals and the poppier delivery takes me out of it.
Totally agree that the best songs on the album are the singles. I think this is a step in the right direction at least. I probably like the Halo Effect album more than this, but nice try, In Flames.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, the singles were my favorites as well but that didn't leave much to jam after that. I definitely think The Halo Effect out did them. That has more of that classic Gothenburg sound.
There's something Nick and it's not the first time it's happened to me, I don't know if sometimes you've felt the same and if you'll talk about it one day on the channel, but last night I wanted to start me the Obituary discography with their 1st album "Slowly We Rot", damn I let it go I listened to about half of the album but I got fed up I stopped listening and I hadn't noticed I understood why I actually didn't like it on Spotify they only have the reissue version and not the original released in 89, damn I almost didn't catch it to the album only because of that and it's not the first time it's happened to me, these remastered versions have a distorted polished smooth sound it's really disgusting, it totally distorts the original it looks like it there's no more life of roughness now they master them to make them as accessible as possible to the greatest public, on RUclips there's always the original so I'll go through that but it's really a shame. And there is also an example of an album that I find that even in the original it's only my impression but it shows that mixing/mastering is a very important step, it's Metallica's...Justice For All, I think it's disastrous and criminal what they did on this album for me in view of the composition in it they could have been as big or maybe even better than their 2 previous ones, finally this is only my opinion but it would be cool if one day you talk about the difference between the original releases and the reissues/remastered...
I really don’t think this is a mixed bag…this is really good all the way 🤘 Great energy, and the whole thing about In Flames…i am so glad that they’re not in the start of 2000 era, because no one would think that was the best outcome. This album is up there with Sounds Of A Playground Fading and Come Clarity 🤘 In Flames i trust!
Necrotic Nick- To each their own. I think it's a step in the right direction and better than anything post Come Clarity but that isn't saying much honestly. It may grow on me though but I think they can outdo this one next time.
Don't entirely love this record ye. Somewhere between a 5 and 6 out of 10 for me. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come as this band can do much better than their last decade of output.
Necrotic Nick- I feel like they put more effort into getting back to their older sound than they have since Come Clarity but it's still not there for me. I'm hoping when they decide to hit the studio after this one they commit the heavier stuff once again.
Necrotic Nick- I really haven't checked out any other review but I suppose I can see where this would get a lot of praise in some respects. I guess I had my hopes up too high on this one. It's an improvement but it's not quite there yet for me.
I honestly wanted to like this but as usual Anders ruins half the songs with his god-awful cleans. He needs to stop thinking he's Ariana Grande. Shame because the instrumental work is the best since Come Clarity.
Necrotic Nick- Same here. I don't hate it but I feel duped and that there was a lot of wasted potential here. I do think this is the best since Come Clarity but that's not that bold of a statement considering what followed that album. I don't mind cleans but these overproduced ones are not for me.
I mean can you really blame them? they keep getting more popular despite metalheads shitting on them for years now why would they stop the poppy choruses
Necrotic Nick- Not really but I do feel like they tried to rope in the older fans with some more old school sounding tracks knowing full well that those tracks don't necessary reflect the bulk of the material on the album.
Necrotic Nick- I'm definitely still a fan of the band's older material. I think Scar Symmetry do melodeath a bit differently but I'd also say they were heavily influenced by In Flames. They're still one of the bands that started the whole melodeath sound in Gothenburg.
@@thrallsofmetal well every big band has it's own sound even if they fall under the same genre but SS is way better in every aspect. doesn't matter what their influences are, they stand on their own.
Gonna hafta point out ...in flames has made some questionable bumbus ...however this well it's pretty good aye 🤘😋😁 better than what they were doing for sure ☝️
Thus in the end gotta say I'm not going to buy this dah man just not enough pepper for me aye just uh put it back on the stove and slap up some more seasoning on it aye 🤘😋
I'm afraid loudness messed em up with their heavy song rock n roll crazy niiiiiiiiights you are da hero tonight 😋😴😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 don't listen to me I'm just being silly aye , really though this is better than a lot of their last outings ☝️😁...heeeeeeey brutal day to all , and remember don't be a donkey raiding bob barkers kitchen on a rainy Sunday evening with old in flames blasting in that ear 👂😂😂😂😂
In Flames finally remember they're swedish, not american. And i think that's a way to put up how many of us feel about this new album.
Well now we now how ziltoid thinks about the album
Necrotic Nick- Strangely enough this renewed "Swedish-ness" now includes a couple of Americans now with Chris and Tanner
Three out of the 5 members are American. soooo.........
I'll be honest, I feel like I got Rick Rolled. Although I should have known better, I did not anticipate the amount of corny clean singing and choruses that would be on this album. The singles certainly didn't give me that vibe for the most part. Although I can agree it's better than the last three albums, this is still a huge disappointment.
Anders whiny vocals. My fuck. I can’t do it. It just ruins it for me. Instrumentation is good. The lyrics are a bit cringe. No catchy res to the songs at all.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I do feel kinda slighted on this one. I'm glad I got some stuff that's more akin to the stuff I love by In Flames but I feel like I got a lot of filler too. They're still stuck on what they've been doing over the course of these last few albums so they're not going to abandon all the poppy choruses it seems. Man, those singles were pretty misleading though.
@@thrallsofmetal I refrained from pre-ordering when it was announced because I said I need to listen to the album first. With six singles that were pretty darn good I figured, what the hell. My stupid ass preordered it the day before release. Luckily I was able to get a refund haha.
I think the record should've been called "The Great Deceiver". Kinda how I felt after getting so excited after the singles, then the feeling of "haha, got you" once I listened to the whole thing. Good job, guys.
You got me.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, that would have been fitting. This is definitely my Soundtrack to my Bait and Switch.
Yeah, definitely a return to form for me, easily the best album they've done since Come Clarity. Even the more alternative leaning tracks are so much more well crafted and thought out than any of their 2010s output. I do think there is a dip in the quality of the material after The Great Deceiver though. It's still decent, but it's nowhere near as strong as all the tracks before. Overall, a really good effort and one that I will definitely be returning to in future. I'm interested to see what you guys think, I personally would be comfortable saying that In Flames is indeed back. It may have taken them 17 years, but they are finally back 🤣🤘🤘
Necrotic Nick- I definitely agree it's the best since Come Clarity but my problem with that statement is I really haven't liked much since that album so it feels like a low standard. I don't think this is a terrible album but it was a bit misleading with the single choices being the more old school sounding ones on the album and the rest ranging from decent to kinda bland. This is a step in the right direction but I don't feel like this is comeback just yet. Maybe the next one though.
For me they dropped in quality after Reroute To Remain. I'm very excited to see y'alls opinion on the new record. I enjoyed it quite a lot it's not my favorite In Flames record. I'm glad they are going back to the traditional sound that they are known for.
Yea pretty much. You could even argue soundtrack to you escape and even come clarity. But that’s pushing it a bit. Their first few records will never be beat. I’m still a bit hesitant to give this a listen but i gotta. To curious not to
Necrotic Nick- I didn't mind the middle era from Reroute to Come Clarity but after that it got pretty spotty. This is definitely the best thing they've done since Come Clarity for me but that isn't the highest of benchmarks and I honestly don't quite see this as the full comeback yet. They are pointed in the right direction so maybe this is just getting their bearings for the next one.
Never liked reroute at all, over processed sound that got fixed with come clarity then ass after
For anyone reading this, if life is difficult for you right now, then please bear in mind that if In Flames can return to form after their ungodly string of L's, then so can you.
True =)
Necrotic Nick- True... but is this really a return to form yet?
Compared to the fucking hate campaign against all mankind that they deployed with those clayman rerecordings it may as well be the second coming of christ himself. Does it match their earlier stuff? No, too much saccharine warbling for that, but at least they've proven they can still deliver the goods, and that alone is reason enough to feel positively about this band for the first time in a while.
The singles are the good songs on this album. Pretty forgettable album if you ask me. The Halo Effect album was better
@@rotthrough8904tbf the clayman and instrumental remakes weren't nearly as offensive as bullet ride and only for the weak were💀
After absorbing nothing but their back catalog for the past two weeks in preparation/anticipation, I can honestly say one of two things is happening here. I wish were getting the album after “I the..Mask,” instead of this one. And or(I said two things) this album follows “I the Mask,” and it’s pretty cool 🤘🏽 🇸🇪
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, it's a bit of a mixed bag honestly. Definitely the full return I was hoping for but still not terrible.
I've been hurt too many times. In Flames was THE band that got me into melodic death metal around the release of Soundtrack to Your Escape. Come Clarity was pretty good, but after that I had to walk away. Chris B. seems like a really heavyweight addition so I will give this a couple listens, which is more than I can say for the last few albums.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I feel you there. I've just been doing my best to ignore In Flames because I don't want to get my hopes to high. They tugged at my heartstrings on this one and while this is an improvement I'm still not completely sold on this one. Chris definitely made his presence felt on this for sure. I'm hoping the rest of the band feeds off his energy a bit for the next one.
I did a little backtracking through In Flames. The musical style definitely changes after the first three albums. It feels very melodic but evil yet so metal so I can get why everything in Come Clarity is the last swan song to heavy but wonderful melodies. I think this is the closest they’ve gotten to their classic formula
Question. Would your rating be different if you hadn't heard the 5 singles released prior to the album release? 5 songs are quite a lot of the album. 5 out of 12. If those are really that good (I've not checked out) then that might be enough for some fans to come back.
Integrity's "Humanity Is The Devil" remaster drops today. Arthur Rizk did wonders on the previous two albums. I'll always love the originals I grew up with but these Relapse versions are definitely worth the listen.
Necrotic Nick- I have most of the originals for Integrity so I haven't checked out those Rizk remasters yet. I've been kinda curious about them so I might check them out.
3.5/5 this is what i call a great In Flames album a big improvement hopefully they continue with Chris
Necrotic Nick- They need to get away from these poppy choruses all the time. Musically their on the right track though. Still needs some work though in my opinion.
I can't believe In Flames is still going with no members from their first two releases. They only have two guys left from the Jester Race. Can they even be considered the same band?
Lots of bands have very little original members remaining and are still the same band.
@@MrOmac09ahh . I dunno. Ya can make a good arguments against that. I’ll say this. It’s really hard to do with hardly no Original members left.
@@MrOmac09 Sure, but In Flames has none. (I'm from NS too.)
@Kaptain K that's true but Anders is the voice everyone associates with the band.
Their classic period that everyone misses started with him really.
That's cool!
@@Nall412 awesome profile Pic. Immolation is incredible.
You guys should do an album rankings of In Flames, that would be very interesting. I absolutely love their older stuff. Some of the best Melo Death ever.
Personally, I am just happy they are moving back in the melo death direction even if it is not fully melo death yet. Hopefully they experiment and get heavier and heavier again.
Necrotic Nick- I'm happy they got back some of the older sound but as much as I think they're moving in the right direction they're still holding on to what they're been doing over the last few. I imagine they didn't want to make it a huge shift right away but putting out the singles that they did really made it seem like the glory days were coming back. It's not a terrible album but I did hope for more.
I 100% agree with pretty much everything you all said. I pre-ordered the album based on the strength of the singles. My first full listen was during a gym session thinking I would be pumped whilst listening to 90’s in flames. Then I realised I had been duped. Every time I heard a chorus I was just thinking - WTF is this whuss rock tripe? I love Megadeth so was excited to hear Broderick in full form again, but I do feel like a big sucker for thinking I would get a 90’sesque in flames album again. On the plus side I think it’s the best they have done for 20 years.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, it feels like a such a bait and switch. I've been seeing this sentiment echoed a lot in the comments and I still 100% feel it. If maybe half the songs had a poppy chorus I wouldn't mind as much but they pretty much all did minus 2 of them I think. It really didn't help that they released 5 singles and they were legit the best songs on the album. Everything else just felt like filler. Maybe on the next one they commit more to the heavier stuff but for now this is definitely a compromise.
Listened all the way through this morning and pretty much enjoyed it all.. None of it was hated like previous records. Best LP since Come Clarity, which isn't hard. A Metalcore/Linkin Parki-sh effort in places. A 4 for me- mainly as it's their best effort in ages, so 1 skull for encouragement and a solid 3 for the record. I'll listen to it more than I will last 15 years of records.
Necrotic Nick- I would agree that it's their best since Come Clarity but at the same time I really haven't enjoyed much since Come Clarity. I think they're heading in the right direction but I want to hear a bigger commitment to the heavier stuff on the next one.
@@thrallsofmetal couldn't agree more. When it riffs up, this LP is banging. Love to hear them put out a raging piece of melodic death metalcore. Thing is, they all know that's what we want and if they do, that's that. .. they'll know anything else after that will fall flat if it doesn't live up to the full heavy shit. Still think the riffs on this record are better than anything they've written in years. I too have not really listened to any of their releases since Sense of Purpose days.. I couldn't even tell you the title of the record that was straight after that.
That new Unearth single is not bad
Necrotic Nick- I checked it out. I thought it was pretty solid.
while it was a step forward in many parts it just didnt hit like i was hoping for a full album wasnt the right choice but a ep would have been so good filled with the singles those killed
Necrotic Nick- That's pretty much exactly how I felt. Expectation vs. Reality can be a bitch lol. They're heading in the right direction which is a positive I can pull from this one.
I got into In Flames with Soundtrack to your Escape as a teen and the songs " The Quiet place and My Sweet Shadow" changed my life musically. I like all there stuff new and old, but I was curious what you guys would think, and I was guessing around a 3. This album feels like it has an identity crisis between new and old, and flip flips between the two. I will say though production wise this album was tight, and love it or hate it But Anders hasn't sounded this good in a long time.
Yeah, I felt the same as y’all when this album came out, and it hasn’t grown on me since. It’s far better than their 2010’s output, but that’s not saying much. To me, it almost feels like a compilation album; it has the sounds of all three decades of In Flames, from the 90s, 00s and 10s. Calling it a “compromise” seems accurate, and the singles were definitely the best songs on the album. Again, it’s a fairly good album, and it’s better than all their recent releases, but it doesn’t come close to their first 5 albums, or even some of their 00’s albums like Reroute to Remain or Come Clarity.
It’s a good album, I think there is only one song I dislike. A couple of great songs and some good songs. Anders got a vocal coach when doing this album. I respect that as a vocal guy, I think he sounded great on this. There’s some hooks and it’s some catchy stuff on this. I can listen to this album again no problem. I can’t say that to their last like 5 albums
I once managed to sneak into a festival where In Flames were playing at that moment. In my opinion the In Flames guitar sound on resent live recordings is garbage, but seeing and hearing that right in front of you was pure power. Also it was good to hear their classic songs live: Only For The Weak, Cloud Connected, Behind Space and Alias (yes, I like Alias)
Don't get the weird hate In Flames seem to get. Sure their last few albums are not as great if you compare to their 90s and 2000s stuff, but musically they were still fine. In regard to Foregone, I think it's a great album and hope to hear more.
Great album! 3 of 5
I love the artwork for this album. Now I just need to check it out, great review guys as always!!!! 🤘🤘
Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I do like the artwork. I wish they'd bring back the old logo though.
This is a really fair review. I did not enjoy this album other than a few moments. Some of the clean vocals are really jarring.
Probably my biggest disappointment of 2023. When State of Decay released and people said it was a return to form, I thought it was alright but not the style of melodeath of old In Flames I'm looking for. But when The Great Deceiver dropped, it felt like I was listening to Colony for the first time again. Unfortunately it was the only track that came even close to that. At this point In Flames have doing alternative metal for 2 decades longer than melodeath, so I think it's just time to move on. We still got Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity, Halo Effect, etc. carrying the mantle anyways.
I don't really see this album as any sort of return to form for In Flames, at best some of the songs are more reminiscent of the Come Clarity - A Sense of Purpose Era, which is fine, but there are still too many modern In Flames-isms to say that this is anything more than a decent In Flames record at best. Chris Broderick can still bring it as a guitarist but I have no idea what Anders in thinking with those clean vocals, they do not work well at all (and haven't really since he started doing them). I will say as a whole the album is better than I, The Mask and Battles, but that's not exactly the highest bar to clear.
I'm way more excited about the new Insomnium record that's out in a couple of weeks, those guys have never let me down and the snippets of the songs I've heard outside of the singles seems to indicate they're going in a more blackened direction a la Winter's Gate. Also, for those looking for new music in the vein of Lunar Strain/The Jester Race era In Flames the debut full length from Majesties will be out next month. The two singles they've released so far are great and given there are members of Obsequie and Inexorum involved I'm confident the record will be good.
Necrotic Nick- I see it as a slight return. Definitely not enough to call it a comeback but more like a flirtation with their old sound. I think this is better than anything post Come Clarity but that isn't necessarily the most glowing statement. I thing Chris does bring some solid guitar flair but the clean vocals do take me out of it. I don't think Anders is a terrible singer I just don't like how poppy overproduced his vocals are here. I definitely have both Insomnium and Majesties on my radar. The track I jammed by Majesties hit me right in the Jester Race feels so I'm pretty excited for that one.
I feel stupid for asking, but what is the song playing at the beginning of all your videos.
Necrotic Nick- No worries, man. I answer this one all the time. It's Shred's old band Constricted. The song is called "Third Generation"
@@thrallsofmetal it sounded a little bit like Morbid Angel, that's why it seemed to bug me so much. Thanks 🤘🤘🤘
You should put the whole song up
I really don't see the massive change from Come Clairty to Sense of Purpose. Playground fading is where they fell off for me and a definitive change of a sound
Necrotic Nick- I think the production changed and Anders' vocals definitely went more clean on A Sense of Purpose. What I really noticed on that one was how muddy and downtuned the guitars were. They lost a lot of the crunch they had before that one. Playground and Siren Charms was where I really fell out though.
Hey, Nick. How come you're sitting on the left instead of front and centre? Did you get demoted? Get caught listening to Five Finger Death Punch and this is your punishment???? Kidding, of course and great review as always. Cheers ;-)
Necrotic Nick- LOL! Since older In Flames is one of Shred's favorite things to jam I decided to give him center stage. Thanks, man!
I will say this i think they made a mistake in releasing half the album before it came out as singles . Chris Broderick is a hell of a good guitar player (check out his work in Jag Panzer).
Necrotic Nick- Agreed. They didn't leave much meat on the carcass after those singles. It didn't help that the singles didn't necessarily reflect most of the album's sound.
@@thrallsofmetal Well Half the sound lol ,kind of like hald their career lol, As a semi fan of the post reroute to remain stuff (minus Siren Charms and Battles ,i couldnt find anything decent on those two records)It didnt bother me but I would have loved a bit more of the Melodic Death Metal lol.
Very good album!
Hi guys, huge "old" in flames fan here. First I watched your review, I was like damned they are a bit rude, 2.5* and 3*, but I know you are not the biggest melodeath/modern fans. Then I had a listen to this album and yeah... half of the album is great, reminds me the late 90's/early 2000's IF era, but the other half is filler or sounds like the past few years. Happy I ordered the cd and not the vinyl for this one ^^' but I'm also glad to hear some heavy IF songs again! I'll give it a 3.5*
Necrotic Nick- Honestly, I still hold this band in relative high esteem but I definitely feel a bit mislead by the singles as to what this album was going to be. I like my melodeath more balanced or maybe just favoring the melody more in the riff work than the vocals. This went hard for the poppy choruses on too many tracks and I feel like there's still a lot of carryover from the last few here mixed with the more Clayman-ish tracks. I still enjoyed the more revitalized songs but I feel like those should have represented the bulk of the album.
@@thrallsofmetal yep, in other words, we got bait by the singles and were expecting all the album to be like that. It's a trap! xD
Having an opinion about art is TOTALLY subjective. I love older films but most people today don't give a shit about that. And that doesn't matter to me. If somebody wants to watch only Marvel stuff and not old classics from the 60's and 70's, okay, that is your choice. But I just take exception with this "I was like damned they are a bit rude." These guys are cool (never rude) and (especially Nick) have great knowledge of heavy music which I very much respect. If they call something mediocre, I am genuinely with them and will consider.
Watch their other videos if you want to get what Thralls of Metal is all about. And to me, even the singles In Flames released are only okay and not great. In Flames never had the punch of Bloodbath, Amon Amarth, Nile, CC, ALL Soilwork, etc. I don't even know how much I consider their 90's stuff death metal, but it was good. Now it isn't good IMO. Maybe I just like "burn your ears to the ground" heaviness these days?! This, coupled with a love for heavy rock from the 70's and thrash titans like Testament, Sepultura and Slayer. Even Architects has been killing it on their last three albums; and Parkway Drive as well, not to mention Lamb of God. To each their own, but this is a great channel!
@@mattirealm I know, they are cool guys, and it wasn't a reproach. English is not my main language, I think I did a mistake using the word "rude", I should have say harsh or severe? I don't know. Anyway everything is cool I love thralls of metal's channel :) and you are right, art is subjctive.
Would you guys recommend Colony
Necrotic Nick- I definitely would. Solid ablum
I agree with Nick,Come Clarity was the last decent In Flames album,but tbh I kinda lost interest in em after that...I dunno really,I wasn't that blown away by the singles anyway,so I'll probably give this a miss...I'll just keep listening to whoracle and Colony,or the other superior In Flames that came out last year called The Halo Effect.
Necrotic Nick- That was the last one that really felt like an In Flames album. I still bought the ones that followed but none of them came close to Come Clarity and they really started deviating from their OG sound with each release. This gets back some of it but not enough of it. The Halo Effect definitely beat them at their own game.
Ah man I don’t know about this one. Sure there’s glimpses of IF older sound. But it’s just still not doing it for me like the old stuff. But anyway I’ve beat that dead horse into the ground now. It’s been 15 almost 20 years since that IF sound we came to love. The back half of this album I like more.
I definitely would not call this a comeback that’s for sure. But it is their better stuff they put out in few years
Id say it’s their best work since “ A Sense Of Purpose”
Necrotic Nick- It's a mixed bag for sure. It's not quite the return I wanted but it's still better than anything past Come Clarity in my opinion. I just feel like they marketed it like it was going to be a comeback and it was only a slight return. Maybe they'll get it on the next one.
Being an old fart having discovered In Flames when "The Jester Race" came out and pretty much followed their "career" since then , this is just an abomination because the whole thing feels like a marketing plot. it's obvious than Anders has no desire to go back to the band's roots and w/o Jesper all hope is lost for this band. I have more respect for when Korn released "The Path Of Totality", because at least they tried something different and it wasn't that bad for what it was. I am happy for C.Brodrick to get a decent check as a hired gun though.
Necrotic Nick- I got into them with Reroute to Remain and worked my way backwards. I'm huge fan of Jester Race and Whoracle especially and I didn't think I was going to get anything like that but I was at least hoping for something along the lines of Clayman. Yeah, they definitely hooked me with the singles being heavier but there's a ton of filler on here but not much I'd call flat out terrible just very misleading for what I think this album was being billed as. Wish I had something positive to say about Path of Totality but that album is awful. I just can't with that album lol
Jesper was the one pushing them from the Gothenburg sound towards the synths and keyboards more dude lol listen to the last couple albums with him before he went to rehab
I claim sacrilege that ASOP is a bad album, the whole first half were bangers and then a few more were solid
I got into In Flames around Whoracle and Colony....In fact 1998 Mill Metalfest in WI, In FLames, Marduk and Nile stood out to me. Great review. I agree with this review totally. Broderick has some good solos. Arch Enemy just when you think Loomis is having a coming out party, the solo is only 4 bars long, then goes into Amott's wah pedal. Back to this album, I did enjoy it working out on Friday moring. Second spin, I will say some of the clean vocals I heard in my head being sang a little different way, and felt the producer fucked up on some of the vocal notes. Coulda been better and less straight notes. Anybody wanting a bit more, I feel Nightrage's latest album "Abyss Rising" does In Flames better than In Flames. Check out that release. It is a fun listen.🤘🤘🤘
Necrotic Nick- Thanks, man! I didn't get a chance to see In Flames live until they were touring on Soundtrack to Your Escape but they put on a killer live show. I would have loved to have seen them in '98 though. Yeah, I like stuff about this one but I feel like they hooked the old schoolers with the singles and outside of the singles we ended up getting a mixed bag. The clean vocal production was just too much. Nothing about them sound natural with all those filters on them. It's not a terrible release though honestly.
The choruses and cleans would've been MUCH better if they weren't so overproduced. Everything else sounds great really, not sure why they had to add all those effects to his clean singing.
Necrotic Nick- Possibly. There's so many filters and possibly autotuning going on here on these cleans that they don't even sound natural anymore. He had a more gruff singing style on A Sense of Purpose that might have worked in place of the poppy cleans but who knows. Those cleans are definitely an issue I have with this one.
In Flames lost me a long time ago! Around Reroute. I'm really loving the Halo Effect album though.
Necrotic Nick- Reroute was where I became a fan so I still dig that one and honestly a lot of The Halo Effect reminded me of that album as well as Clayman. This album had potential but it just ended up being better than what they've been releasing here lately.
I meen I haven't heard the album yet other than the singles (which I plan on listening to it later after seeing afew reviews) but I think them releasing 5 songs, so long before release date may have been a bad option in the long run, especially if those 5 are the best too, because firstly that's nearly half an album heard before the release and then it's just setting up for dissapointment if those other songs don't hit so hard, having said that, there previous albums going back to come clarity I haven't liked much at all on an album maybe a couple songs at best, so even if only those 5 tracks are good it's still better than there last couple of decades or releases
Necrotic Nick- I agree. They didn't leave much of the stronger material left on the album to be discovered. I think Shred hit the nail on the head when he brought up the movie trailer comparison. They gave us the best stuff off the album. It feels deliberate two because I don't think much else outside of those singles would have roped in the old fanbase. It's still a decent album but I think I may have got my hopes up too high on this one.
I completely agree with you assessment, gents. I *wanted* to love this record so bad, but alas, it's a solid 3 for me, tending towards a 2.5. The singles on this album are pretty much the best thing they've released since Clayman, and I was pumped for the album. The intro is perfect and reminds me of all those beautiful melodies of yore, but the rest of the songs are really cheapened by this constant push to be anthemic (same reason why I can't stand modern Kreator and Arch Enemy).
My first experience with In Flames was when they released The Tokyo Showdown. The local magazine back in Brazil rated it a 9 and I bought the CD because of that review. That is not a great live album, but the tracklist is perfection. Their repertoire up to that point was unbelievable. I bought the back catalog and became a hardcore In Flames fan. For my money, the run from Lunar Strain to Clayman is one of the most incredible runs in metal history and it's deeply imprinted on my soul from my first metalhead days.
When Reroute to Remain came out, I remember still jamming it a lot but also feeling something was missing, and the following release killed that band for me. Man, how the mighty have fallen. I only listened to Come Clarity some 10 years after it came out, and everything they've put out since Soundtrack to Your Escape has been not just bad music, but also heartbreaking in a way, because to me, In Flames was never just a cool band, they wrote some of the best metal albums I've ever heard.
I hope this is the beginning of something, because this record is indeed much better than anything they've done in a good 20 years. But it still doesn't hold a candle to their best stuff. Let's see what happens.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I think I may have been a bit guilty of getting my hopes up too high on this one but at the same time the singles may have been slightly misleading. I still think this is the best thing they've put out since Come Clarity but that really isn't saying much. There's definitely stuff that still reminds why I still carry a torch for this band but not enough of it.
Could it be?
Necrotic Nick- Uhhhh.... kinda?
"Good" old marketing trick to release them "throwback" songs as singles before the whole platter. I might get it for a very cheapo price... Not gonna pay full price for elevator in mall-core muzak. Thanks for the tip, guys.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, they got me this time. I did really like the singles though but I feel like this is still a half-hearted return.
Man, that sucks I was just about to get around to listening to the new In Flames and it appears that I'll just continue digging The Halo Effect.
Necrotic Nick- It's not terrible or anything but it's not what I hoped it would be. The singles are the best part on this one but honestly The Halo Effect put out a much better album in my opinion.
No this album is a freakin’ banger in my opinion 💫
Haven't listen to them since Come Clarity. Goin' to check this new one out. I've seen mixed reviews everywhere. Im curious...
Necrotic Nick- It's comparable to Come Clarity but still not quite what I was hoping for.
I'm pretty sure 'The Great Deciever' also features no cleans. So that's at least two. 😂
Necrotic Nick- Well, at least we have those 2 then lol
I loved everything from Jester Race to Clayman but like many of you I think their mid 000's/10's albums have been from the meh to down right horrible! Forgone is a welcome return to form. They got their aggression back, it's guitar driven with catchy riffs and melodies. I still wouldn't listen to this over their classic albums but this is their first album since Reroute that's going on my shelf 👍
Necrotic Nick- I got into them on Reroute to Remain so I still enjoy that mid period to Come Clarity but I definitely prefer their earlier stuff. Everything from A Sense of Purpose to kinda right now has been a lot of diminishing returns for me. This had more potential with the singles but there's still a lot of the stuff that preceded it on this one. They're still trying to write poppy songs and shoehorning a lot of clean choruses with really overproduced vocals all over this but they've at least made an effort to get some heavier material on this one.
I too remember when In Flames was a band.
Necrotic Nick- The old "In Flames We Trust" years. I miss them.
Hell yea man great review….in flames is arena rock melo death it is what it is the guitar work on this album is insaneeee…yea the singles def shine …Bleeding out is a badass song the tone on pure is epic…I agree on the clean vox on here it takes you out of some of the meatiness of the band. This to me is like an all encompassing in flames album…the ingredients for the recipe were right but the way the dish was executed could’ve been better with too many cleans the music is heavy and epic…Majesties is gonna be the one that makes us all say…here we fucking gooo…Foregone is an appetizer…new Kommand, Kruelty, and Hyperdontia singles are all killerrrr some sick sick albums coming the next few months cheers boys
I share the EXACT same sentiments as you guys. The singles are the best songs on the album.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, props to the marketing campaign. They got me to buy the album lol.
@@thrallsofmetal In the Dark is sick though, I gotta say lol
what's that band's name on that flag on the window
Necrotic Nick- Tsjuder. Awesome Norwegian black metal act.
@@thrallsofmetal Thank you Nick
I’m with John on this one. I don’t hate cleans per sé, in fact I love me some good cleans when done well, but if only these weren’t so poppy and over-processed. They are such a big plasticky turn-off. As Shred put it, he’s Chad Kroegering all over it, and it just sounds like awful sports arena butt-rock. Foregone Pt 1 is my favourite, because none of cringy, vomit-inducing cleans.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, I don't mind cleans either but they have to fit the music. Even on the heavier tracks with them they feel so out of place. Anders has become a better since but it's what he's singing that doesn't work and they drench his vocals in so many effects it doesn't even sound natural anymore.
As always... The new Soilwork is better.
The album was a definite marketing attempt to get the old school fans listening again. Even those 1st 5 singles, to me, were just OK. They sound like a more brutal version of come clarity, but without the ideas fully fleshed out. The rest of this is a lot more alternative leaning.
This is definitely one of the stronger albums since they've decided to go full Korn complete with Tim Burton-esque artwork and a shitty scratch logo. As a whole, I would put this on par with a sense of purpose.
Still no Inflames we trust; But at least it's not last place in the Jester race.
At least they are utilizing Chris Broderick better than Jeff Lomis in AE. Inflames are the Swedish Metallica. Let's just pretend that inflames died after Clayman; which is pretty much the case to any of the old school fans. Reroute to come clarity seemed like they were trying to fit in with the melodic metal core sound. But once they got the scratch logo going; I was completely off the wagon. The dip in quality after come clarity is just as dramatic as the dip after clayman. There are 4 iterations of this same band.
1. Inflames in the making, which is pre-Anders.
2. Mellodeath pioneers, Jester Race to clayman
3. Melodic metalcore followers
4. Full Korn.
At least I'd say they are back to a bic lighter. Even if it's not the raging fire they were trying to dupe us with on the singles.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, even Soilwork's missteps aren't as huge as In Flames in my opinion. I do think this, at it's heaviest, is on par with Come Clarity but I still feel really mislead by the singles versus the rest of the album. That still feels like a deliberate marketing thing to me too. I've never liked the scratched logo either. It's always screamed "generic Hot Topic metalcore" to me. All the complaining aside, I do appreciate the effort they put in on the heavier tracks and Chris is a great addition. Maybe he'll push for more of that classic melodeath sound on the next one.
@Thralls Of Metal The reason I don't feel duped is because I don't expect anything from inflames.
This new material is more or less just hype. Yeah, there are some strong songs on there in the vein of come clarity. It's not like we got the Jester race part 2, With the singles. And then got silent charms with the rest of it. I will admit it's better than the vast majority of their most recent material. But I don't know if I would even put this ahead of the sense of purpose.
Soilwork, to me, only has 2 bad albums. Stabbing the drama and verglighten.
They're more mainstream stuff like natural born chaos and figure number 5 I even like. I just thought stabbing the drama and verglighten only had a couple of good songs
The only part of the new inflames that felt disingenuous was the marketing. And I would say a lot of the fans built this up to be much better than it was. This is no come back of an album. Unless you are talking about reroute to remain to come clarity. Then, sure.
I freaking loved it! Easily their best since at least Come Clarity!
Not only brings back their classic melodeath sound, but also brings a great balance between melody and heaviness. Every song stands out on its own. I've been listening all day. Excited to see your review.
Necrotic Nick- I agree it's definitely their best since Come Clarity but I honestly don't really like much in between Come Clarity and this one. I kinda feel a bit mislead by the singles being notably heavier and more akin to their old sound versus a lot of the other tracks which definitely sound more like their more current material. It's still decent but I think I got my hopes up too high.
12:55 Shredlord mocking Jammin Jon with the sad trombone sound effect!
Necrotic Nick- What did you think of the album?
@@thrallsofmetal I only heard two of the singles, The Great Deceiver and Foregone Pt. 1!
Agree with my man in the middle! I mean Shredlord! Chris Broderick is what got me to dig this a tad!
Necrotic Nick- Chris definitely gave this album some slick moments and I hope they let him do more on the next one. Here's to hoping that one is the full return to form.
@@thrallsofmetal 🫡🤘🏻
The Great Deceiver is good but not a fan of them since Clayman. Just dont like the clean vocals from In Flames.
I liked the album much better. But Anders voice isn't good (cleans) that's what gets me
Necrotic Nick- Best since Come Clarity but that really isn't saying much. I don't mind Anders as a singer but the unnecessary levels of overproduction on his vocals and the poppier delivery takes me out of it.
The new singles didn't sound too far off from what they've done the last 20 years IMO.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, unfortunately it seems as though the singles were the strongest songs on the album.
Totally agree that the best songs on the album are the singles. I think this is a step in the right direction at least. I probably like the Halo Effect album more than this, but nice try, In Flames.
Necrotic Nick- Yeah, the singles were my favorites as well but that didn't leave much to jam after that. I definitely think The Halo Effect out did them. That has more of that classic Gothenburg sound.
Halo Effect's album was waayyyy better than this.
You know Thrallers what is perhaps the saddest thing is that it's forgettable unfortunately...
Necrotic Nick- There's some songs I'd go back to but yeah, most of the non singles were pretty unremarkable.
There's something Nick and it's not the first time it's happened to me, I don't know if sometimes you've felt the same and if you'll talk about it one day on the channel, but last night I wanted to start me the Obituary discography with their 1st album "Slowly We Rot", damn I let it go I listened to about half of the album but I got fed up I stopped listening and I hadn't noticed I understood why I actually didn't like it on Spotify they only have the reissue version and not the original released in 89, damn I almost didn't catch it to the album only because of that and it's not the first time it's happened to me, these remastered versions have a distorted polished smooth sound it's really disgusting, it totally distorts the original it looks like it there's no more life of roughness now they master them to make them as accessible as possible to the greatest public, on RUclips there's always the original so I'll go through that but it's really a shame. And there is also an example of an album that I find that even in the original it's only my impression but it shows that mixing/mastering is a very important step, it's Metallica's...Justice For All, I think it's disastrous and criminal what they did on this album for me in view of the composition in it they could have been as big or maybe even better than their 2 previous ones, finally this is only my opinion but it would be cool if one day you talk about the difference between the original releases and the reissues/remastered...
I really don’t think this is a mixed bag…this is really good all the way 🤘
Great energy, and the whole thing about In Flames…i am so glad that they’re not in the start of 2000 era, because no one would think that was the best outcome.
This album is up there with Sounds Of A Playground Fading and Come Clarity 🤘 In Flames i trust!
5/5 for me. I've been waiting for an In Flames album that sounds like this for 20 years.
Necrotic Nick- To each their own. I think it's a step in the right direction and better than anything post Come Clarity but that isn't saying much honestly. It may grow on me though but I think they can outdo this one next time.
Not a fan of In Flames. I did watch the video though. There are way better Swedish bands out there. 🇸🇪
Necrotic Nick- To each their own. Glad you checked out the review, man!
Don't entirely love this record ye. Somewhere between a 5 and 6 out of 10 for me. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come as this band can do much better than their last decade of output.
Necrotic Nick- I feel like they put more effort into getting back to their older sound than they have since Come Clarity but it's still not there for me. I'm hoping when they decide to hit the studio after this one they commit the heavier stuff once again.
I heard positive reviews but i am not really a fan. Some parts remind me of black vail brides
Necrotic Nick- I really haven't checked out any other review but I suppose I can see where this would get a lot of praise in some respects. I guess I had my hopes up too high on this one. It's an improvement but it's not quite there yet for me.
I honestly wanted to like this but as usual Anders ruins half the songs with his god-awful cleans. He needs to stop thinking he's Ariana Grande. Shame because the instrumental work is the best since Come Clarity.
Necrotic Nick- Same here. I don't hate it but I feel duped and that there was a lot of wasted potential here. I do think this is the best since Come Clarity but that's not that bold of a statement considering what followed that album. I don't mind cleans but these overproduced ones are not for me.
I mean can you really blame them? they keep getting more popular despite metalheads shitting on them for years now why would they stop the poppy choruses
Necrotic Nick- Not really but I do feel like they tried to rope in the older fans with some more old school sounding tracks knowing full well that those tracks don't necessary reflect the bulk of the material on the album.
was never a fan of this band when it comes to melo-death, will definitely not start now. there are bands that do it way better. like Scar Symmetry.
Who the fck are those? You’re taste in music suck’s obviously🤷🏻♂️
Necrotic Nick- I'm definitely still a fan of the band's older material. I think Scar Symmetry do melodeath a bit differently but I'd also say they were heavily influenced by In Flames. They're still one of the bands that started the whole melodeath sound in Gothenburg.
@@thrallsofmetal well every big band has it's own sound even if they fall under the same genre but SS is way better in every aspect. doesn't matter what their influences are, they stand on their own.
Gonna hafta point out ...in flames has made some questionable bumbus ...however this well it's pretty good aye 🤘😋😁 better than what they were doing for sure ☝️
Thus in the end gotta say I'm not going to buy this dah man just not enough pepper for me aye just uh put it back on the stove and slap up some more seasoning on it aye 🤘😋
I'm afraid loudness messed em up with their heavy song rock n roll crazy niiiiiiiiights you are da hero tonight 😋😴😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 don't listen to me I'm just being silly aye , really though this is better than a lot of their last outings ☝️😁...heeeeeeey brutal day to all , and remember don't be a donkey raiding bob barkers kitchen on a rainy Sunday evening with old in flames blasting in that ear 👂😂😂😂😂