Unpopular af, I know, but one of my three absolute favorite In Flames albums that is tied with the other two, Colony and Clayman, is A Sense Of Purpose. I still listen to that album front to back constantly.
Colony is my record too; best songs and the best production at once for me. The Lunar Strain reworks on it sound awesome too IMO. These days it’s really the only one I return to, as well. I throw on Jester Race now and then, but the highs aren’t as high as that of Colony IMO.
I agree! Sound production is almost identical! Although, I’d say Clayman is definitely a little better! Colony has some sick Metalcore style breakdowns though!
Love reroute to remain . This album made me fall I love with in flames .. I know there are better albums by them, but it will forever have that special place in my heart
Kind of a shift in style, i'm along for the ride since Lunar Strain but man, this album has some really infectious hooks and grooves! Lots of earworms in retrospective, i was following IF up until 'STYE' but kinda lost track after that.. Foregone renewed my interest a bit for sure, i guess i have to take a good listen to Come Clarity and ASOP because a lot of people like these albums.. I can safely ignore the ones following these up i think.. ?
@@ShapeshifteR-TheAnomalyGameCat I’d say so. A Sense of Purpose is the last album I found worth listening to before Foregone. Everything in between is basically trash
@@Transilvanian90 Basically every old fan has this view more or less about Foregone's three predecessors.. I did hear a single or two off I, The Mask and thought it was somewhat decent. Not very remniscent but also not piss poor.. Maybe i just have to listen to everything i have missed all the years and make up my own opinion.. When it's a dry release month for metal or something, or rainy sundays.. Yeah right!😆
I love soundtrack to your escape and the drums on that album. They sound unique. This was the 1st in flames album I heard, so I’m forever a bit partial to it.
So, the Reroute tour was my introduction to In Flames. I immediately bought the album based on their performance. I loved it. Dug into their back catalog. Reroute is still my favorite album. I get why original fans don’t like it, but I love it and still listen to it at least 12 times a year.
S: Colony, Clayman A: Reroute to Remain, Whoracle, Jester Race, Soundtrack to your Escape B:Foregone, A Sense of Purpose, Come Clarity, Sounds of a Playground Fading, I the Mask, Lunar Strain C: Siren Charm D: Battles
"Colony" is one of the first underground albums that got me in to metal, and to this day it is easily my #1 favorite of IF and a personal metal top-10 of all-time. I'll never forget hearing "embody the invisible" for the first time... it was on one of those satellite TV music stations in the late 90's lol. I was like 14, and I would just sit there and listen to this channel on our TV for hours. I discovered many great bands that way (pre-internet of course). When that IF song came on I was instantly blown away - I bought the CD and it's crazy how good every single song is. It still gives me the chills today... in my opinion, they never quite reached that level again. Clayman and RtR certainly came close - and that trifecta of albums is another one of my favorite things - but to me Colony is still king. I really started to lose interest after RtR... I haven't heard all of the new album yet, but I'm absolutely pumped to receive my pre-order and spin it all weekend
Have you revisited RtR and beyond after? The production is WAY worse than I remember lol. Really excited to hear your thoughts on the new record. Some banger tunes.
Colony was my first In Flames record and its my favorite, too! IF is kind of like Dark Tranquility where whatever album you pick up first is gonna be the one you like the most (in their case it was their 2000 Haven record). Says a lot about their status IMO.
This is very similar to my IF experience, although my first listening was The Jester Race after a friend on mIRC sent me some mp3s. This was during Colony time, and Clayman came out soon after. I bought Clayman day 1 of release (I remember I had to order it in special to Canada through our record shop, lol.... things sure have changed), and it did not leave my CD player for months! To this day, Clayman is my favourite, however Colony is my #2, and I really enjoy RTR. They began to lose me after it, and then Come Clarity was their last I paid much attention to.
The production on Colony is phenomenal. The fist song I heard by them was 'Ordinary Story' on a Canadian music show called Loud. I was immediately drawn to the massive guitars. The clean vocals in the verse gave way to the wretched harsh vocals in the Chorus. I was sold.
I am a very new fan of in Flames 😂just two months old,i saw them in release in Athens festival early June waiting after them Nightwish the big name of the day and i love them especially my boy friend who isn't metal fan found them very interesting band and he liked the singer, great performer indeed. I have listen now only two albums and quess...Clayman and Colony, RUclips sent me these albums first😂, some video clips and their concert in Summer Breeze 2023 also but certainly i will continue to listen their music. You help me a lot, every start with an old band with many many albums is difficult 😦 but i am happy who find this band accidentally i should say and i found a great band to follow as well and listen their music. Thank you guys,my greetings from Greece.
Welcome in, Forgemate! We love to hear when fans get into bands that we are very familiar with. It makes us jealous of that first feeling of discovery!! There's nothing like it. Enjoy your journey through metal!!
For me Clayman is still their best album (followed by The Jester Race). I'm revisiting this album constantly for the last 20 years and never get enought of it...
Good ranking.! Your #5 through #14 are probably exactly how I’d rank them. My top 4 would be in a slightly different order though. I’d go #1 Colony, #2 Whoracle, #3 Jester Race, #4 Clayman. As always I enjoyed your video, keep up the great work! 🤘
14) Siren's Charm 13) Battles 12) Sounds Of A Playground Fading 11) I, The Mask 10) Come Clarity 9) Soundtrack To Your Escape 8) A Sense Of Purpose 7) Lunar Strain 6) Reroute To Remain 5) Foregone 4) Clayman 3) Colony 2) Whoracle 1) The Jester Race * I'm gonna steal a comment i saw on a spanish review and say 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.
As a teenager, I was introduced to InFlames with Clayman. Then I got Soundtrack to your escape when it came out. I loved Come Clarity when that came out. Clearly I need to go back to some of their much earlier catalogue.
@@forgemastermetal I went back to listen to whoracle and the jester race. I have enjoyed both so far. Between the two I think I lean more towards jester race. I also need to go back to the soundtrack to your escape and listen for the things you mentioned in the video.
Pretty spot on with the rankings. I would move Colony up to S just for Zombie Inc alone. Probably one of the greatest In Flames songs ever. I really like Reroute that’s a B for me. Cloud Connected and Trigger are 🔥🔥🔥. Great tier list. Keep up the great work.
@@forgemastermetal yeah I listened to the new album a few times already. I enjoyed it. Like u said they got some weak filler tracks but overall it’s way better then the last few albums. Still not better then The Halo Effect album IMO. That’s what I wanted this In Flames album to sound like.
I paused the video to write this comment while you are are discussing siren charm... Basically the bottom line is just stick to their first 5 albums. When it first came out they kinda lost me with Reroute to Remain , so ive been good for 20+ years just sticking to those 5.
I think ya'll got it pretty spot on, my list is: S: Whoracle, Jesters Race A: Colony, Clayman, Lunar Strain B: Come Clarity, Soundtrack to Your Escape, Foregone Everything else is kinda of doo doo. The problem with In Flames is when they're good, they're amazing, but when they suck, they suck bad. Foregone is such a step in the right direction. Honestly, I'm just glad they're back to writing good songs.
A Sense of Purpose is their best album, Soundtrack to Your Escape second, then the first melodeath ones all the way through Come Clarity, worst is probably Battles or Playground, and Siren Charms is underrated.
I got massively into In Flames as a teenager in the early 2000s. Decided to revisit them after my niece asked me for some heavy recommendations. Clayman and colony still stand up as awesome! Totally agree with the point about production on reroute. The drums are just a mush!
I think Come Clarity is the most UNDERRATED album of them. All the songs are impressive and the melody is fine. This Album is my alltime favorite from In Flames. And The Chosen Pessimist is AWESOME. Its like when Disturbed make a cover of Sound of Silence. No one expected but needed. But of course its not a "In Flames" type of song. Underrated songs for me: Ordinary Story, System, World of Promises and Scorn. My Tier list is: S: Come Clarity, Clayman, Colony A: The Jester Race, Reroute to Remain B: Whoracle, Lunar Strain C: A Sense (...), Foregone. D: Rest F: Battles
Underrated? Everyone in my friend group thinks come clarity is their best album by miles, and they're not a fan of the really older stuff. Reroute to remain is one of my favs, not sure why they rated it so low
@@kakkycoasties8670 Some of In Flames fans and RUclipsrs don't think about it. They are "oh good album" but not THAT GOOD as he is. In my opinion, CC is the album that you should show to your friends for start the band. And Reroute to Remain is awesome and they joke about Metaphor, a calm and peaceful song LOL
I'm a big defender of Siren Charms. As I've gotten older I really love that one. Got it tattooed on my shoulder. I still don't love it to the extent of Whoracle, Colony, Clayman, or Jester Race but for what it is, I really enjoy it. I think the first half of I, The Mask showed a lot of promise and I'd honestly put Foregone in the Top 5.
@@forgemastermetal I just love the overall tone and atmosphere of the album as a rock and heavy metal record. I love the guitar playing, the production, the riffs, and the song writing. It's very different for In Flames, certainly not their normal style, but one that I've grown a massive amount of respect for over the years.
Great list guys of one of my favorite bands … agree with most, but I actually like Battles and would rate it higher. But yes, the new albums is fantastic!!!
@Forgemaster Metal Reviews hell yeah! Overgivenheten is awesome!! Soilwork has been a favorite of mine for a long time now. Keep up the great work guys!
I was introduced to In Flames with the song The Mirror's Truth on a Metal Edge sample CD and really liked it at the time. That said, at the time, I really wasn't into harsh vocals and the most extreme metal I liked was Fear Factory and early Big 4+ Thrash. I was just starting to pick up on Metal Core bands like As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Still Remains, and Trivium and it was from there I grew more of a taste for harsh vocals and more recently, more extreme metal (you guys have introduced me to some stuff I'm really getting into like An Abstract Illusion). Now looking back at The Mirror's Truth, I've really grown out of that sound. I do still revisit that song for nostalgia's sake. So far, I've enjoyed everything I've heard from the new album.
Clayman was my gateway album back in the day, i heard pinball maps and i was hooked, it got me into the heavier metal. I was the biggest inflames fanboy until siren charms, it went down hill but foregone has got me back into inflames.
Love that you put Clayman in S, hate that you shat on every song I enjoyed from RtR and Soundtrack. I feel like I'm in a weird position, I got into In Flames when Sounds of a Playground Fading was their newest album, but only really stuck to their "classic" melodeath albums because of preconceived notions about "new" In Flames from online fans. I even avoided some tracks from Clayman because I thought they were from later albums. It wasn't until songs from Reroute onward started playing on Pandora that I listened to their whole discography and discovered that I really liked a lot of it. It kind of made me feel sour about other In Flames fans honestly. And even now the only In Flames albums I dislike are Battles and I, the Mask which still has some songs I regularly listen to. I love the new album though. It was incredibly difficult to rank honestly. 1. Clayman 2. The Jester Race 3. Colony 4. Whoracle 5. Come Clarity 6. Foregone 7. Soundtrack to Your Escape 8. A Sense of Purpose 9. Lunar Strain 10. Reroute to Remain 11. Sounds of a Playground Fading 12. Siren Charms 13. I, the Mask 14. Battles
Clayman was my introduction to In Flames. They were opening for Iced Earth and I hadn't heard anything from them. The Austin Powers theme started and I was extremely skeptical. Then Bullet Ride started. I was hooked immediately.
My personal ranking S: Clayman, Whoracle A: The Jester Race, Colony B: Lunar Strain, Foregone, Reroute to Remain C: Come Clarity D: I, the Mask, STYE, ASOP F: SOAPF, Siren Charms, Battles
Jester race introduced me to melodeath. It may not be my absolute favorite album for me (I'm more Clayman / Colony fanatic), but man does it hit me in the feels. A++. I really loved black ash inheritance around that time too. Something pretty special there, makes my hair stand up on some of those songs. S: Clayman, Colony, Whoracle A: Jester Race (borderline S tier), Come Clarity B: Lunar Strain, Reroute to Remain C: Soundtrack to Your Escape, Siren Charms, Sounds of a Playground Fading, A Sense of Purpose D (oof tier): Battles, I, the Mask TBD on Forgone. Has some catchy songs ala my favorite 2000s era stuff, but some other songs are a little meh for me. Needs some time to stew. Maybe B ?
I agree. Good opinions. Nice to hear that some more people like the song ”I'm the highway" still I think the album from Halo Effect is better than In Flames "Forgone". Mostly due to the pop-chorus that In Flames stick to.
Awesome review guys, I concur basically 100% on this. I'd probably place Whoracle as my top album followed by Jester, Colony and Clayman, but I love all 4. Clayman does kind of hint, subtly, at what's to come but it's still an excellent album in my book. Reroute hints a bit more, and so on (apart from Come Clarity's slight comeback). Lunar Strain also has a special place in my heart, it's not as polished as the following 4 but it has this primordial, even folky vibe that for me puts it a bit apart from the rest of In Flames, and more into a category containing DT's Skydancer and Gallery actually. I also enjoyed Foregone decently enough, first time In Flames have had a pulse in 15 years so I have to commend that. Like many I had truly given up on them, but they proved me wrong, somewhat (it's still no Clayman).
Foregone's my third favorite longplay from this band, fourth overall favorite; under Colony, Lunar Strain and then Subterranean (I'm kind of a snob for the very early non-Anders stuff, even though I am starting to love Skydancer) -- but do like a good number of IF albums when I'm itching for melodeath / their occasional deviations -- good tier list and laughed my ass off at the later album critiques👍
I don't know their whole back catalog well enough to rank, but the new album starts off solid. I need to give it another listen, because I didn't pay much attention to the back half. Thanks for doing the hard work here, now I know what IF album to target next!
My personal ranking: 1. Clayman 2. Whoracle 3. The Jester Race 4. Colony 5. Foregone 6. Come Clarity 7. A Sense of Purpose 8. I, The Mask 9. Battles 10. Sounds of a Playground Fading 11. Soundtrack to Your Escape 12. Reroute to Remain 13. Siren Charms 14. Lunar Strain
Well I guess there's a different tier list for each fan according to what they like to hear. So here's mine S : Whoracle - Clayman (hard to argue with that) A : Colony - Foregone (which I put in A because all my life I've been looking for this moment) B : The Jester Race - Come Clarity - Soundtrack to your Escape - Reroute to Remain C : Lunar Strain (great debut indeed but they have gone so much better since) - I The Mask - Battles (mix is really shitty but some songs are banger) D : A Sense of Purpose - Siren Charms - Sound of a Playground Fading (cuz' you can't be In Flames and get away so easily with so weak albums. You could make a 45' tracklist with the good songs within this 3 albums) Subjective opinion, no hate, In Flames We Trust
Agree, Whoracle also my most listened to from In Flames - but today a new Dreamcatcher Song was released so that’s my meth for today - yes, I listen to metal and K-Pop…and lots in between 😄
My tier list; S colony,clayman A jester race, whoracle, Soundtracks to your escape B Reroute , Come Clarity , Foregone C Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a playground, Siren charms D I, the mask, Battles
This is a smart and fair ranking. Love that you guys understand production and recording because it gives your opinions merit. My only gripe is how much you shit on "metaphor" because I think it's a wonderful song to come from a band like In Flames. I personally love how musically raw it is and the lyrics are well written as a double entender. IN Flames definitely did a lot of experimenting and Reroute/soundtrack was during that time.
S: The Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony A: Clayman, Come Clarity B: Lunar Strain, A Sense of Purpose, Foregone C: Soundtrack To Your Escape, Siren Charms D: Reroute to Remain, Sounds of a Playground Fading Z: Battles, I the Mask
A friend dubbed me a copy of Jester Race in high school, and I was obsessed. That dropped off after Reroute, which still had some solid songs, but was obviously moving in a different direction. I haven't really listened to enough of their material after that to have an opinion. (A New Dawn is fucking incredible, though). I definitely need to grab the new one. S: Colony, The Jester Race, Whoracle A: Clayman B: Reroute To Remain C: Lunar Strain, Against The Elements (sorry, wrong band haha) F: The rerecordings on the Clayman anniversary edition S++++++: Black-Ash Inheritance. Goliaths and the Acoustic Medley are absolute top-tier tracks.
What always bums me out THE most is the production when it comes to In Flames records. Especially in the 2000s, I feel like those records could have been legitimately great if not for the horrendous production. I'm very much a layman when it comes to those kinds of things, but I've heard people more knowledgeable than me point to the "loudness wars" that amped up in the 2000s, and it seems to me In Flames were possibly a victim of that as well. I came across a youtube channel that fixed these - they had Second Stage Turbine Blade from Coheed uploaded, completely redone. I couldn't believe the difference. The editing work to "fix" it jumped the album from maybe my 4-5th favorite Coheed album to one of my favorite records of all time. I legit couldn't believe the difference. Would love to hear this done with In Flames' stuff as well. Wish I could find that channel again....
My favourite album will always be The Jester Race... Moonshield will be my favourite... This album made me a fan of Melodic Death Metal with COB - Follow the Reaper
S+: Whoracle (top 5 metal album all-time for me) S: Clayman, The Jester Race A: Colony, Come Clarity B: Lunar Strain, Soundtrack to Your Escape, A Sense of Purpose C: Reroute to Remain, Foregone, Sounds of a Playground Fading D: I, the Mask F: Battles, Siren Charms
I think battles is an absolute snorefest and i the mask is not much better but i kinda came around on Siren charms more recently and i think it has at least some kind of identity unlike battles. And then there is the rest of their discography besides those three albums, and i honestly love all of those albums unconditionally. Favorite Band of all time.
@@ghostofmoredishesmorebitch1507 siren charms has decent songs throughout the album. for i the mask its just like the first three and the rest is garbage.
Out of your top 4, I couldn't really decide which one is the best of them but I'd put Reroute to Remain in B tier before Foregone, cause I really like that industrial sound that came in that album although Foregone has some really good tracks, Foregone part 2 probably being my most favourite, the lyrical content together with the other instruments were well crafted for this album, and put A Sense of Purpose above Sounds of a Playground Fading. Also maybe put Soundtrack to Your Escape in lowest B tier, otherwise I think I agree with most if not all of your takes.
I think your guy's order is pretty spot on, except I may be one of the few that actually still enjoys pretty much every album in the newer era. For me though, I would put battles as the weakest album. There was something I liked about siren charms, to me it felt like they were trying something a little moodier and it worked for me. Battles felt a little phoned in but I still enjoyed it. I would also maybe rank a sense of purpose higher, but that's more for nostalgia sake cause it was the first album I heard in full of theirs
Agree with the first four but then I switched them up a bit: 1. Clayman 2. Whoracle 3. Jester Race 4. Colony 5. Reroute to Remain 6. Lunar Strain + Subterranean 7. Soundtrack to your Escape 8. A Sense of Purpose 9. Foregone 10. Sounds of a Playground Fading 11. Come Clarity 12. I, The Mask 13. Battles 14. Siren Charms
Oh man I had a mouthful of water on the “ohhh yeaaahhhh” part 😂😂😂 I’ve never been able to listen to some of those albums that have that really tiny sound to them & Anders vocals on them are like hearing someone else eat to me….for context they enrage me & hurt my ears. I think he sounds much better on foregone & have to say I think it’s a banging album. never really gone back to the very start of their catalogue but think I may have to after watching this🤘 On a sense of purpose I do really like sleepless again think that’s a killer song. But I do vibe with the lyrics on that one. Have a great weekend lads!
I’ve always felt reroute and come clarity are their best albums. While I do enjoy the 90s stuff, I felt that At The Gates did that genre better, meanwhile their ‘alternative metal’ stuff in the 2000s is unique and I love it.
Interesting! At the Gates is definitely my favorite from the Gothenburg scene. Their early stuff is absolutely bonkers. "Slaughter of the Soul" was a real one off, but it changed the landscape of the music scene. Thanks for sharing your opinion, Forgemate! Appreciate your time. - Ben Fo
This is extremely unpopular opinion, but I love Siren Charms, and Battles lol I really do. Especially Siren Charms. Love the track paralyzed. I love in Flames bc I have fav songs from each album. As a whole, I absolutely love them.
Great list! I partially agree with it, but especially so when it comes to the D-tier picks. I love Reroute to Remain, it's the album that got me into In Flames, but I have to agree that - while I don't HATE the way the drums sound at all - the drums are still waaaayyy too upfront in the mix, and drown out the vocals somewhat. Soundtrack To Your Escape is kinda in the same boat. Here however, I just don't like how the drums sound. That splash cymbal especially is just [vomits in Danish]. Quiet Place and My Sweet Shadow still rules though. Going back in the catalogue from there, I fell in love with the entirety of Clayman, Colony and Whoracle as well. Jester Race, Subterranean and Lunar Strain weren't really my cup of tea overall, but Moonshield is one of my all-time favourites. The C64 version is underrated af too. Come Clarity is my hands-down all time favourite record from In Flames. The mixing is amazing, the brutal bass tone is insane, and Dead End is on it. And if you wanna go with the spin-offs as well, the Passenger album is so so great, even if the lyrics are a bit too edgy for my liking sometimes. Can't believe that album is turning 20 this year. Anything after Sounds Of A Playground Fading is where I kinda stepped off the ride though. I wanted to like I, The Mask, but the way some of those choruses sounded ... specially Call My Name, where the end note of the chorus would blend into a bridge and a verse in the worst way possible. Like the vocal register feels like it should've been a fifth below what it actually is or something. Stay With Me is my favourite on the album though. ... and then Foregone is where I got right tf back on the ride. Meet Your Maker kicks all kinds of ass. While this comment may not sound much like it, In Flames remains as my favourite band ever, right alongside Pendulum. Been listening to both since the mid/late 00's. So you can imagine how my life flipped upside down when I found out my two favourite bands made a song together in the early 10's
It's hard for me to rank In Flames albums, because I'm a big fanboy of them and I love their different sounds and genre and basically love all of their albums in their own way, except for the first one and Clayman, which i just can't seem to get into them. Gonna rank them based on how much I've listened to each album and the number of songs I love in them: 1) Colony 2) A Sense of Purpose 3) Whoracle 4) I, The Mask 5) Forgone 6) Come Clarity 7) Reroute To Remain 8) Soundtrack to Your Escape 9) Sounds of a Playground Fading 10) Siren Charms 11) The Jester Race 12) Battles 13) Clayman 14) Lunar Strain
@ForgemasterMetalReviews I love alternative rock/metal as much as I love melodeath. That's probably why I like the less popular albums more than the majority of people! 😃
My ranking (and my opinion): S: I, The Mask; Foregone; Reroute to Remain A: Come Clarity; Soundtrack to your Escape; Sense of a Purpose; Battles B: Sounds of a Playground fading; Colony C: Clayman; Siren Charms D: Lunar Strain; The Jester Race; Whoracle
S tier - Jester race Whoracle Colony Clayman A tier - reroute to remain Sense of purpose I the mask Foregone B tier - come clarity Soundtrack to your escape C tier - battles Sounds of a playground fading Sirens charm
Considering the alumni, it's weak as shit. Middle of the road generic melodeath. Stanne is only good thing about that band. Niclas can't write for shit.
I love how it was stupidly easy for them to put al 2000's and previous to B or Up and all the debate was in the 2002 and fowards, that's what true in flames fans debate.
I'm putting Foregone in A tier. It's the direction I was hoping they'd go after Clayman, although the choruses would have been just a touch too radio friendly for my liking. If Clayman, Passenger, and Natural Born Chaos had a weird 3-parent baby, it would be this record.
my favorite track (don't hate me) is the radio part of Your Bedtime Story is Scaring Everyone from Come Clarity...damn, so epic...when I have kids they'll have to get used to it
hated soundtrack to your escape when it was released, ended up loving it after re-listening a few years later. can't believe no mention of SUPERHERO OF THE COMPUTER RAGE. that song fuckin rules my dudes.
@@forgemastermetal i think i hated the keyboards/samples and thought the whole thing reeked a bit of nu-metal/anders trying to sound like jon davis from korn, which obviously only got worse after come clarity. i dismissed the album after just listening to brief bits of each song, but i think i just got a bit older and more open minded. i relistened and thought, hey those bleep bloops between songs are pretty cool and create an interesting link and atmosphere through the album. and my sweet shadow is fuckin awesome too. there's a few whiffs on this album but overall it's one of my favourite in flames albums now.
I can't put jester race so highly. Considering it has many aspects of the later three records, they're done just a bit better. B. Whoracle as an S, for sure. Colony, with some more accessible components, still just pumps, over and over, S. Clayman can't be denied as their tentpole, finishing off their sound, refining all their previous works, S. Reroute, has some weaker components, but pumps hard with memorable hooks, B. Soundtrack is the reroute that works. Highly synth, but operating on all cylinders, with some classics, - my sweet shadow was played at live shows for years after, B. Come clarity, is relentless. Their heaviest and most brutal, understandably divisive, but hits my buttons, and still had live show favourites, S. Sense of purpose was the first to properly lose me, with weaker moments in the second half and recycled riffs, - still some strong moments, C. Playground fading, was back on form, with a sense of band-identity and storytelling, memorable and full of hooks, B. Sirens is definitely divisive, but stands out as an original take, and atmospherically holds up as a record, depending on your mood, B. Battles, with good intentions killed me, with the children choruses, weak moments and little to stand out, - poor production and the band sounded tired, D-. I, the mask, certainly bright back the strength of the band, but needed a second take at the edits, certainly enjoyable, C. Foregone, - a jump back in, with some new energy, interesting after the four ex members released their own album onto Spotify, - maybe the group realised that their friends we showing them up. Certainly fun, but still not holding a memorable position. The acoustic writing are oddly weak for a band that Knows how to do this, B. However... their live shows still absolutely rock. Go see them whenever they're near you.
I bloody love Come Clarity. I am so glad someone else doesn't like My Sweet Shadow, twice when I saw them live they closed the show with that and I hate that song, lol.
gotta be honest, clayman was the first in flames album I ever heard and it really turned me off them, didn't feel any interesting moments and never hit hard, didn't bother checking the rest out until soapf, which also got me into the older stuff and I saw it's not at all like clayman lol, anyways my lists a mess, although Ill adjust for ur rules ig s: sounds of a playground fading, whoracle favs: A new dawn, worlds within a margin, where the dead ships dwell, deliver us, episode 666, jotun a: reroute to remain, foregone favs: metaphor, in the dark, cloud connected, a dialoge in b flat minor, free fall, meet your maker b: come clarity, soundtrack to your escape, I the mask favs: crawl through knifes, my sweet shadow, quiet place, dead end, voices, deep inside c: colony, a sense of purpose, jesters race favs: the chosen pessimist, december flower, scorn d: siren charms, battles, clayman, lunar strain favs: when the world explodes, wallflower
I largely agree with the list, expect I'd swap Jester Race and Clayman. Jester Race and Whoracle are my god-tier In Flames albums, with Clayman and Colony right up there. 🤘🤘
Done come clarity dirty. Easy S right up there with Clayman. Though respect, I think it is the best middle ground album between melo death, metalcore and alt metal. The best elements of all. Did I, The Mask the dirty def between Playground and a sense of purpose. All 3 albums are decently produced even if they all have there fair share of stinkers. When I, the Mask is ticking the boxes it's very good. I often come back to the first half of that album. I am biased, Come Clarity was my introduction to the genre and my top metalcore like album. I had a compilation promo cd (when they were a thing with Take This Life). Leeches is the perfect example of great melo death with metalcore sprinkles.
My S tier: CLAYMAN, Colony, Reroute to remain, Whoracle, Battles, I the mask and Come Clarity The rest, about the Foregone and Soundtrack to your Escape i would put it between A and S
Not going to lie I like all of their stuff I haven’t listened to lunar strain so I wouldn’t know but I’ve listened to everything else and I like all of it I wouldn’t put anything under a b except battles.
Unpopular af, I know, but one of my three absolute favorite In Flames albums that is tied with the other two, Colony and Clayman, is A Sense Of Purpose. I still listen to that album front to back constantly.
Its a same with me. That album have a special place in my heart.
Jesus that is unpopular. I can't even get through that record.
I hated it when it came out, but it really grew on me and I love it now. Dislike everything that came out after.
Totally agree! A sense of purpose is a masterpiece. The songs are amazingly catchy.
It was their last good album until Foregone IMO. Not "great" but good.
I feel The Jester Race was their best album. Their are so many great riffs and melodies. The progression from Lunar Strain is pretty evident.
Definitely!
Colony will always be S tier for me. The pinnacle of late 90's MDM. 🤘
Don’t blame you!
100% agree with you. Colony is underrated!!
Yep. It has the most S tier tracks and Zombie Inc. might be the best thing they've ever written. And that's up against some stiff competition.
Man Made God alone makes that album S-tier for me. But have to agree with Clayman being their best album by far.
Colony is my record too; best songs and the best production at once for me. The Lunar Strain reworks on it sound awesome too IMO. These days it’s really the only one I return to, as well. I throw on Jester Race now and then, but the highs aren’t as high as that of Colony IMO.
I always consider Clayman and Colony as twin albums, their soundscapes are similar and they seem to be part of each other.
I can def see that!
I agree! Sound production is almost identical! Although, I’d say Clayman is definitely a little better!
Colony has some sick Metalcore style breakdowns though!
@@zyriuz2 whoracle is in there to for me
Love reroute to remain . This album made me fall I love with in flames .. I know there are better albums by them, but it will forever have that special place in my heart
Those songs RULE live!
Same, I grew up with Reroute to Come Clarity era, and it still holds a special place in my heart even though their first 5 albums are better
Kind of a shift in style, i'm along for the ride since Lunar Strain but man, this album has some really infectious hooks and grooves! Lots of earworms in retrospective, i was following IF up until 'STYE' but kinda lost track after that.. Foregone renewed my interest a bit for sure, i guess i have to take a good listen to Come Clarity and ASOP because a lot of people like these albums.. I can safely ignore the ones following these up i think..
?
@@ShapeshifteR-TheAnomalyGameCat I’d say so. A Sense of Purpose is the last album I found worth listening to before Foregone. Everything in between is basically trash
@@Transilvanian90 Basically every old fan has this view more or less about Foregone's three predecessors.. I did hear a single or two off I, The Mask and thought it was somewhat decent. Not very remniscent but also not piss poor.. Maybe i just have to listen to everything i have missed all the years and make up my own opinion.. When it's a dry release month for metal or something, or rainy sundays.. Yeah right!😆
I love soundtrack to your escape and the drums on that album. They sound unique. This was the 1st in flames album I heard, so I’m forever a bit partial to it.
The Jester Race supremacy checking in. S+ tier.
I am enjoying the New album a lot, to me it’s their best album in years
Totally
definately
So, the Reroute tour was my introduction to In Flames. I immediately bought the album based on their performance. I loved it. Dug into their back catalog. Reroute is still my favorite album. I get why original fans don’t like it, but I love it and still listen to it at least 12 times a year.
Sometimes your connection to an album overrides everything else!
"ballads by killswitch inflames"💀
BRRRTTTT. Full auto with the MAC-10.
So glad you guys mentioned swim! The first melodeath song I listened to, and now im hooked
That song is tremendous.
Amazing song, one of the best in flames songs.
S: Colony, Clayman
A: Reroute to Remain, Whoracle, Jester Race, Soundtrack to your Escape
B:Foregone, A Sense of Purpose, Come Clarity, Sounds of a Playground Fading, I the Mask, Lunar Strain
C: Siren Charm
D: Battles
@@tikihead94 this is the only acceptable answer
"Colony" is one of the first underground albums that got me in to metal, and to this day it is easily my #1 favorite of IF and a personal metal top-10 of all-time. I'll never forget hearing "embody the invisible" for the first time... it was on one of those satellite TV music stations in the late 90's lol. I was like 14, and I would just sit there and listen to this channel on our TV for hours. I discovered many great bands that way (pre-internet of course). When that IF song came on I was instantly blown away - I bought the CD and it's crazy how good every single song is. It still gives me the chills today... in my opinion, they never quite reached that level again. Clayman and RtR certainly came close - and that trifecta of albums is another one of my favorite things - but to me Colony is still king. I really started to lose interest after RtR...
I haven't heard all of the new album yet, but I'm absolutely pumped to receive my pre-order and spin it all weekend
Have you revisited RtR and beyond after? The production is WAY worse than I remember lol.
Really excited to hear your thoughts on the new record. Some banger tunes.
Colony was my first In Flames record and its my favorite, too! IF is kind of like Dark Tranquility where whatever album you pick up first is gonna be the one you like the most (in their case it was their 2000 Haven record). Says a lot about their status IMO.
This is very similar to my IF experience, although my first listening was The Jester Race after a friend on mIRC sent me some mp3s. This was during Colony time, and Clayman came out soon after. I bought Clayman day 1 of release (I remember I had to order it in special to Canada through our record shop, lol.... things sure have changed), and it did not leave my CD player for months! To this day, Clayman is my favourite, however Colony is my #2, and I really enjoy RTR. They began to lose me after it, and then Come Clarity was their last I paid much attention to.
The production on Colony is phenomenal. The fist song I heard by them was 'Ordinary Story' on a Canadian music show called Loud. I was immediately drawn to the massive guitars. The clean vocals in the verse gave way to the wretched harsh vocals in the Chorus. I was sold.
Colony cannot be beaten. tremendous album
I am a very new fan of in Flames 😂just two months old,i saw them in release in Athens festival early June waiting after them Nightwish the big name of the day and i love them especially my boy friend who isn't metal fan found them very interesting band and he liked the singer, great performer indeed.
I have listen now only two albums and quess...Clayman and Colony, RUclips sent me these albums first😂, some video clips and their concert in Summer Breeze 2023 also but certainly i will continue to listen their music.
You help me a lot, every start with an old band with many many albums is difficult 😦 but i am happy who find this band accidentally i should say and i found a great band to follow as well and listen their music.
Thank you guys,my greetings from Greece.
Welcome in, Forgemate! We love to hear when fans get into bands that we are very familiar with. It makes us jealous of that first feeling of discovery!! There's nothing like it. Enjoy your journey through metal!!
For me Clayman is still their best album (followed by The Jester Race). I'm revisiting this album constantly for the last 20 years and never get enought of it...
same
My favorite from them is probably the ep Subterranean
That's a deep cut!
@@forgemastermetal on Spotify it says its an album soo...
Good ranking.! Your #5 through #14 are probably exactly how I’d rank them. My top 4 would be in a slightly different order though. I’d go #1 Colony, #2 Whoracle, #3 Jester Race, #4 Clayman.
As always I enjoyed your video, keep up the great work! 🤘
Thanks Joe! Solid top 4!
14) Siren's Charm
13) Battles
12) Sounds Of A Playground Fading
11) I, The Mask
10) Come Clarity
9) Soundtrack To Your Escape
8) A Sense Of Purpose
7) Lunar Strain
6) Reroute To Remain
5) Foregone
4) Clayman
3) Colony
2) Whoracle
1) The Jester Race
*
I'm gonna steal a comment i saw on a spanish review and say 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.
That comment is spot on! Thanks for dropping your list, mate!
As a teenager, I was introduced to InFlames with Clayman. Then I got Soundtrack to your escape when it came out. I loved Come Clarity when that came out. Clearly I need to go back to some of their much earlier catalogue.
Let us know when you do!!
@@forgemastermetal I went back to listen to whoracle and the jester race. I have enjoyed both so far. Between the two I think I lean more towards jester race. I also need to go back to the soundtrack to your escape and listen for the things you mentioned in the video.
Pretty spot on with the rankings. I would move Colony up to S just for Zombie Inc alone. Probably one of the greatest In Flames songs ever. I really like Reroute that’s a B for me. Cloud Connected and Trigger are 🔥🔥🔥. Great tier list. Keep up the great work.
Zombie Inc is freaking god tier. Have you heard the new album yet?
@@forgemastermetal yeah I listened to the new album a few times already. I enjoyed it. Like u said they got some weak filler tracks but overall it’s way better then the last few albums. Still not better then The Halo Effect album IMO. That’s what I wanted this In Flames album to sound like.
+1 for Colony S tier.
1. Clayman
2. Jester Race
3. Whoracle
4. Colony
5. Come Clarity
6. Reroute
7. Soundtrack
8. Foregone
9. Lunar Strain
10. A sense of Purpose
11. Sounds to a Playground Fading
12. I, The Mask
13. Battles
14. Sirens Charm
I paused the video to write this comment while you are are discussing siren charm... Basically the bottom line is just stick to their first 5 albums.
When it first came out they kinda lost me with Reroute to Remain , so ive been good for 20+ years just sticking to those 5.
You're likely not the only one in the boat!
I think ya'll got it pretty spot on, my list is:
S: Whoracle, Jesters Race
A: Colony, Clayman, Lunar Strain
B: Come Clarity, Soundtrack to Your Escape, Foregone
Everything else is kinda of doo doo. The problem with In Flames is when they're good, they're amazing, but when they suck, they suck bad. Foregone is such a step in the right direction. Honestly, I'm just glad they're back to writing good songs.
The highs are high and lows are quite low!
Come Clarity is my S tier album. I can listen to that album every day and not get tired of it
No kidding?
A Sense of Purpose is their best album, Soundtrack to Your Escape second, then the first melodeath ones all the way through Come Clarity, worst is probably Battles or Playground, and Siren Charms is underrated.
Interesting picks!!
I got massively into In Flames as a teenager in the early 2000s. Decided to revisit them after my niece asked me for some heavy recommendations. Clayman and colony still stand up as awesome! Totally agree with the point about production on reroute. The drums are just a mush!
Great list. The EPs are also excellent. Subterranean and the Black Ash Inheritance I played well into the 2000s
We don't cover EPs on these lists but you're right - their EPs definitely stand on their own!
I think Come Clarity is the most UNDERRATED album of them. All the songs are impressive and the melody is fine. This Album is my alltime favorite from In Flames.
And The Chosen Pessimist is AWESOME. Its like when Disturbed make a cover of Sound of Silence. No one expected but needed. But of course its not a "In Flames" type of song.
Underrated songs for me: Ordinary Story, System, World of Promises and Scorn.
My Tier list is:
S: Come Clarity, Clayman, Colony
A: The Jester Race, Reroute to Remain
B: Whoracle, Lunar Strain
C: A Sense (...), Foregone.
D: Rest
F: Battles
Solid S tier and great points on CC
Underrated? Everyone in my friend group thinks come clarity is their best album by miles, and they're not a fan of the really older stuff. Reroute to remain is one of my favs, not sure why they rated it so low
@@kakkycoasties8670 Some of In Flames fans and RUclipsrs don't think about it. They are "oh good album" but not THAT GOOD as he is. In my opinion, CC is the album that you should show to your friends for start the band.
And Reroute to Remain is awesome and they joke about Metaphor, a calm and peaceful song LOL
I love those ranking's! 🤘😃🤘
Thank you!! What are yours?
I'm a big defender of Siren Charms. As I've gotten older I really love that one. Got it tattooed on my shoulder. I still don't love it to the extent of Whoracle, Colony, Clayman, or Jester Race but for what it is, I really enjoy it.
I think the first half of I, The Mask showed a lot of promise and I'd honestly put Foregone in the Top 5.
A tattoo shows serious dedication! What made that album stand out for you?
@@forgemastermetal I just love the overall tone and atmosphere of the album as a rock and heavy metal record. I love the guitar playing, the production, the riffs, and the song writing. It's very different for In Flames, certainly not their normal style, but one that I've grown a massive amount of respect for over the years.
Great list guys of one of my favorite bands … agree with most, but I actually like Battles and would rate it higher. But yes, the new albums is fantastic!!!
Cheers 🥂
Another great video guys! How about a tier list for Soilwork?
Maybe! We've been doing tier lists for bands that have been dropping new releases. Soilwork's last album was one of their best.
@Forgemaster Metal Reviews hell yeah! Overgivenheten is awesome!! Soilwork has been a favorite of mine for a long time now. Keep up the great work guys!
I was introduced to In Flames with the song The Mirror's Truth on a Metal Edge sample CD and really liked it at the time. That said, at the time, I really wasn't into harsh vocals and the most extreme metal I liked was Fear Factory and early Big 4+ Thrash. I was just starting to pick up on Metal Core bands like As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Still Remains, and Trivium and it was from there I grew more of a taste for harsh vocals and more recently, more extreme metal (you guys have introduced me to some stuff I'm really getting into like An Abstract Illusion). Now looking back at The Mirror's Truth, I've really grown out of that sound. I do still revisit that song for nostalgia's sake. So far, I've enjoyed everything I've heard from the new album.
This is awesome. In Flames deserves the credit for getting new metal fans into the more extreme end. Glad you’re digging the new album!
Clayman was my gateway album back in the day, i heard pinball maps and i was hooked, it got me into the heavier metal. I was the biggest inflames fanboy until siren charms, it went down hill but foregone has got me back into inflames.
It's fun to see what other people like about in flames. Reroute to remain and Soundtrack to your escape is S tier on my list.
Love that you put Clayman in S, hate that you shat on every song I enjoyed from RtR and Soundtrack. I feel like I'm in a weird position, I got into In Flames when Sounds of a Playground Fading was their newest album, but only really stuck to their "classic" melodeath albums because of preconceived notions about "new" In Flames from online fans. I even avoided some tracks from Clayman because I thought they were from later albums. It wasn't until songs from Reroute onward started playing on Pandora that I listened to their whole discography and discovered that I really liked a lot of it. It kind of made me feel sour about other In Flames fans honestly. And even now the only In Flames albums I dislike are Battles and I, the Mask which still has some songs I regularly listen to. I love the new album though. It was incredibly difficult to rank honestly.
1. Clayman
2. The Jester Race
3. Colony
4. Whoracle
5. Come Clarity
6. Foregone
7. Soundtrack to Your Escape
8. A Sense of Purpose
9. Lunar Strain
10. Reroute to Remain
11. Sounds of a Playground Fading
12. Siren Charms
13. I, the Mask
14. Battles
Totaly agree with your rating and yes "swim" is one of their most unterrated songs!
What’s your S tier?
@@forgemastermetal Of course Clayman... such a brilliant record :)
Great review! I should have swopped place between Clayman and The Jester Race though. 😊
The Jester is #1 in my book.
Thanks for your input, mate!
Clayman was my introduction to In Flames. They were opening for Iced Earth and I hadn't heard anything from them. The Austin Powers theme started and I was extremely skeptical. Then Bullet Ride started. I was hooked immediately.
My personal ranking
S: Clayman, Whoracle
A: The Jester Race, Colony
B: Lunar Strain, Foregone, Reroute to Remain
C: Come Clarity
D: I, the Mask, STYE, ASOP
F: SOAPF, Siren Charms, Battles
I really liked "Stay with me" on "I, the mask".
Jester race introduced me to melodeath. It may not be my absolute favorite album for me (I'm more Clayman / Colony fanatic), but man does it hit me in the feels. A++. I really loved black ash inheritance around that time too. Something pretty special there, makes my hair stand up on some of those songs.
S: Clayman, Colony, Whoracle
A: Jester Race (borderline S tier), Come Clarity
B: Lunar Strain, Reroute to Remain
C: Soundtrack to Your Escape, Siren Charms, Sounds of a Playground Fading, A Sense of Purpose
D (oof tier): Battles, I, the Mask
TBD on Forgone. Has some catchy songs ala my favorite 2000s era stuff, but some other songs are a little meh for me. Needs some time to stew. Maybe B ?
I agree. Good opinions. Nice to hear that some more people like the song ”I'm the highway" still I think the album from Halo Effect is better than In Flames "Forgone". Mostly due to the pop-chorus that In Flames stick to.
I can see your points. I’m a big fan of the pop sensibilities tho as long as they’re done well haha
Great ranking. It’s exactly how I had it too.
No kidding? Awesome!
Awesome review guys, I concur basically 100% on this. I'd probably place Whoracle as my top album followed by Jester, Colony and Clayman, but I love all 4. Clayman does kind of hint, subtly, at what's to come but it's still an excellent album in my book. Reroute hints a bit more, and so on (apart from Come Clarity's slight comeback). Lunar Strain also has a special place in my heart, it's not as polished as the following 4 but it has this primordial, even folky vibe that for me puts it a bit apart from the rest of In Flames, and more into a category containing DT's Skydancer and Gallery actually.
I also enjoyed Foregone decently enough, first time In Flames have had a pulse in 15 years so I have to commend that. Like many I had truly given up on them, but they proved me wrong, somewhat (it's still no Clayman).
Great insight! We can tell you really dig the band.
@@forgemastermetal Yup. Everything up until A Sense of Purpose at least :))) and now Foregone is pretty cool.
Foregone's my third favorite longplay from this band, fourth overall favorite; under Colony, Lunar Strain and then Subterranean (I'm kind of a snob for the very early non-Anders stuff, even though I am starting to love Skydancer) -- but do like a good number of IF albums when I'm itching for melodeath / their occasional deviations -- good tier list and laughed my ass off at the later album critiques👍
It’s really good!
I don't know their whole back catalog well enough to rank, but the new album starts off solid. I need to give it another listen, because I didn't pay much attention to the back half. Thanks for doing the hard work here, now I know what IF album to target next!
Can’t wait to hear what you think of Clayman
My personal ranking:
1. Clayman
2. Whoracle
3. The Jester Race
4. Colony
5. Foregone
6. Come Clarity
7. A Sense of Purpose
8. I, The Mask
9. Battles
10. Sounds of a Playground Fading
11. Soundtrack to Your Escape
12. Reroute to Remain
13. Siren Charms
14. Lunar Strain
Well I guess there's a different tier list for each fan according to what they like to hear. So here's mine
S : Whoracle - Clayman (hard to argue with that)
A : Colony - Foregone (which I put in A because all my life I've been looking for this moment)
B : The Jester Race - Come Clarity - Soundtrack to your Escape - Reroute to Remain
C : Lunar Strain (great debut indeed but they have gone so much better since) - I The Mask - Battles (mix is really shitty but some songs are banger)
D : A Sense of Purpose - Siren Charms - Sound of a Playground Fading (cuz' you can't be In Flames and get away so easily with so weak albums. You could make a 45' tracklist with the good songs within this 3 albums)
Subjective opinion, no hate, In Flames We Trust
Agree, Whoracle also my most listened to from In Flames - but today a new Dreamcatcher Song was released so that’s my meth for today - yes, I listen to metal and K-Pop…and lots in between 😄
Clayman is the shit! Maybe my favorite, too.
Yeah dude. So fun.
As someone that's learning to produce and mix music I'm just curious what about the late 90s drum sounds makes them terrible? Are they under mixed?
It's tough to talk about it out of context. We might be able to bring it up one day!
My tier list;
S colony,clayman
A jester race, whoracle, Soundtracks to your escape
B Reroute , Come Clarity , Foregone
C Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a playground, Siren charms
D I, the mask, Battles
Nice!!
This is a smart and fair ranking. Love that you guys understand production and recording because it gives your opinions merit. My only gripe is how much you shit on "metaphor" because I think it's a wonderful song to come from a band like In Flames. I personally love how musically raw it is and the lyrics are well written as a double entender. IN Flames definitely did a lot of experimenting and Reroute/soundtrack was during that time.
S: The Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony
A: Clayman, Come Clarity
B: Lunar Strain, A Sense of Purpose, Foregone
C: Soundtrack To Your Escape, Siren Charms
D: Reroute to Remain, Sounds of a Playground Fading
Z: Battles, I the Mask
Jester race is S tier no question !!!!
A friend dubbed me a copy of Jester Race in high school, and I was obsessed. That dropped off after Reroute, which still had some solid songs, but was obviously moving in a different direction. I haven't really listened to enough of their material after that to have an opinion. (A New Dawn is fucking incredible, though). I definitely need to grab the new one.
S: Colony, The Jester Race, Whoracle
A: Clayman
B: Reroute To Remain
C: Lunar Strain, Against The Elements (sorry, wrong band haha)
F: The rerecordings on the Clayman anniversary edition
S++++++: Black-Ash Inheritance. Goliaths and the Acoustic Medley are absolute top-tier tracks.
lmao @ Against the Elements
Agree on the f . That shit was so fucking bad
Clayman is definitely their best album!
And those early 2000's drums sounds are awesome
Cannot agree with you about those drum tones haha.
What always bums me out THE most is the production when it comes to In Flames records. Especially in the 2000s, I feel like those records could have been legitimately great if not for the horrendous production.
I'm very much a layman when it comes to those kinds of things, but I've heard people more knowledgeable than me point to the "loudness wars" that amped up in the 2000s, and it seems to me In Flames were possibly a victim of that as well. I came across a youtube channel that fixed these - they had Second Stage Turbine Blade from Coheed uploaded, completely redone. I couldn't believe the difference. The editing work to "fix" it jumped the album from maybe my 4-5th favorite Coheed album to one of my favorite records of all time. I legit couldn't believe the difference. Would love to hear this done with In Flames' stuff as well. Wish I could find that channel again....
Yeah you’re not alone there
My favourite album will always be The Jester Race... Moonshield will be my favourite... This album made me a fan of Melodic Death Metal with COB - Follow the Reaper
Great list! Clayman was so awesome that I have been disappointed with every new In Flames record since.
You aren't the only one!
S+: Whoracle (top 5 metal album all-time for me)
S: Clayman, The Jester Race
A: Colony, Come Clarity
B: Lunar Strain, Soundtrack to Your Escape, A Sense of Purpose
C: Reroute to Remain, Foregone, Sounds of a Playground Fading
D: I, the Mask
F: Battles, Siren Charms
Great list! We see eye to eye on a lot of these!
I think battles is an absolute snorefest and i the mask is not much better but i kinda came around on Siren charms more recently and i think it has at least some kind of identity unlike battles.
And then there is the rest of their discography besides those three albums, and i honestly love all of those albums unconditionally.
Favorite Band of all time.
I the mask at least has 2-3 listenable songs...siren and battles is all trash lol
@@ghostofmoredishesmorebitch1507 siren charms has decent songs throughout the album. for i the mask its just like the first three and the rest is garbage.
@@Flugmorph siren charms is total garbage, at least the first three in I the mask I can put on a playlist
My Favorites are : Colony\ Clayman, A sense of purpose\Sounds of a Playground Fading.
Both seem like a part 2 of their predecessors.
Out of your top 4, I couldn't really decide which one is the best of them but I'd put Reroute to Remain in B tier before Foregone, cause I really like that industrial sound that came in that album although Foregone has some really good tracks, Foregone part 2 probably being my most favourite, the lyrical content together with the other instruments were well crafted for this album, and put A Sense of Purpose above Sounds of a Playground Fading. Also maybe put Soundtrack to Your Escape in lowest B tier, otherwise I think I agree with most if not all of your takes.
Thanks for the comprehensive list!
I think your guy's order is pretty spot on, except I may be one of the few that actually still enjoys pretty much every album in the newer era. For me though, I would put battles as the weakest album. There was something I liked about siren charms, to me it felt like they were trying something a little moodier and it worked for me. Battles felt a little phoned in but I still enjoyed it. I would also maybe rank a sense of purpose higher, but that's more for nostalgia sake cause it was the first album I heard in full of theirs
Thanks for your take!
Say it say the word ....Numetal
It's okay fellas
The numbers didn't lie
Basically I agree, but I love "I, the mask". 😷❤
Agree with the first four but then I switched them up a bit:
1. Clayman
2. Whoracle
3. Jester Race
4. Colony
5. Reroute to Remain
6. Lunar Strain + Subterranean
7. Soundtrack to your Escape
8. A Sense of Purpose
9. Foregone
10. Sounds of a Playground Fading
11. Come Clarity
12. I, The Mask
13. Battles
14. Siren Charms
Just curious how old you guys are?
Mid 30's.
Oh man I had a mouthful of water on the “ohhh yeaaahhhh” part 😂😂😂
I’ve never been able to listen to some of those albums that have that really tiny sound to them & Anders vocals on them are like hearing someone else eat to me….for context they enrage me & hurt my ears.
I think he sounds much better on foregone & have to say I think it’s a banging album. never really gone back to the very start of their catalogue but think I may have to after watching this🤘
On a sense of purpose I do really like sleepless again think that’s a killer song. But I do vibe with the lyrics on that one.
Have a great weekend lads!
I’ve always felt reroute and come clarity are their best albums. While I do enjoy the 90s stuff, I felt that At The Gates did that genre better, meanwhile their ‘alternative metal’ stuff in the 2000s is unique and I love it.
Interesting! At the Gates is definitely my favorite from the Gothenburg scene. Their early stuff is absolutely bonkers. "Slaughter of the Soul" was a real one off, but it changed the landscape of the music scene. Thanks for sharing your opinion, Forgemate! Appreciate your time. - Ben Fo
Loved the video. Keep it up, killer stuff 🤘🏻🤘🏻
This is extremely unpopular opinion, but I love Siren Charms, and Battles lol I really do. Especially Siren Charms. Love the track paralyzed. I love in Flames bc I have fav songs from each album. As a whole, I absolutely love them.
Great list! I partially agree with it, but especially so when it comes to the D-tier picks.
I love Reroute to Remain, it's the album that got me into In Flames, but I have to agree that - while I don't HATE the way the drums sound at all - the drums are still waaaayyy too upfront in the mix, and drown out the vocals somewhat. Soundtrack To Your Escape is kinda in the same boat. Here however, I just don't like how the drums sound. That splash cymbal especially is just [vomits in Danish]. Quiet Place and My Sweet Shadow still rules though.
Going back in the catalogue from there, I fell in love with the entirety of Clayman, Colony and Whoracle as well. Jester Race, Subterranean and Lunar Strain weren't really my cup of tea overall, but Moonshield is one of my all-time favourites. The C64 version is underrated af too.
Come Clarity is my hands-down all time favourite record from In Flames. The mixing is amazing, the brutal bass tone is insane, and Dead End is on it.
And if you wanna go with the spin-offs as well, the Passenger album is so so great, even if the lyrics are a bit too edgy for my liking sometimes. Can't believe that album is turning 20 this year.
Anything after Sounds Of A Playground Fading is where I kinda stepped off the ride though. I wanted to like I, The Mask, but the way some of those choruses sounded ... specially Call My Name, where the end note of the chorus would blend into a bridge and a verse in the worst way possible. Like the vocal register feels like it should've been a fifth below what it actually is or something. Stay With Me is my favourite on the album though.
... and then Foregone is where I got right tf back on the ride. Meet Your Maker kicks all kinds of ass.
While this comment may not sound much like it, In Flames remains as my favourite band ever, right alongside Pendulum. Been listening to both since the mid/late 00's. So you can imagine how my life flipped upside down when I found out my two favourite bands made a song together in the early 10's
Crawl through knives is still my favorite.
It's hard for me to rank In Flames albums, because I'm a big fanboy of them and I love their different sounds and genre and basically love all of their albums in their own way, except for the first one and Clayman, which i just can't seem to get into them. Gonna rank them based on how much I've listened to each album and the number of songs I love in them:
1) Colony
2) A Sense of Purpose
3) Whoracle
4) I, The Mask
5) Forgone
6) Come Clarity
7) Reroute To Remain
8) Soundtrack to Your Escape
9) Sounds of a Playground Fading
10) Siren Charms
11) The Jester Race
12) Battles
13) Clayman
14) Lunar Strain
Wow! This list is probably the most diverse we've seen. Interesting placement!
@ForgemasterMetalReviews I love alternative rock/metal as much as I love melodeath. That's probably why I like the less popular albums more than the majority of people! 😃
My ranking (and my opinion):
S: I, The Mask; Foregone; Reroute to Remain
A: Come Clarity; Soundtrack to your Escape; Sense of a Purpose; Battles
B: Sounds of a Playground fading; Colony
C: Clayman; Siren Charms
D: Lunar Strain; The Jester Race; Whoracle
Interesting! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the band ranked like this
What have you been smoking?
@@forgemastermetal Yes, it is not the average opinion^^
@@ShapeshifteR-TheAnomalyGameCat Cause I like different albums than you?
Why did you skip subterranean? Even though it’s an EP it’s one of the best things they ever did.
We don't do EPs on this list.
Defenitly check out BloodRed HourGlass🤘
S tier - Jester race
Whoracle
Colony
Clayman
A tier - reroute to remain
Sense of purpose
I the mask
Foregone
B tier - come clarity
Soundtrack to your escape
C tier - battles
Sounds of a playground fading
Sirens charm
Strong list!
What are your thoughts on
The Halo Effect?
Love that record.
Considering the alumni, it's weak as shit.
Middle of the road generic melodeath.
Stanne is only good thing about that band.
Niclas can't write for shit.
my sweet shadow is track that got me into In Flames..
No kidding? Is it your favorite to this day?
I love how it was stupidly easy for them to put al 2000's and previous to B or Up and all the debate was in the 2002 and fowards, that's what true in flames fans debate.
I'm putting Foregone in A tier. It's the direction I was hoping they'd go after Clayman, although the choruses would have been just a touch too radio friendly for my liking. If Clayman, Passenger, and Natural Born Chaos had a weird 3-parent baby, it would be this record.
Wow, Scott! Lots of praise. Glad you're enjoying it!
Come clarity is a brilliant album!!! A +
Come Clarity is a Masterpiece
my favorite track (don't hate me) is the radio part of Your Bedtime Story is Scaring Everyone from Come Clarity...damn, so epic...when I have kids they'll have to get used to it
Haha those poor kids 😝
I got into in flames with clayman... So for me it's their best...
Favorite track???
@@forgemastermetal pinball map maybe 🤔
hated soundtrack to your escape when it was released, ended up loving it after re-listening a few years later. can't believe no mention of SUPERHERO OF THE COMPUTER RAGE. that song fuckin rules my dudes.
Interesting! What made you fall in love with it after the fact?
@@forgemastermetal i think i hated the keyboards/samples and thought the whole thing reeked a bit of nu-metal/anders trying to sound like jon davis from korn, which obviously only got worse after come clarity. i dismissed the album after just listening to brief bits of each song, but i think i just got a bit older and more open minded. i relistened and thought, hey those bleep bloops between songs are pretty cool and create an interesting link and atmosphere through the album. and my sweet shadow is fuckin awesome too. there's a few whiffs on this album but overall it's one of my favourite in flames albums now.
I can't put jester race so highly. Considering it has many aspects of the later three records, they're done just a bit better. B.
Whoracle as an S, for sure.
Colony, with some more accessible components, still just pumps, over and over, S.
Clayman can't be denied as their tentpole, finishing off their sound, refining all their previous works, S.
Reroute, has some weaker components, but pumps hard with memorable hooks, B.
Soundtrack is the reroute that works. Highly synth, but operating on all cylinders, with some classics, - my sweet shadow was played at live shows for years after, B.
Come clarity, is relentless. Their heaviest and most brutal, understandably divisive, but hits my buttons, and still had live show favourites, S.
Sense of purpose was the first to properly lose me, with weaker moments in the second half and recycled riffs, - still some strong moments, C.
Playground fading, was back on form, with a sense of band-identity and storytelling, memorable and full of hooks, B.
Sirens is definitely divisive, but stands out as an original take, and atmospherically holds up as a record, depending on your mood, B.
Battles, with good intentions killed me, with the children choruses, weak moments and little to stand out, - poor production and the band sounded tired, D-.
I, the mask, certainly bright back the strength of the band, but needed a second take at the edits, certainly enjoyable, C.
Foregone, - a jump back in, with some new energy, interesting after the four ex members released their own album onto Spotify, - maybe the group realised that their friends we showing them up. Certainly fun, but still not holding a memorable position. The acoustic writing are oddly weak for a band that Knows how to do this, B.
However... their live shows still absolutely rock. Go see them whenever they're near you.
Thanks for sharing your insight!!
I bloody love Come Clarity. I am so glad someone else doesn't like My Sweet Shadow, twice when I saw them live they closed the show with that and I hate that song, lol.
It’s all good!
gotta be honest, clayman was the first in flames album I ever heard and it really turned me off them, didn't feel any interesting moments and never hit hard, didn't bother checking the rest out until soapf, which also got me into the older stuff and I saw it's not at all like clayman lol, anyways my lists a mess, although Ill adjust for ur rules ig
s: sounds of a playground fading, whoracle
favs: A new dawn, worlds within a margin, where the dead ships dwell, deliver us, episode 666, jotun
a: reroute to remain, foregone
favs: metaphor, in the dark, cloud connected, a dialoge in b flat minor, free fall, meet your maker
b: come clarity, soundtrack to your escape, I the mask
favs: crawl through knifes, my sweet shadow, quiet place, dead end, voices, deep inside
c: colony, a sense of purpose, jesters race
favs: the chosen pessimist, december flower, scorn
d: siren charms, battles, clayman, lunar strain
favs: when the world explodes, wallflower
Wow! That's a super interesting list. Thanks for sharing the background. It's cool how everyone has a different connection to a particular album.
I largely agree with the list, expect I'd swap Jester Race and Clayman. Jester Race and Whoracle are my god-tier In Flames albums, with Clayman and Colony right up there. 🤘🤘
Swim is definitely my favorite song off clayman.
Hell yeah! Great choice.
Done come clarity dirty. Easy S right up there with Clayman. Though respect, I think it is the best middle ground album between melo death, metalcore and alt metal. The best elements of all. Did I, The Mask the dirty def between Playground and a sense of purpose. All 3 albums are decently produced even if they all have there fair share of stinkers. When I, the Mask is ticking the boxes it's very good. I often come back to the first half of that album. I am biased, Come Clarity was my introduction to the genre and my top metalcore like album. I had a compilation promo cd (when they were a thing with Take This Life). Leeches is the perfect example of great melo death with metalcore sprinkles.
Thanks for the great post!
My S tier:
CLAYMAN, Colony, Reroute to remain, Whoracle, Battles, I the mask and Come Clarity
The rest, about the Foregone and Soundtrack to your Escape i would put it between A and S
There ya go! Thanks for your input.
Not going to lie I like all of their stuff I haven’t listened to lunar strain so I wouldn’t know but I’ve listened to everything else and I like all of it I wouldn’t put anything under a b except battles.
I know it's just an EP, but I feel like Subterranean should have been thrown in there.
We don't typically do EPs in the tier list, but we can totally understand why you'd want to see it covered!
Besides siren charms, I could honestly argue why any album is worth S tier.
I’m also just a super fan of these guys and love EVERY SINGLE SONG they’ve made lolz