In Flames - A Sense of Purpose Review
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 04.04.2008
Melodic death metal veterans In Flames return with their first new album since 2006's Come Clarity. Does the band satisfy the old school fans, while appealing to the mainstream crowd who enjoyed the band's last album?
The Band
Anders Fridén-Vocals
Björn Gelotte-Guitars
Jesper Strömblad-Guitars
Peter Iwers-Bass
Daniel Svensson-Drums
The Track Listing
1. The Mirror’s Truth-2:59
2. Disconnected-3:37
3. Sleepless Again-4:10
4. Alias-4:49
5. I’m the Highway-3:41
6. Delight and Angers-3:39
7. Move Through Me-3:06
8. The Chosen Pessimist-8:14
9. Sober and Irrelevant-3:22
10. Condemned-3:34
11. Drenched in Fear-3:30
12. March to the Shore-3:26
The Review
2006’s Come Clarity showed the melodic death metal band expanding their sound to reach a more mainstream crowd. The fan reaction was mixed; some appreciated the band’s progression to include more clean vocals and catchier songs, with even acoustic guitars coming into the mix, most notably on the title track, while others said the band “sold out” and were just trying to appeal to the “emo crowd.”
The album sold very well in the US, considering how crappy the market is for metal music, and the band continues this progression on A Sense of Purpose. The clean vocals make more of an appearance, especially in the first half, and catchier melodies are the norm throughout the album. However, the band has also kicked it up a notch, adding in some fast riffing and even evoking a few memories of The Jester Race, In Flames’ most famous album to date.
The first two tracks are basically faster versions of “Take This Life,” with the band playing fast and catchy melodies that have the trademark angst-ridden vocals of Anders Fridén. Some find his vocals to be an acquired taste; personally, I think he’s nothing more than decent. At least that was the first impression I had when I first heard Come Clarity.
On A Sense of Purpose, Fridén steps it up considerably, with his greatest improvement being in his clean vocals and growls. The clean vocals are apparent in the epic “The Chosen Pessimist,” which is the longest song that In Flames has ever composed. The song is a semi-ballad, pacing along at a snail pace as Fridén puts in his most emotional and passionate performance of his career. The death metal growls also make their return in a few of the songs, harking back to Whoracle.
The songs in the first half are mid-paced and sound very similar to most of the material on Come Clarity. From “The Chosen Pessimist” on, the last four songs are solid blasts of melodic death metal. The band seems to find some sort of newfound energy and the solos get more technical and faster. The album just blazes towards the end, making this reviewer wonder why they didn’t try to be aggressive for the entire album.
The guitar duo of Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad continue the great chemistry they have, trading solos off each other and sounding like its 1995 again at times. The rhythm section does its job, with drummer Daniel Svensson getting in some surprised drum fills during a few of the song’s openers. Keyboards are also used sparingly, bringing out a Dark Tranquility vibe to a few of the tracks (“The Chosen Pessimist”).
On A Sense of Purpose, the band continued down the path that they set for themselves during the previous albums. The band is leaning towards the mainstream, especially with the lyrical content (“I feel like shit, but at least I feel something” being a prime example), and the melodies are catchy, with appealing choruses in the standard “sing along at the top of your lungs” way. The album starts out strong, peters off during the middle, but comes back at the end for a satisfying conclusion. Fans of In Flames, especially the new stuff, will find A Sense of Purpose to be a satisfying listen, but old school fans expecting a return to The Jester Race will be sorely disappointed.
The 411: A Sense of Purpose is a solid album from the melodic death metal veterans that show them incorporating a mix of their older, edgier side and their catchier, more mainstream-appealing side. Fans of Come Clarity will find the album to be a good followup to In Flames' last album. Fans expecting the band to return to their sound may be disappointed to find that the band continues along the path they started last album.
You do realise that they had acoustic guitars in the old In Flames right? They had 10x the quota of acoustic they've got now. That aside, i hate all the idiots complaining about the new stuff, this is gold, pure gold. Its amazing and if people want another Whoracle they can go look elsewhere, at least In Flames is pushing ahead and quite frankly sounding better than ever
Posted By: DarthAwesome (Guest) on April 08, 2008 at 02:16 AM
Yeh agreed, it's not 1995, while whoracle and the jester race and lunar strain are wicked death metal cds, the new ones are just as awesome; in fact, I believe have more pump and drive. I love everything about In Flames, this new direction is pure gold and this cd is so good, get used to them not playing the jester race style of music because frankly they haven't since probably clayman '2000'
Posted By: James - Australia (Guest) on April 09, 2008 at 08:13 AM
what a load of crap. this labum is absolute garbage. this band has shot itself in the feet constantly since reroute to remain. Clayman was amazing. and to think the same band did this. just start wearing eye-liner you little emo sell outs. hopefully in flames' plane crashes and we are rid of this diease.
Posted By: king (Guest) on April 14, 2008 at 08:35 PM
That’s how metal is, most don’t want to evolve and grow with their bands, they want there bands to remain exactly like they first listened to them. Personaly, I think that a Sense of purpose is a solid album. It’s Gelotte and Jesper refining their art and as a metal guitarist, I perfectly understand their direction. When I was 18, my biggest joy was to pull out the most complicated rifts with a 210 metronome and have the singer scream until my hears would bleed. After doing that for many years, I’m kinda leaning towards something a bit more refined and more mature. Nothing stops me from going back to the root and blast a few old school licks…
Posted By: Aemyh (Guest) on April 15, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Really... what WAS In Flames' goal with this album? Attract yet another audience that has no idea what melodic death metal is, let alone Gothenburg? Or was it to completely abandon its roots in the innovative genre that is melodic death metal? Whatever it was, In Flames accomplished both. Being a fan of the Gothenburg trio of the mid-90s (though I wasn't there to see it), I had listening with enthusiasm to every single album by Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, and In Flames. Of those three, In Flames seemed to "stick out." Something about Anders' vocals had me hooked. That feeling has died, and been stabbed repeatedly as it fell.
Besides the prevalent "emo" feeling with regards to the cover art, and the lyrical themes, I'm left dumbfounded why the best 3 tracks were left as BONUS!?! At least I semi-liked Abnegation when I first heard it but c'mon; how is a song like "Alias" put in ahead of this? I'd rather not put an individual evaluation of each song, because much of it would read like the instruction manual to a vending machine. Monotonous, simple, and boring to read. But the common theme of nearly every song on the album is whiny vocals on Anders' part, who seems to ruin almost every instrumentally sufficient song. Jesper and Björn are decent on guitars, but I miss the epic solos as seen in The Jester Race (December Flower). Bass is there, but negligible. The first time through, I barely even noticed the bass. Too much attention is on Anders' vocals which, had they been the death metal growls, I'd be pretty psyched about.
Things I liked: Mini-solo in "I'm the Highway," 2 minute introduction on "The Chosen Pessimist," sporadic keyboard usage reminiscent of Dark Tranquility ("The Chosen Pessimist"), and surprisingly catchy melodies (even though I hate to listen to them). For this album, I was expecting even a slight return to The Jester Race, or even Whoracle. I am sorely disappointed. In Flames was the brightest star on metal heaven but, sadly, the brightest flame burns quickest and leaves an aftertaste... so bitter.
Posted By: Guru (Guest) on April 24, 2008 at 09:08 AM
what a bunch of idiots all you haters are....damn..stop living in the past..and BTW..using words like "emo" only enhances the fact that you guys cant get over what you thought you liked...jeees...emo is so 5 years ago..stop this "i hate everbody and my mommy raped me and my daddy touched my naughty place BS!!DAMN get a life!!!!! this album...just like their previous stuff is AWESOME, and all the people who think so are the REAL fans. if you cant get over the fact that the band left you behind, find some other TARDY band that is just like you..living in the past.
Posted By: issues (Guest) on June 24, 2008 at 09:17 AM
