The Gothenburg Project 11.06.08: In Flames
Posted by Matt Shoemaker on 11.06.2008
This week, one of the Three Kings of melodic death metal are on display as I look at the first third of In Flames' discography.
Congratulations are in order to the new President, Barack Obama. While I don't vote, for various reasons that I won't get into here, I am very pleased that Obama won. To me, the man who really did care about the country came out on top. It disgusted me to see, essentially, a smear campaign take place, yet again (John Kerry), and I think that was the ultimate undoing of the Republican party.
It amuses me to hear everyone bitch and moan about how "a terrorist is in office" or all this other ignorant bullshit conservatives are beginning to spout. It also amuses me to hear people complain about how everyone's going to be poor and all this other crap revolving around the tax plans and economic plans Obama has constructed. Listen. The world's not going to end. The sun's still going to come up in the morning. Sadly, while the election is over, we're still going to be hearing from plenty of people about how this is an outrage or a travesty or whatever.
But I'm not here to talk politics, because honestly, most of the time, I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. What I do know, however, is music. So let's do this.
This week, I'm beginning to take a look at one of the "Three Kings" of melodic death metal, one of the most popular melodic death metal bands worldwide, In Flames
Band Members
Anders Friden- Vocals (1995-present)
Jesper Stromblad- Guitar (1990- present, also played drums and keyboards until 1995)
Bjorn Gelotte- Guitar (1995- present)
Peter Iwers- Bass (1997- present)
Daniel Svensson- Drums (1998- present)
The band has also had a ridiculous amount of session musicians join them in records, most notably Mikael Stanne, the current vocalist for Dark Tranquility, who performed vocals on Lunar Strain, and Daniel Erlandsson, the current drummer for Arch Enemy, who provided drums for Subterranean.
In Flames is the brainchild of Jesper Stromblad, who, at the time, in 1990, was in the Swedish death metal band Ceremonial Oath. Since the band was a strictly death metal band, Stromblad formed In Flames in order to write more melodic metal, which he was not able to do in Ceremonial Oath. After a short time, he departed the band to focus on In Flames full time. He, along with Ljungstrom and Larsson, recorded a three song demo for Wrong Again Records, and, in order to procure a record deal, lied to the company and said they had thirteen songs written. Suffice to say, they got their record deal.
In a very short time period during 1993, the band wrote and recorded their debut album, Lunar Strain. Since they lacked a vocalist, Mikael Stanne filled in for the recording.
Album Info
Recorded: 1993, Studio Fredman Release Dates: 1993, re-released in 1999, re-re-released in 2005 as a remastered edition Produced by: In Flames
Track Listing (I'm using the 2005 remastered edition for this review)
Obviously, this album is nowhere near the In Flames we have today, as bands progress musically, different band members lend different ideas and so on, but even compared to the band's next release, this album is nowhere close to In Flames' sound. However, this isn't a bad album. It's not really anything special, but it's not too bad. The band mixed in a lot of different elements in this album, folk being one of the most prominent, as evidenced on songs such as "Dreamscape" and "In Flames", where folk instruments such as violin and cello are used as structure for songs.
This album has the sound of traditional melodic death metal. It's very heavy, using melodies only to remind one that this isn't traditional death metal. This type of sound is what At The Gates used up until their split, but many other bands progressed away from in search of a more technical melodic approach.
I'll be fair here in saying that I don't know shit about this album. I barely listen to it, despite it being a very solid, well formed album for only three musicians and a last second vocalist. Stromblad and Larsson are incredibly solid, Stromblad especially, pulling double duty on guitar and drums. His drumwork is really nothing more than a backbone here, keeping everything held together while the guitars do most of the work. Stanne's vocals are raw and brutal, and it lends nicely to the overly aggressive sound of the album.
The "Everlost" songs are wonderful together, with the first one opening with a pounding riff, and ending the second with beautiful vocals from Swedish female singer Jennica Johansson.
"Hargalaten", which is a traditional Swedish song, is the most haunting song on the album. Focusing only on dual acoustic guitars and Johansson's vocals, the song is a radical departure from the rest of the album, which is a nice touch. The best way to describe the guitars are melancholy. The whole song has a sense of dread and sorrow, with a small solo towards the end.
Like I said, overall, this album is pretty foreign to me. It's not until about halfway through the In Flames catalog that I'm going to get really comfortable with their work, so just bear with me. The next two are going to be a little better.
Rating: 7/10
"Lunar Strain" homemade video
"Fuckin' Hostile/Behind Space" Live (Their Fuckin' Hostile cover is awesome, so I thought I'd put it in here)
So after Lunar Strain, the band put out an EP, Subterranean, which, ironically, got the band into the mainstream, and landed them a deal with Nuclear Blast Records. Shortly afterwards, the band decided relying strictly on session musicians was not a wise move, and recruited future guitarist Bjorn Gelotte to play drums, and, in a somewhat ironic switch, got Dark Tranquility's vocalist at the time, Anders Friden, to join In Flames, while Stanne went on to lead DT to an equally successful run. The band then went back to the studio, and recorded their sophomore album, The Jester Race
Album Info Recorded: November 1995, Studio Fredman Release Dates: February 20, 2006; May 14, 2002 re-release Produced by: Fredrik Nordstrom, In Flames
Track Listing
1. "Moonshield" – 5:01
2. "The Jester's Dance" – 2:09
3. "Artifacts of the Black Rain" – 3:15
4. "Graveland" – 2:46
5. "Lord Hypnos" – 4:01
6. "Dead Eternity" – 5:01
7. "The Jester Race" – 4:51
8. "December Flower" – 4:10
9. "Wayfaerer" – 4:41
10. "Dead God in Me" – 4:15
Moving more into the realm of familiarity with me, this album contains a few of the first songs that first got me into In Flames, "Moonshield", "Goliaths Disarm Their Davids", and "Acoustic Medley". This is also the start of the massive progression of In Flames' sound towards their current sound, aiming for, like I said, the more technical approach to melodic death metal.
However, this album just does not do anything for me, outside of those few songs I mentioned. I can't seem to get into the tracks on this album. Nothing clicks for me here, sadly. As much as I love In Flames, I just can't like this album. I think the album's a bit too disjointed for my liking, with no real pattern in the songs or between them, instead randomly throwing tracks out in a rush.
"Moonshield" shows so much promise as an opening track, with a soft acoustic medly that drops into a pounding riffs and brutal vocals. The middle section of the song, as well as the chorus, are almost tragically beautiful, a hint of sorrow lying under the words and riffs.
"Goliaths" and "Gyroscope" are also welcome additions here, as both show a sense of sheer power and talent that many of the other songs can't quite seem to grasp.
Rating: 5.5/10
"Moonshield"
Not long after The Jester Race, the band hit the studio again, and seemingly breathed new life into the band with the concept album Whoracle. Album Info Recorded: 1997, Studio Fredman Released: November 18, 1997 Produced by: Fredrik Nordstrom, In Flames
Track Listing
1. "Jotun" – 3:53
2. "Food for the Gods" – 4:21
3. "Gyroscope" – 3:26
4. "Dialogue With the Stars" – 3:00
5. "The Hive" – 4:03
6. "Jester Script Transfigured" – 5:46
7. "Morphing Into Primal" – 3:05
8. "Worlds Within the Margin" – 5:06
9. "Episode 666" – 3:45
10. "Everything Counts" (Depeche Mode Cover) – 3:17
11. "Whoracle" – 2:44
So Whoracle is a concept album about the progress of the world as we know it. "Jotun" essentially describes some apocalyptic event that will happen to the world, and the following songs songs detail the rise, then the fall (again) of society as a utopia. The idea for this album is amazing, as post apocalyptic and dystopic literature is some of my personal favorites.
The album is musically brilliant as well, and shows they don't just fall back on a cool concept and expect people to embrace it. This album relies on heavy riffs and pounding rhythm, and it pays well. From the start, you can definitely tell this is something special. The melodies on songs like "Dialogue" and "Food For The Gods" also help to shape this album into something a little bit different. One thing I aimed to accomplish with this column was to not only highlight the band, but also to show their progression through the years, and here, it shows more than ever. The band continues to advance melodically, as well as in their speed and technique.
The cover of Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts" is a nice touch to the album, as not only do they pull off a magnificent cover, but it helps to illustrate the main theme of the album, which is to say that humans only realize they fucked up after it's too late. "Whoracle" is a great closer for the album, as it sounds like something one would see in the credits of a movie of this type.
Overall, this is one of the most well structured albums in a long time. Everything flows together perfectly, and yet it all stands out on it's own as well. The concept album is a delicate subject, and In Flames pulls it off wonderfully here.
Rating: 8.5/10
"Whoracle"
"Food For The Gods" Music Video
So, that's all for the first of the three part series on In Flames. Next week, I'll be taking a look at the middle three albums, Colony, Clayman, and Reroute To Remain. Till then, take care.
I agree with you on the merits of Whoracle. I don't think any metal fan would. It is a gift sent down from the Metal Gawds themselves, to rain down awesomeness on the banging heads of Metal Heads every where.
However, I disagree with your assessment of The Jester Race. I have the Jester Race/Black Ash Inheritance version, and it is one of my favorite records. I do agree that the tracks don't always flow the best from one to the next, but standing alone, I find these songs to be fantastical.
A lot of people hold Whoracle to be In Flames at the height of their song writing and I'm not going to disagree. But if I had to choose one album, I think it might be Jester.
I haven't re-visited my In Flames catalogue in a while. I think I need to go back through it now...
Oh, also, the video for Food For the Gods is fucking sick.
Posted By: Cielo Sangre (Guest) on November 06, 2008 at 07:57 AM
