27
Nov
This review is done by MapleTree of ShinraOnline.
Okay, so the next In Flames record isn’t scheduled to be released until February 7th, but it’s been completed for a couple of months and the promos must be out, because it’s been leaked and has become quite readily available. Now, after the total stinker that was Soundtrack To Your Escape this was pretty much the band’s do or die album for me, and thankfully they came through in ways that I didn’t think they’d be able to. Jesper has been pretty open about the previously mentioned horror of yesteryear and it’s preceding opus, the different but pretty decent Reroute To Remain being experimental albums where the band just kinda tried some new things, and that Come Clarity would be a fusion of their older style with the things that worked from the newer records. And I’ll be damned if, for once, a musician actually knows what the hell he’s talking about when it comes to his own music (this is rarely the case, sadly).
So, what does the record sound like? Well, the trademark guitar melodies are back, as are the older style “melodic death” riffs, and all of this is coupled with some of the more dynamic elements from the newer records, as well as the meatier, chunkier riffs that were favored on them as well. Daniel Svensson has also gotten his shit together, as his drums are much better than they were last time out. And of course, it’s awesome to hear the guitars ripping again, and when the melodies and solos come around they rarely disappoint. Anders is screaming again for the majority of the time, and when it comes time for him to clean things up he does it surprisingly well, with few cringe-inducing key changes or wimpering passages. It sounds like he actually might have developed his singing voice. Cool.
So yeah, it’s also not perfect. “Reflecting the Storm” is boring, lacking anything of intrest. The title track is a much better ballad. And there are times where Anders does let the clean vox get a little bad, but it is an improvement. Also, a lot of these ideas, the melodies, are sounding really familiar. Granted, this is because In Flames fucking invented this stuff (please don’t argue, I’m talking about their “sound,” which is distinct), but I’ll be damned if a few of the melodies aren’t really, really close to the same of some of the ones we’ve heard before. It’s not a huge gripe, but it’s there.
Overall, I’m tickled pink that In Flames have made a good album. I’ve only listened to it once all of the way through and have picked around it since, but I really don’t see it wearing too thin. It’s not a great record, but it is a very good one that has some solid, solid ideas and musicianship throughout. Surprising highlight: Female guest vocals on “Dead End.” Excellent.
Download it now, buy it in February. That’s all for now.
And here I am, to provide said promo.
26
Nov
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25
Nov
I found this possibly complete Infected Mushroom discography torrent. The reason it’s qualifier “possibly”, is because they’ve only officially released like 2-3 albums. Yet this 1.56gB mp3 torrent clearly is a sign they have made more than that. It should at the very least be in the collection of any psytrance fan.
25
Nov
Pic 11 | Pic 12 | Pic 13 | Pic 14 | Pic 15 | Pic 16 | Pic 17 | Pic 18 | Pic 19 | Pic 20
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18
Nov
So I trashed my car, got diagnosed with a mild variant of Diabetes type 2, and had a huge ruffle with my girlfriend. So I haven’t really felt like posting much lately.
But like everything, it passes. I found out the mildness of my diabetes makes it close to irrelevant to my life, I’ve gotten a new and better car (no more crappy 1985 Toyota Camry), a Subaru Legacy 1990 Sedan 4×4 130bhp. And I’ve ironed out the ruffles with the girl too.
So I’ll start pretending to care here again shortly. Maybe.