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Rating: A pleasant album by In Flames, their penultimate one, gives way to its more illustrious predecessors ("Whoracle" for instance, which I enjoyed a lot), with many and perhaps too many nods to modern metal, especially the winks towards Korn and the metalcore movement of Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, and other companions. However, all in all, it's a nice album that is easy to listen to and on a scale from 1 to 10, it would deserve a 7!
The album kicks off with the furious "F(r)iend", a typical song of the typical In Flames style with a shouted and raspy growl, very precise drumming, and riffs that sometimes veer into melodic and classic heavy (the declared influences from Iron Maiden). It continues with "The Quiet Place" and as the title suggests, it's a more "quiet" song compared to the previous one; the singer tends to imitate Jonathan Davis at some points, with riffs and structure that are almost ridiculous, the worst of the batch. The thrashy-style "Dead Alone" lifts us with a very fast-paced drumming and rhythm mixed with excellent riffs blended into an atmosphere with dark undertones, very exciting. It stays on a decent level with "Touch Of Red", here too there are hints of nu metal in the somewhat "commercial" chorus (excuse the term), but overall a good song. A particularly good riff is in "Like You Better Dead", with a driving pace and engaging chorus. Definitely bad is "My Sweet Shadow", a flat and repetitive song with industrial technological hints and melodic parts terribly sung without a bit of the aggression that In Flames has always accustomed us to, but the chorus slightly elevates the general feel of the song.
The melodic feel of the album is much more successful in the excellent "Evil In A Closet", with calm guitars and "touching" vocals (!!!), an emotional and impactful chorus, framed by technological atmospheres and a splendid solo. It halfway delves into Slayer and metalcore with the charming "In Search For I", where the drummer goes back to pounding fast and the riffs are reminiscent of Maiden, though the solos are quite banal. At this point in the album, "Borders And Shading" becomes predictable, where the singer once again invents a Jonathan Davis in love with Dani Filth, but the riffs are nice and thus it is saved. Another fast-paced drumming for a very dynamic "Superhero Of The Computer Age" in full In Flames style. "Dial 595-Escape" features a good handful of riffs increasingly angrier descendants of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith and a somewhat repetitive general flow, but with a beautiful anthemic chorus. It concludes with "Bottled", quite good for the good chorus and the syncopated rhythm.
In conclusion, it is not a bad album at all, the formula remains the same: raspy growl, melodic death structure, hints of thrash, Maiden riffs and syncopated rhythms taken from Pantera's and Sepultura's groove. It's just that this time they added a few more ingredients (hints of nu metal and metalcore) that have somewhat taken away the flavor from In Flames' recipe.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 The Quiet Place (03:45)
Spinning further, deeper
I know you're out to try me
I'm not in this to be a slave
Push the dirt
Make me feel
Locate what swallows life
Night bird you build my world
And then I close my eyes
And then I close my eyes!
Judge me now
Used to be afraid to let it show
Bow down
A king in my own mind
Every thing's in place
So much brighter from today
Drown the monster
Make all bad dreams go away
Whatever it takes to keep your hands free
Open scars
The quiet place
All the bridges fall to the ground
And you say you sacrificed
And then I close my eyes
And then I close my eyes!
Judge me now
Used to be afraid to let it show
Bow down (bow down)
A king in my own mind
Every thing's in place
So much brighter from today
A king in my own mind
(Judge me now)
A king in my own mind
(Judge me now)
A king in my own mind
(Judge me now)
Used to be afraid to let it show, bow down (bow down)
A king in my own mind
Every thing's in place
So much better from today
A king in my own mind...
03 Dead Alone (03:42)
"Dead End"
Save all your prayers
I think we lost today
There's no morning after
And no one's around to blame
I'm not afraid to bleed
But I won't do it for you
A star among hypocrites
The melody of our time
[Chorus:]
So say goodbye to the world
We are the dead that walk the earth
Scream your lungs out
Wait for laughter
You don't have to wait forever
It's the next disaster!
What decides when you've lost the war
When the first man falls?
Or when they erase it all?
We're too numb to feel
The downfall starts right here
Hold your breath and swim
Swallowed my life's tear
In times of make believe
No one really seems to care
Maybe I should care less
'Cause I will die too
[Chorus]
What will it take for us to realize
The more we provoke
Winter will come twice
Save all your prayers
I think we lost today
There's no morning after
And no one's around to blame
Scream you lungs out
Wait for laughter
You don't have to wait for ever
Here's the next disaster! [2x]
04 Touch of Red (04:12)
Reaching depths of clarity
I'm not supposed to be like this
I should be on the top of the world
Is anybode out there like me?
I followed - something's missing
Self control - forcing me down
Whispers consume the air
Above her I'm endless
When the rain comes falling
I'll freeze, I'm so afraid
When things start to flood me
I'll drown in seconds
Fear - there's a way out
Touch of red
Break away
Nothing has it all
Bury the place I've been
I fear there's a way out
As if I ever had a choice
All in the hands of the energy
Once again I feel the quicksand
Swallow me, tonight I won't struggle
The weak in me should know
I'm as sober as I could be
Swallow me, tonight I won't struggle
The weak in me should know
I'm as sober as I could be
07 Evil in a Closet (04:02)
We were one in words
You finished my sentences
I can never attract tomorrow
It pushes me aside
I sink in waters deep
Your presence kept me floating
Far from depths where secrets lie
Maybe in another lifetime
I could be the first you meet
I once read a poem
Held my breath
But that moment's gone
First time I felt
life somewhat hurts
I need an option, a reason, and some hope
You yell at me, I want to be your light that shines
But my ground is shaking and I might fall
I wish that I could say
I wish I could be your evil in a closet
You yell at me, I want to be your light that shines
But my ground is shaking and I might fall
I wish that I could say
I wish I could be your evil in a closet
08 In Search for I (03:22)
It hurts to think
Can't get the sums together
Would you draw my bitterness
Make the pictures fade
Could it be that I see
What's beneath when we fall
The truth in ever
I'm scared that I'll be
Will time open my vault
New solution, I'm begging
Break the fuse that holds me back
The I is lost in me
But I'm ready to give you
The m, it might even be the e
As I begin to search for I
Distract, push me in another direction
This wall that I stare into
It's getting old
Give me faith to reach for the new
Pull me apart and do me all over
I'll need a re-make
To make up for my mistakes
What if I stop to care?
What if I let you fall?
09 Borders and Shading (04:21)
Take a knife and carve it in
Want to see your faults
As a part of your pretty skin
Everyone has a tragedy
I want you to wear yours in pain
Oblivion can no longer shade you
Reminder by the tattered tissue
Bleak silence
Errors stigmatised in you
A weak worn out friend
There's nothing left for me
Again and again
Your face reminds me of a bleak future
Despite the absence of hope
I give you this sacrifice
You're so far
Behind being my hero
Drift away
Save yourself
Don't end up zero
Cause I’ll look the other way
I will crawl into your vault
Pass snakes and old rotten thoughts
Leaving a hotbed of virulence
Your world inside slowly redesigned
Again and again
Your face reminds me of a bleak future
Despite the absence of hope
I give you this sacrifice
You're so far
Behind being my hero
Drift away
Save yourself
Don't end up zero
Cause I’ll look the other way
Again and again
Your face reminds me of a bleak future
Despite the absence of hope
I give you this sacrifice
You're so far
Behind being my hero
Drift away
Save yourself
Don't end up zero
Cause I’ll look the other way
You're so far
Behind being my hero
Drift away
Save yourself
Don't end up zero
Cause I’ll look the other way.
10 Superhero of the Computer Rage (04:00)
I am the past
Future
I've been chosen
You think it's over
But I'm ready to go
I am what you fear
I've been chosen
The world as you know it just died
It's the end of all time
I am a surprise
Even to myself I'm a genious
Superhero of the computer rage
In plastic I'll bury
I am what you fear
I've been chosen
The world as you know it just died
It's the end of all time
Everything you say is denied
I'll be the devil on this ride
Dark clouds in your heaven
Your end has only begun
You can scream but the re's no rescue
I promise I'll make you sure you die in time
I am the maggot
In your infected life
No matter how hard you try
I'll leave without a scar
I am a legend
In your infotainment life
It's when I say it's over
It's you who's been chosen
11 Dial 595-escape (03:48)
Could it be a new day?
Fear in me so deep
You push me out, I feel far
The absence, close to me
The otherside I crawl
You push me out, I fall
Heal my wounds with everything
Away you complicate me
Sick of cycles, drop to zero
A while just like last times
My least favourite re-run
Sick of cycles, I bounce in grey
Escape familiar home
Memories remains alone
Reality trapped inside
The wicked descend - I hide
Testing higher mentality
I conquer myself through this
A furious path to walk
New space does exist beyond
In silence I dwell
Displeased
Remain with the seed of unfulfilment
Try to remove obstacles as they appear my master said
Don't look too far, you'll stumble before you're even there
12 Bottled (04:17)
I really don't have anything to say
Just pass me by
Don't ask me the same questions
Just deny I'm there
Like the time around me
This room is filled with nothing
Fell awkward in a place with many
Leave this space to me
I channel the pain through this
The paper, the pen, your eyes
To stare into what's next
It frightens me
No control, no reward
I'm in circles again
Still and breathless
I don't care what's behind
To you I look for energy
To catch my breath again
The world looks old to me
Tonight I drink myself sober
Soon this could be over
Tale a picture of the pale
New morning knocking
Feels just like always
Pen down my regrets
I reach to you again
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By wwwhatemoornet1
In Flames have become more electronic Korn or alternatively Soilwork/Darkane more nu.
Congrats for the shift, too bad you arrived a bit late. Last on the bandwagon and not even among the best attractions of the circus.
