In Flames...my first "death metal band"

Well after all of those depressing posts it's time to get back to work with what I always imagined this blog to be about...music. So a few days ago I mentioned how I had been listening to female fronted metal for awhile. Well as it would happen that day when I was working out I happened to listen to some In Flames (they have a song with a female guest vocalist on their latest album) and realized just how great of a band this is. So how did I find out about this band? To be honest I can't remember, but I do remember picking up Clayman for the first time. Check out that cover. Sweet. Now as I said this was my first "death metal band"...I really couldn't understand anything they said, but the music was awesome. It sounded like Iron Maiden on steroids. Twin guitars, beautiful solos, rapid drumming...just too awesome. The first song I heard from In Flames was Only for the Weak, this song is more of a mid-tempo metal song. So when I started listening to the rest of the album I was blown away.

Now when I started listening to In Flames, they had already released 2 more albums. I decided to look at some reviews to see what they thought. Reroute to Remain was the follow-up and most fans bashed it left and right as a nu-metal sell out album. Soundtrack to Your Escape was next, the reviews were a little bit better. But the common theme was that they couldn't match up with Clayman. Well I didn't pick up any of those albums until I was watching Headbanger's Ball and saw the video for A Touch of Red and My Sweet Shadow. Those songs were pretty solid and so I decided to bite the bullet and pick them up. As I listened to it, it sounded like a combination of Korn and Clayman. I defintely heard some nu-metal, but it wasn't all nu-metal. I was totally different than Clayman. So after enjoying that album I felt like I wanted to try Reroute to Remain. Highlights of Soundtrack to Your Escape include A Quite Place, A Touch of Red, My Sweet Shadow (my personal favorite), and Dead Alone.

Now RtR is defintely more nu-metal. But there is no rapping on it. The first time I listened to it, I turned it off and bashed it on some metal boards like everyone else. Now if I had to compare it to Metallica, I would say RtR is like Metallica's Load albums. They are solid albums, but they aren't metal like Metallica's albums. In fact, years later I find RtR to be one of my favorite In Flames albums. The mood is different. The twin guitars are gone, most of the solos are gone. There is more of an emphasis on song structure and melodies. There is even a super ballad...kind of a country feel to it. When I listen to this album now, I pretty much listen to it from start to finish. There isn't alot of filler on it. I think it's because the music is so different from everything else they have done it makes it more enjoyable. Hands down my favorite song on this album is Free Fall.

This has gotten pretty long...I think I will save their latest album for another day. But I will say this about it, it is more of a return to Clayman than RtR or Soundtrack.


In Flames' Myspace (Take This Life, Leeches, Come Clarity, A Touch of Red)