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Slater922
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:24 pm
Posts: 2338
PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:12 pm 
 

That album cover looks really cool! Definitely looking forward to the album's release in August!
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Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:22 pm 
 

Kalaratri wrote:
They just put out another single, I'd definitely detecting some Colony vibes (with a more modern touch) here.


Mmmm, I don't think this is much different from what they've released so far. Solid 5 or 6 out of 10 on everything. It smacks of Clayman a little bit, and that's sure to please the old In Flames fans, but it's still so boring. In Flames ran out of good lead lines and riffs after Colony, so I'm not expecting anything marvelous from Jesper and of course I didn't get it. If the album has an acoustic interlude that resembles old In Flames interludes, that might be the only thing worth it.
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Veddartha
Apocalyptic Destroyer of Angels

Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 4:12 pm
Posts: 492
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2022 2:51 pm 
 

Lord_Of_Diamonds wrote:
Kalaratri wrote:
They just put out another single, I'd definitely detecting some Colony vibes (with a more modern touch) here.


Mmmm, I don't think this is much different from what they've released so far. Solid 5 or 6 out of 10 on everything. It smacks of Clayman a little bit, and that's sure to please the old In Flames fans, but it's still so boring. In Flames ran out of good lead lines and riffs after Colony, so I'm not expecting anything marvelous from Jesper and of course I didn't get it. If the album has an acoustic interlude that resembles old In Flames interludes, that might be the only thing worth it.


I have to agree with you on this, even if I'm a huge Gothenburg junkie. The last song is exactly what I would expect from that lineup... if they wanted to just recreate what IF did in the Clayman/Colony period. It's a solid 6 like you say. It doesn't bring nothing interesting or new to table; something I would expect and like to happen, considering the personal involved and the fact that at least Mikael Stanne has churned two really good albums in recent times with Dark Tranquillity. It's frustrating because for me they have the talent and they have shown in the past that they are bold enough to try new things and expand their respective bands sound, even if it resulted in something so catastrophic as the last two decades of In Flames. Hell, Niclas did some great stuff in Gardenian, Jesper's Dimenzion Zero was also fairly good, Stanne is also doing this Grand Cadaver gig and it rips. They all have the ability. Why constrain yourselves to a sound that has been rehashed to death for the past twenty years?

Even if the result is lackluster, which by the three singles released we can conclude that will be the outcome, I'm gonna buy in vynil because I'm a Gothenburg fanboy who fears that his house is gonna burst into flames if I don't own everything related to that scene.
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LithoJazzoSphere
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Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:11 pm
Posts: 3576
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 14, 2022 1:24 am 
 

The idea of "bringing something new to the table" is overrated. I haven't really heard anything "new" from Dark Tranquillity in two decades, it's mostly just an expansion of things they were already doing. Gardenian did do some more interesting stuff, but Dimension Zero was just very well-executed thrashy melodeath, nothing very groundbreaking. Same with Grand Cadaver, I loved the album, but did it really do anything anyone else in Swedeath hadn't done before? Not really. I don't really care how novel something is, I just want it to be pulled off skillfully.

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Kalaratri
Veteran

Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2864
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:06 am 
 

The fourth single is out:


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CoffeeCat
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:09 am
Posts: 330
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:17 am 
 

.
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Last edited by CoffeeCat on Wed Jun 28, 2023 12:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 12:16 pm 
 

I thought there was going to be a clean outro at the end, Zombie Inc style, but it was just a fade out. Goddammit.

Still a solid 5 or 6 out of 10 on everything. I just don't feel anything when listening to this. And I really don't like the drum sound. It's a great example of the processed, sampled, homogenized modern metal drum sound that bores me to death.

These songs could really benefit from some clean singing. Everything is so safe and sounds disconnected when juxtaposed with Stanne's harsh vocals.
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I really don't want power metal riffing to turn into power metal yiffing any time soon.

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LithoJazzoSphere
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Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:11 pm
Posts: 3576
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 2:12 pm 
 

Lord_Of_Diamonds wrote:
I thought there was going to be a clean outro at the end, Zombie Inc style, but it was just a fade out. Goddammit.

Still a solid 5 or 6 out of 10 on everything. I just don't feel anything when listening to this. And I really don't like the drum sound. It's a great example of the processed, sampled, homogenized modern metal drum sound that bores me to death.

These songs could really benefit from some clean singing. Everything is so safe and sounds disconnected when juxtaposed with Stanne's harsh vocals.


Yeah, I had the exact reaction for that "Zombie Inc." style tease, oh well. I would think there'd be at least one or two songs with some clean vocals on the whole album, so it's surprising that one isn't a single. I'm more mildly disappointed with the guitar sound than the drums, but I guess it goes hand in hand. They're not bad, just pretty anodyne, especially compared to the Colony/Clayman template.

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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2864
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:24 pm 
 

Like I've said before, I don't think this band needs clean vocals and I honestly hope there aren't any on the album. Mikael's standard style of gothic baritone singing does not mesh well with the more upbeat orientation of the band for the most part, and it would detract from the overall vibe. The only way clean singing might work on the album, for me at least, is if he employed the same style he used when doing guest vocals for Hammerfall live. But given that they're basically playing modern melodeath it's unlikely they'd write music that complement that style of singing.



As far as the song itself, it's probably the weakest single they've released but still pretty decent. It might work a lot better in the context of the album.

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CoffeeCat
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:09 am
Posts: 330
PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 1:24 pm 
 

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Last edited by CoffeeCat on Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mike_87
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:08 am
Posts: 333
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:20 pm 
 

I just listened to the new album, amazing effort, so good to have all these talented former In Flames Musicians together again, Conditional is one of my fav songs, and a Truth Worth lying for and days of the lost. So once you hear the singles that shows how the rest of the album sounds. They can sure give present day in Flames a run for their money. I do hope they release another album in the not too distant future. Jesper is still star of the show despite his ongoing demons this has definitely built a promising future for Melodic Death metal and reviving its origins.

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henkkjelle
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 pm
Posts: 4537
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 7:20 pm 
 

Like the singles, the full album didn't impress me much. It's just so sanitized and predictable and honestly kinda hookless. On top of that it's also way too sluggish. Like a lot of the tracks could be majorly improved by upping the tempo by 20%. It ain't terrible, just boring.
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LithoJazzoSphere
Veteran

Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:11 pm
Posts: 3576
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 7:47 pm 
 

mike_87 wrote:
They can sure give present day in Flames a run for their money.


Not like that's all that hard to do.

I think overall the album is closer to the stronger singles for me. Not likely to be an iconic album, but it's a step in the right direction compared to some of the weaker output of some of the people involved. I agree on the speed being a bit of an issue. 90s melodeath had a lot of thrash influence, and there's very little of that left here. I was glad to hear a few clean vocal sections and at least one acoustic guitar passage, those add that extra pizzazz.

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mike_87
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:08 am
Posts: 333
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 2:50 am 
 

LithoJazzoSphere wrote:
mike_87 wrote:
They can sure give present day in Flames a run for their money.


Not like that's all that hard to do.

I think overall the album is closer to the stronger singles for me. Not likely to be an iconic album, but it's a step in the right direction compared to some of the weaker output of some of the people involved. I agree on the speed being a bit of an issue. 90s melodeath had a lot of thrash influence, and there's very little of that left here. I was glad to hear a few clean vocal sections and at least one acoustic guitar passage, those add that extra pizzazz.


Yeah i could say i agree the tempo could have done with a bit of a boost in places but definitely not a boring album like the other guy said. Jespers playing is the highlight for me, and the vocals are great

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motorsport
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 10:48 pm
Posts: 303
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 1:21 pm 
 

I had been thinking to myself while listening that Mikael was really trying to sound like Matt Heafy on his cleans, and absolutely laughed when I heard him later on in the album haha.

It's solid and enjoyable. Will likely get a few repeats, though I do find a lot of the criticisms valid.

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Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 2:56 pm 
 

I'll listen to the whole thing today. My hopes are not high.
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King_of_Arnor wrote:
I really don't want power metal riffing to turn into power metal yiffing any time soon.

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Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 1:42 pm 
 

I've heard the whole thing now and it's not great. Exactly what you'd expect from a bunch of veterans of the Gothenburg sound that haven't done anything worth much in years. Not much substance, not many riffs. And it doesn't even sound much like In Flames.
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King_of_Arnor wrote:
I really don't want power metal riffing to turn into power metal yiffing any time soon.

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Goatfangs
58.2% Metal

Joined: Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:02 pm
Posts: 2804
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:10 pm 
 

I've heard the whole thing now and it's great! Exactly what you'd expect from a bunch of veterans of the Gothenburg sound that are still good at this. Plenty of substance and riffs. And it doesn't even sound much like In Flames.
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Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:16 pm 
 

You're not funny.
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King_of_Arnor wrote:
I really don't want power metal riffing to turn into power metal yiffing any time soon.

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SilverSpring2018
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:43 pm
Posts: 113
PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:04 pm 
 

I thought it was pretty funny. Fairly accurate, too.

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Evoken
Metalhead

Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 11:02 am
Posts: 970
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:27 pm 
 

I dunno, I like the album. It basically just sounds like another newer Dark Tranquillity album mixed with a little bit of Jesper's mid-period In Flames' songwriting. There's definitely no surprises on the album and it's not some throwback to old school In Flames, which would have been nice, so I get why some people aren't impressed by it. But as a fan of later Dark Tranquillity, I'm quite happy with what this is. It's definitely better than what In Flames has been putting out for a couple decades, because at least Mikael Stanne always sounds good. The worst part about the album is Matt Heafy's guest appearance - not a fan at all of that guy. Luckily he only tries to ruin one part of one song.

Worth mentioning is the Japanese pressing of the CD has a bonus song. It's a faster track for those that think the album needed more of them.

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Ace_Rimmer
Metal freak

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:30 am
Posts: 4580
PostPosted: Mon Aug 22, 2022 11:01 am 
 

Listening to it now and its pretty good. Not amazing but a solid listen. Yeah its not early In Flames melodeath but pretty good.

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