In Flames

When a band changes their style and sound, it can be polarizing. Melodic death metal pioneers In Flames have experienced this with their fans, as their sound has grown more accessible over the years with fewer growling vocals. Their countrymen and contemporaries Opeth have drawn similar criticism, but their switch from death metal to prog seems to have been more easily accepted than In Flames’ evolution toward the mainstream. In Flames’ effort, Battles, has plenty of melody, but there are numerous intense moments, as well.
Battles is the first In Flames album recorded without drummer Daniel Svensson since 1997‘s Whoracle. The band traveled to Los Angeles to record with producer Howard Benson (Halestorm, Skillet, Papa Roach). Benson recommended using drummer Joe Rickard (Red) for the album, and he ended up joining the group permanently…

Just about any genre or style of music has had skillful crossover artists who managed to win won over some nonbelievers. Grover Washington, Jr.'s tasteful jazz-funk reached a lot of people who hadn't necessarily developed a taste for the straight-ahead bop of Clifford Brown and Sonny Stitt; Willie Nelson's country-pop reached a lot of listeners who weren't necessarily into the hardcore honky tonk of Buck Owens and Lefty Frizzell. And in the metal world, In Flames has served as a bridge between the death metal/black metal underground and the more melodic power metal of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Queensrÿche. Originally released in Europe in 1994, In Flames' debut album, Lunar Strain, attracted an interesting mixture of death metal/black metal, power metal, and thrash metal enthusiasts. Like the early releases of At the Gates, Lunar Strain helped write the book on what came to be known as "melodic death metal"…

In Flames was certainly under the extreme-metal microscope upon the release of Soundtrack to Your Escape and its predecessor, Reroute to Remain. The band had the potential to crack the metal underground wide to the mainstream, existing on the cusp of international stardom with its progressive extrapolations upon the Swedish metal genre they helped create. Fact is, Soundtrack to Your Escape exists to further polarize In Flames' fan base - "Touch of Red" and opening cut "F(r)iend" are their heaviest riff monsters since Colony, which blatantly contrast "The Quiet Place," which is jammed with cascading guitar melodies and a thick, sticky chorus which, in a just world, would make for a rock-radio smash…

Of the three albums that make up Gothenburg's holy trinity, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery was the least immediate, with unorthodox song structures that took time to assimilate, while At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul didn't truly cement its classic status until a new generation of American metalcore bands started to copy it riff for riff. In Flames' The Jester Race, however, pretty much announced itself as a masterwork right from day one. More than any other, this is the album that put the "melodic" in melodic death metal. Traditionalists who'd never been able to stomach death metal's brutality were stunned to hear winding, intricate twin-guitar lines lifted from Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and countless European power metal records…

The production value on Clayman is instantly apparent; the album's initial sounds jump right out and pull the listener in, conveying a power and excitement that lasts the duration of the disc. The songs on Clayman are what ultimately sell In Flames, though. With some of their best writing yet, they continue to tighten up a sound that could please fans of everyone from Queensrÿche to Arch Enemy to maybe even Satyricon. With their blend of speed, melody, and pensive aggression, In Flames is indeed hard to pin down. Clayman at its core, though, is invigorating, well-executed metal that, dare it be said, is a fun listen; this probably isn't far from what the band intends.

Could this actually be European death metal's bid for a pop culture coup? In Flames already has a reputation as one of the best, most melodic death metal bands to come to power in the Euro-metal regime that has swept through countries like Sweden and Norway since the early to mid-'90s. However, with Reroute to Remain, Strömblad and the gang have now unexpectedly announced that they are also undoubtedly the most experimental of their brethren, and furthermore, that they have set their sights not just on broader horizons, but perhaps even complete world domination as well. Maybe that sounds like a huge exaggeration, but even one spin of the 14 songs here will prove that it very possibly may not be. It's obvious that the band has been listening heavily to the popular American metal (nu-metal, rap-metal, etc.) acts of the moment, because most of their venturing heads in that direction…

In Flames debut album, Lunar Strain, has often been likened to Black Metal and Goth, which is understandable in some ways (Mikael Stanne's croak and the slower, moodier riffs laced with keyboards,) but the fact is, this was just a varied though somewhat disjointed first attempt at creating their sound.
Rooted in Power Metal more than anything, Lunar Strain kicks off with Behind Space, the albums most concise, aggressive song. A great folk melody ends Space and we move on through the title track, Starforsaken, and Dreamscape, of which the first two are fine examples of this album's merit, though the latter is my least favorite from this record. On to the apex of the album, the two parter, Everlost…