Mask Love

At this point, IN FLAMES are less of a band than they are a musical institution in the heavy music world. Since helping create Sweden's legendary “Gothenburg Sound” three decades ago to their current status as melodic metal monoliths, the act have constantly eschewed trends in order to forge their own musical path. This is evident on their 13th full-length »I, The Mask«, which sees them reuniting with multi Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, MOTÖRHEAD), who also produced 2016's »Battles«, in order to further redefine their sound. “I think it's very difficult for IN FLAMES to be something we're not and that dichotomy of melody and aggression will always be at the core of our identity,” vocalist Anders Fridén explains from a tour stop opening for DEEP PURPLE in Mexico. “We are always open to new ideas and don't let anything limit us,” guitarist Björn Gelotte adds. “We just ask ourselves if we will love playing this stuff live… and as long as we feel that, nothing can really touch us.”

The soundtrack for Son of the Mask, the ill-fated sequel to the 1994 Jim Carrey hit, is a by-the-numbers collection of classic rock (Neil Diamond's "Thank the Lord for the Night Time"), oldies staples like "The Twist" and Paul Anka's "Puppy Love," and one strategically placed single, Ryan Cabrera's magnificently forgettable "Inside Your Mind" – you could paste it over his current hit "On the Way Down" without any noticeable change to either. These tracks are augmented by a cover of the jazz standard "Baby Face" by Tony Award winning actress Marissa Jaret Winokur, poor uncomfortable Jamie Kennedy singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and a dialed in score from composer Randy Edelman. Dreadful.

In Flames has done a lot over the years to alienate and divide their fanbase. If you’re on the outside looking in and seeing the way their music has been received over the years, you might deduce that consistency and overall stability is not exactly the Gothenburg quintet’s strong suit. For the most part, that much is true; their heyday is clearly behind them as far as creativity goes, so it’s far too tough of a task for them to attempt to revisit the glory days of The Jester Race and Whoracle, no matter how much they’d want to. That hasn’t stopped them from trying to create enjoyable music, even if they’re not the melodic death metal giants they once were. Their rock bottom was 2016’s Battles, a feat they’d want to avoid recreating given the scope of the backlash it got. Sans “(This Is Our) House”, the singles pointed to an effort closer to Sounds of a Playground Fading and A Sense of Purpose than the last two releases, and it's roughly what we got with I, the Mask…

Just re-released in October 2003, for the first time on DVD, comes this capture of a live performance on the 1995 'Alien 4' tour. It was really the last time (as in most recent) that Hawkwind mounted one of their nationwide-tours-with-a-big-stage-show…