The Jester Ita

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…

John Surman (on baritone, soprano, bass clarinet and synthesizer) meets up with drummer Jack DeJohnette (who also plays congas and electric piano) for this typically introspective and spacy ECM set. Surman's playing (especially on baritone and bass clarinet) during nine group originals is worth hearing.