It’s time to continue to make our underground genes work on the dreaded (metal) mainstream1 some more. A new series of sorts that should show some results later that year. The RMR crew already started on Katatonia with some – interesting and also unexpected results.
Now here In Flames is on the menu, another heavyweight in Extreme Metal, in business since 1990. And yet another n00b on the RMR review pipe, because – for some reason – the ‘zine never quite paid attention to one of the most established metal bands out there. Foregone conclusions or true quality on the chopping block? Brace yerself for another take from our fanboy-free zone over at the review committee’s desk.
A lot of ink has been spilt over the last few years about the band’s perceived inability to match past glories. A time when In Flames were seen to be one of Extreme Metal’s finest, and for cause. The band also had and still has a knack to gallivant about styles and flavors for every new record, always a tad different from what came before. This made them work their way through blackened fare, melodic death, to – yes – metalcore.2 And, interestingly, they always managed to keep ahead of the game and in business over all these years. Something must have been working despite all that sometimes scathingly bad press after all.
Now, Foregone‘s out and all eyes are on that new disk. The overwhelming chorus from the (overly frustrated) fan crowd is that, finally, the band returned to their roots. Somewhat. And this should somehow exonerate them from all past sins3 and – thus – turn this piece into a great record by metal osmosis or something. Come again? True, past deeds can influence the present. But will it impale the record’s true merits on the mighty altar of past music quality? Absolutely not.
Useless intro apart, the record shines as of track #2 with a special brand of thrashy Melodic Death Metal that continually reminded me of early Eluveitie‘s speedy DM style without the pagan and archaic bits. So, yeah, State Of Slow Decay already hit our interest levels hard and goaded us onward. It is indeed true that Foregone here pulled past riches into the open and combines them with a more modern sound. Anders Fridén in full form with some sort of throaty croak and Bijörn Gelotte‘s pretty snazzy guitar work.
But it won’t last long and some issues will start to crack up that metal armor. In Flames here sport that urge to somewhat forcibly inject an abundance of clear-voice choruses into an otherwise promising Extreme Metal production. And that’s of course nothing new around the band’s soundscapes. Only, this wanna-be-boyband feeling always sits somewhat awkwardly athwart the whole production, to the point that we often got that sinking Amaranthe-esque feeling over vast stretches of the record. To add insult to injury, there seems to be rampant compression all about the tracklist. This becomes especially apparent when those boyband choruses mercilessly kick into the mix and push everything else out of the way. And that knocked two points off the rating scale straight.
Now, that doesn’t mean that the record sucks (too much), of course. Foregone Pt 1 for instance is a fucking scorcher. The Great Deceiver with its knock-out power levels will turn out to be a great headbanger live on stage. Meet your Maker and – to a lesser extent – Cynosure – also garnered limited attention over here. After all, they’ll fit right into the overall theme, nothing more, nothing less.
Thus, Foregone left us with somewhat mixed feelings. The record contains some truly great moments of absolutely blistering power. And the aforementioned The Great Deceiver showcases how power levels could have spiked with no or a scarcer use of those clear voice choruses. Or perhaps, with better integration into the overall metallic fabric, Foregone tried to weave (In The Dark, for instance). Forcing something onto the mix just sounds like the prop it is.
In Flames truly built on past concoctions without going there outright. And that resulted in a record sturdy enough to please the grizzled metalheads (somewhat) without losing the commercially viable fans of the Metal o’ the Light. Somewhat of a difficult walk on a tightrope with a reasonably successful outcome. In other words, the record pretty much contains something for every lover of heavy music. Just take your pick – and forget about the rest.
That kind of thing.
Ed’s note: Want to hear about all other infamous n00bs? Check out The List. Or simply go with similar fare.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Nuclear Blast | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 10 February 2023