In Flames - Colony Review

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Tracklist:
1. Embody The Invisible
2. Ordinary Story
3. Scorn
4. Colony
5. Zombie Inc.
6. Pallar Anders Visa
7. Coerced Coexistence
8. Resin
9. Behind Space 99'
10. Insipid 2000
11. The New World

Ranking: #34 for 1999

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4
excellent

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other reviews

wikuk (5)
...

Gregory Kearns (4.5)
In Flames combines the best of both worlds to create their Colony....

Jorn van Schaïk CONTRIBUTOR (3.5)
...

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5.0
classic

JMann USER (2 Reviews)

2005-01-14 | 196 comments | 22,972 views

5 of 7 thought this review was well written

In Flames - Colony

Anders Friden - Vocals
Jesper Stromblad - Guitar
Bjorn Gelotte - Gutar
Peter Iwers - Bass
Daniel Svensson - Drums

Background Info:

"Melodic Death Metal band In Flames are considered as the founders of the so-called "Gothenburg Sound" along with Dark Tranquillity [both bands hailing from the Swedish city of Gothenburg], opposed to the "Florida Sound" [Cannibal Corpse inc.]. In other words, this term was created to oppose two different kinds of Death Metal styles. ...In Flames definitely shows us how to define again a new style of Death Metal: a full package of thrashy guitar melodies and both clean and death voices; and overall, a complete set of outstanding metal anthems."

Track Listing:

1. Embody The Invisible - Awesome tune that made me buy this album. The guitars really make this song. The melody will be stuck in your head forever. Probably one their most definitive songs. The lyrics are also excellent. 10/10

2. Ordinary Story - A cool drum beat fades in and then heavy guitars. The song slows down to clean singing and guitar for the verses but picks up again for the chorus. This is the most mellow song on the album, next to Pallar Anders Visa. Anders has a decent singing voice, although it sounds more spoken than sung here. There's also a short solo here and a nice brief keyboard piece. 10/10

3. Scorn - This song is heavy all the way through. I didn't like this song much at first, but it grew on me. There's not much that defines this song, it's just heavy. Probably the coolest part is when the guitars stop, but Anders voice is so low and heavy you hardly notice. The solo is again, short, but good nonetheless. The lyrics are pretty cool too. 9.5/10

4. Colony - Starts with a sustained guitar chord, keyboards and cymbals until an awesome guitar riff kicks in. The verses are quiet, except for Anders, who's voice is slightly lacking here. His vocals are much better during the chorus though. The riffage is top notch on this song and the solo is good too. 9.5/10

5. Zombie, Inc. - Begins heavy, again. Up until the bridge and solo which are amazing. Some very intricate clean guitar playing here. It just sounds so damn good. The lyrics are good too.10/10

6. Pallar Anders Visa - Whoa, surprise, surprise. After all these heavy songs you wouldn't expect an acoustic piece. This song is instrumental, it has acoustic and a short symphony part. The song somehow still fits into the album and is a very good, although short, track. 10/10

7. Coerced Coexistence - My favorite on this album, and my favorite In Flames song. Everything here is awesome. The lyrics, the vocals, and especially the guitars. The chorus is quite catchy, and the solo is amazing and fits the song so well. 10/10

8. Resin - Starts out with a nice guitar melody. From there the song is just straight up heavy. There's not really anything special here to talk about, but it's still a good song and has a sub-par solo. I'd say it's the low point for the album, but that doesn't make it a bad song at all. 9/10

9. Behind Space 99' - This song was originally from 'Lunar Strain'. The song begins with rumbling sounds until the song kicks you in the face. The drums are very cool and stand out in this song. This song has some of the best riffs and melodies. Another kick ass solo. They tend to keep their solos brief, which is good since some bands tend to drag them out a little too long. 10/10

10. Insipid 2000 - More great riffs, what else could you ask for in a band? The chorus is catchy here, with "A helpless excuse, a fallen reality." There's quite a bit of spoken word in this song, which works quite well. There's also a lot of samples compared to their other songs, and they are subtle. They seem to use this a lot in their later albums which I think kill the albums. Samples should be used sparingly. 10/10

11. The New Word - It's hard to review these songs because it's the riffs and melodies that make the songs, and it's difficult to explain them in words. This song has more awesome melodies and riffs. It also has the best guitar solo(s) on the album. 10/10

I give this album a 9.5/10. It is one of my favorite albums of all time. The guitar work is outstanding, the vocals are prime, everything just works. I would recommend this album to almost anyone, unless you really have no heart for any type of metal. It's no wonder this band has recieved so much hype recently, I feel this album is a must own for any metal fan.

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