In Flames, what more can be said about this band? They are one of the pioneers of the Gothenburg metal genre. Their earlier albums such as,
The Jester Race and
Whoracle, have shown people that In Flames has quite a unique sound. Over time, In Flames has somewhat evolved their sound. After
Reroute to Remain was released questions started to build up about In Flames, and where their music was going.
Reroute to Remain offered more down-tuned guitars, more chugging riffs and also Anders experimented with his voice by showing clean vocals often. After this release fans were waiting for the much anticipated,
Soundtrack to Your Escape
The album kicks off with the brutal
F(r)iend. Anders' vocals really take a turning point in this song by his deep growls. This song can be somewhat irritating to listeners who aren't a fan of growling vocals.
The Quiet Place, which is a much better song, and possibly could've be a massive radio hit. This track is one of their most popular songs. The keyboards really give a nice atmosphere to the track. However, the downfall is Anders' vocals are horrid.
Dead Alone is more melodic than other tracks falling somewhere in between death metal and power metal.
Touch of Red is also melodic as well and reminds me a little bit of older In Flames. However, if you love the sound of old In Flames, this album will not do it for you. The next song,
Like You Better Dead, is one of my personal favorites. It is rather simple but the chorus is one of the finest on the album.
My Sweet Shadow is by far my favorite track on
Soundtrack to Your Escape. It opens heavy and has a massive breakdown at the verse. Anders builds up from a lowly sung voice into a considerably kind of scream for the verse. The bridge is heavy and as the song ends the keyboard plays the riff that the guitar plays and fades for around a minute. This was truly beautiful song.
After
My Sweet Shadow, I wondered if the rest of the album could hold up to it. The answer? No.
Evil in a Closet was a step down from the previous tracks. It is more of a ballad type song and is probably the second best of the album. It somewhat resembles
Dawn of a New Day from
Reroute to Remain.
In Search For I and
Dial 595 Escape show more of a brutal side to this release but yet still show excellent melody in the band.
Borders and Shading,
Superhero of the Computer Rage and
Bottled don't do much for me, and are rather skippable tracks. Also, the bonus track
Discover Me Like Emptiness isn't that impressive either. It is very mellow sounding and is quite different from anything In Flames have ever done.
Overall, this was a decent album. Many people consider this Nu-metal. Obviously they know nothing. Even if it was, (it is far from it though) then this is one hell of a Nu-metal album. As I mentioned earlier, this is nothing like their early releases and if you're the person that likes those albums, this can be somewhat disappointing to you. You cannot compare this to past work cause it's virtually impossible because In Flames has almost entirely changed their sound. This album wasn't as bad as many people believe it to be. Unfortunately, the bad surpasses the good of this album and causes it to be a weaker release from the popular Gothenburg metal band.
Pros:
- The drumming. Daniel Svensson's drumming keeps improving
-Catchy riffs
-Mix of melody and heaviness in almost every song
Cons:
-Anders' vocals
- Bjorn and Jesper don't show their skill as much on this album
-Many skippable tracks
Notable Songs:
-My Sweet Shadow
-Evil In A Closet
-Like You Better Dead
Overall rating: 3/5
This Message Edited On 06.03.06
