The Gothenburg legends, IN FLAMES, seemed to have a bit of a struggle living up to the legacy of their genre-defining masterpiece, 1996’s “The Jester Race,” at least if you asked the uppity music critics or even some of their older fans in the early 2000s. The most diehard factions of their fanbase even went as far as to proclaim the death of IN FLAMES due to the run of three somewhat lacklustre albums – “Clayman” (2000), “Reroute to Remain” (2002), and “Soundtrack to Your Escape” (2004). I was blissfully unaware of the band at the time and couldn’t really give two shits about the whole “Gothenburg sound.” What opened my ears to the whole thing, as if by some cosmic stroke of luck, was also the band’s triumphant return to form with their eighth studio album. Then again, released on February 3rd, 2006, via Nuclear Blast, “Come Clarity” turned out to be so good that I would have needed to be a total ignoramus not to check it out. I used to think that melodic death metal of this kind was basically just power metal with thrashier riffs and emo vocals, and while some bands actually did and still do profess these unholy tenets, IN FLAMES managed to show me, for once and for all, that there was much more to the nefarious Gothenburg sound.
The album does not waste time delivering a tight jab right on the nose with nothing short of a perfect opener, “Take This Life.” Judging by what I have gathered from their previous albums, in retrospect, the song rolled out some novel elements, such as the high-end production, certain catchiness, and clean vocals, but the things that originally made people love the band are still there – the punchy and pummeling guitar riffs, intertwining melodicism, and – of course! – vocalist Anders Fridén‘s haunting vocal delivery. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the band play this banger on stage a couple of times – and it sure slaps live! I mean, if it doesn’t give you a good few goosebumps, there must be something wrong with you.
Next up, “Leeches” follows a similar, hard-hitting trajectory with some added keyboards. Of course, keyboards used to be something of a highly divisive element in metal music 20 years ago. If the most conservative factions of the band’s fanbase didn’t get a seizure at this point, they most likely got one upon listening to “Dead End,” featuring guest vocals by the Swedish pop star, Lisa Miskovsky. It’s true that her clean vocals, contrasting Fridén‘s screams, push the whole thing slightly toward the metalcore realm, but the song slaps nonetheless. Besides, the band’s signature harmonized guitar melodies couldn’t be further from the standard metalcore riffs if you asked me.
The album did come jam-packed with hooky choruses and beefy riffs, so that the average metal connoisseur should have been more than pleased. “Crawl Through Knives” and “Our Infinite Struggle” stand out, in particular, at least for me. In the former, Fridén‘s clean vocals really hit the mark, and the mellow guitar solo section in the latter steps nicely out of the band’s comfort zone. Then, even though I instantly felt at home with it, the title track probably raised a few eyebrows with its mellow, acoustic verses back in the day – and that wasn’t all! The oddly titled closer, “Your Bedtime Story Is Scaring Everyone,” harkens even more strongly back to the more experimental side of the band – yes, that very aspect of IN FLAMES that had prompted some fans to deem their previous few albums not-so-worthy. I don’t know… Maybe with a better song title, it would not have rubbed them the wrong way, at least not so hard. The song is not necessarily afaux pas, but it does slightly step out of line compared to the other tracks. That said, it is hardly the only track that made the fans who wished for a re-run of “The Jester Race” feel a bit disappointed with this affair. Instead, “Come Clarity” feels like a natural evolution from the band’s previous albums. Puritans may find it hard to regard this effort as a classic Gothenburg-metal album, but in my books, it is. After all, it was the very album that attracted me to the whole thing. Then again, I guess it is quite a provocative position, but I even like “Battles” (2016), which is widely regarded as the ultimate low point, the sonic equivalent of a Diet Coke, in the IN FLAMES discography by fans and critics alike. Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say anything like that, but at least we’re all on the same page about this banger album: it rocked hard when it was released – and it still packs a punch!
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Take This Life
- Leeches
- Reflect the Storm
- Dead End
- Scream
- Come Clarity
- Vacuum
- Pacing Death’s Trail
- Crawl Through Knives
- Versus Terminus
- Our Infinite Struggle
- Vanishing Light
- Your Bedtime Story Is Scaring Everyone
Lineup
Anders Fridén – vocals
Björn Gelotte – guitars
Jesper Strömblad – guitars
Peter Iwers – bass
Daniel Svensson – drums
Label
Nuclear Blast
