In Flames Album: “Come Clarity [Bonus DVD]”

You know, it never ceases to amaze me when people do not even know how to write a real review for a product. First of all, when you review a bands album you are suppose to give input on THAT ALBUM; not say it sucks because it is different from their last one or first one or whatever. Many In Flames fans have seemed to turn their back on the band after switching up their style really after Colony. You have to understand that musicians are artists and people. I am sure MAKING THE SAME ALBUM over and over again will get very boring to them, not to mention they would have to constantly be playing THE SAME SONGS than on tour. You cannot blame these guys for wanting to experiment with their sound and do different things. I love every album that they made from Lunar Strain to this latest release. Each one has something different about it and they all are great metal albums. Anders sounds nothing like Davis from Korn, stop being haters.

On a side note, for all the people that really hated Soundtrack to Your Escape and called it to dumbed down or simple songs please watch them perform the whole album on their Used and Abused DVD. There is really nothing simple about that album when you watch them do it live and calling them Nu Metal is simply retarded. Come Clarity is a great mix of their older work and their newer. My personal favorite would be Our Infinite Struggle and Take this Life. I hope they keep making albums like this and the fans smarten up and realize bands do what they have to do to survive in a cut throat industry.

Dylan, 18, Australia

I first heard of this band from a friend who was always talking about them, so i finally came to listening to them 2 months ago and i was amazed. About 2 years ago i wouldn't go near a cd that had any screaming or shouting at all [ex. Slipknot [what?? they are a good band] who got me into metal] then i heard this album and it comletely changed my perspective.[With help from my favorite band TRIVIUM [To all the haters f. uc. k off they're awesome]. Anyway to the songs:

Take this Life - If you like this chances are you'll love this album. 10/10

Leeches - Don't know about this one the drums/synths seem to override the singing. 8/10

Reflect the Storm - I love everything about this song. Awesome vocals by Anders on this. 9/10

Dead End - Ummm... first time i heard this i was a bit sceptical..womens vocals in metal???. But when Anders comes in it blew me away and i have to listen to it again!!! Awesome lyrics 3rd best song on album. 10/10

Scream - Definitely the Heaviest on album. I prefer their earlier stuff when it comes to heaviness. Doesn't work for me but still good. 6/10

Come Clarity - The second song that blew me away. I was expecting a full acoustic song you have to hear this song if you like Reroute/STYE. Only thing that bugs me is the chorus, kinda repeatative but still 10/10

Vacuum - Great song. Great Vocals. Great Drums. Great Guitars. 2nd Favorite song on album. 10/10

Pacing Deaths Trail - Clayman, Colony Fans will love this song I did. 9/10

Crawl Through Knives - My favourite song. Everything is Awesome and it is so catchy. 10/10

Versus Terminus - See Reflect the Storm. Awesome and Catchy. 9/10

Our Infinite Struggle - I didn't really get into this song but its still pretty good. 7/10

Vanishing Light - Love this song much like crawl through knives. Awesome lyrics. 10/10

Your Bedtime Story is Scaring Everyone - Instrumental. I thought. Very calming actually. Bedtime Story??? Wow Another surprise from this song. I love it!!! 10/10

Overall great album 9.5/10

If you are a true In Flames fan grab this.

If you only like them up to Clayman grab this.

If you like their latest works only grab this.

If you have never heard of In Flames before grab this.

P.S.

I don't know why people don't like they're last two works, Reroute and STYE....yeah, so they're not as good but they are still 5 star albums. If you liked Clayman or Colony better Come Clarity would be more suited to you. If you no longer like the new albums including this one, perhaps it's time you stopped listening and find a new band to listen to [at least until they change their sound like in flames did]

Cheers.

Ive always enjoyed everything In Flames has put out, but this album is just extraordinary. Its like a crossover between Whoracle and Colony or Clayman. You get the best of both worlds of In Flames, older and heavier, and newer and more melodic. If you were dissappointed by Soundtrack to Your Escape (which, I'll be honest WASNT the greatest) then have no fear because Come Clarity is just what you need to change your mind about them.

The stand out tracks include:

Take This Life

Leeches

Come Clarity

Vacuum

Crawl Through Knives

All the other tracks are great too, those are just some of my personal favorites. Dont make the mistake of passing this up!

Let me just say that i am a big old school in flames fan. whoracle and colony are two albums the redefined melodic death metal and metal in general. fortunently (and unfortunently), in flames never look back and make the same album twice, so when reroute and soundtrack came out i was a little taken back. both were great experimental albums for the band, but as a fan, i felt it really lacked any depth. most of the songs were bland, one-dimentional tunes that were missing the chatchy guitar hooks in flames is known for.

come clarity changes all that. while the band isnt writing another woracle or colony (as some wish they would), they've taken a step forward in sound, while still looking back on their roots. every song on this album is solid and has traces of their old school guitar harmonies and catchy choruses.

the problem with this album will face isn't itself or in flames. its the fans. come clarity probably wont convert the haters who left them after clayman (or even before). anyone who is the least bit optimistic about in flame's future will listen to this album and really enjoy it.

i hope that everyone will atleast give this album a few listens even those who think in they've lost appeal. you might find something in it that you like, and give you a secure feeling that in flames knows what theyre doing and they continue to stay fresh and innovative with every release they make.

definently an early album of the year contendor.

Some time ago, I had heard In Flames' new "single," Take This Life. I was pretty frustrated at what I heard. It wasn't nearly as straightforward as the last two embarassing ablums, but it still had a chastising commercial vibe to it. There were some passable guitar melodies, but the vocals made me gag. "The rest of the new album must be like this," I thought, neglecting to listen to it until as of late. But the thought I was a jaded cynic nagged at me ceaselessly, until peoples' claims that this was some sort of superb return to form convinced me to buy it.

This album does mark alot of changes. In Flames' traditional dual-guitar Gothenburg melodies are finally prominent again, as opposed to the downtuned nu-metal power chord crap in STYE. The insipid electronics have been suffocated down to a bare minimum, though I could do without them completely. Friden's vocals are my major concern; One minute he roars like back in the Clayman days (In fact, "Crawl Through The Knives" may be his best vocal performance ever), next minute he croons awkwardly like some tepid Hawthrone Heights clone. Hell, I'll just say it. He sounds downright emo at times. Still, bad clean vocals are something we just have to shrug off with In Flames. I'll take his emo-boy singing over his frog-croak whispers from the old albums any day. Oh, and the solos are back. Most of the tracks (not really enough) feature a bit of Jesper's guitar wizardry.

Despite the return of the twin guitar melodies, some of the songwriting is fluffy at best. "Your Bedtime Story is Scaring Everyone" is a good example of what no death metal band should ever degenerate into, "Scream" is refreshingly aggressive but doesn't really go anywhere, while "Dead End" is some sort of bad Evanascecneauceas experiment. This isn't to say that all the songs are fools' gold, though. The title track brings back the accoustic side of In Flames' musical spectrum (Depite the nauseating vocals), Vacuum is one of the most harmonically adventurous songs in the band's repertoire, and Pacing Death's Trail is vintage In Flames.

So that's it. It seems like these Swedes are trying to please old and new fans alike, and I believe their attempt at covering all bases prevented them from creating a consistently great album. Is this album another Lunar Strain/Jester Race/Whoracle/Colony/Clayman? No, it's Come Clarity-- Not a masterpiece, but a step in the right direction. In Flames has pushed out of the commercial drudgery that encapsulated their last two albums, which is commendable. Now let's see what they can do come clarity.

- Thus says the Pellington