Does "anyone" like Reroute?

[Dmanx Pit]

Clayman was one of the first In Flames albums I purchased (when it first came out) and to this day I still can't shake that it's more or less a repeat of Colony. I know the songs are unique, but it's definately in the same vein as colony.

I always hated "Satelites and Astronauts" personally and found the title track to be rather decent, but that my opinion and nothing more.

R2R was In Flames trying something different, just like Projector was DT trying something new. It worked better in DT's case, even though it was more of a radical change, but R2R wasn't really a waste and only recently did I really give it another chance and find that a good majority of it is rather decent. I gave Haven another chance too after dismissing it as DT's mistake album (Although I always liked the first 2 songs), with similar results. I listen mainly to Haven now when I listen to Dark Tranquillity (well, until the DVD comes out, then I'll probably listen to the whole catalogue again).

But debating whther an album is good or not is strictly opinion. In Flames's US Tour was sold out all over the place, something they didn't do by far on the Clayman tour in 2000, so they have to be appealing to someone, and judging by the t-shirts in the crowd at the Philly show, it's mainly Children of Bodom fans

[Arch]

Strange, I found "Satelites and Astronauts" one of the better tracks off of Clayman. It has that slow intro start and builds up to the climax of the solo, much like "Stairways to Heaven". I find it this song to be very emotional.

[Inflames626]

Originally Posted by Arch

Strange, I found "Satelites and Astronauts" one of the better tracks off of Clayman. It has that slow intro start and builds up to the climax of the solo, much like "Stairways to Heaven". I find it this song to be very emotional.

Square Nothing for me, as far as Wayfaerer...it reminds me a lot of an old Metallica riff, especially the second one with all the muted notes...such busy riffs by Flames appear to be going by the wayside...again, I consider such "note-y-ness" to be a Ljungstrom thing.

I've always preferred the more uptempo stuff like Dust and Stand Ablaze...then again, I've always liked Flames more than DT because I consider their songs to be more unique from song to song, but if Damage is any indication DT is making each song better, instead of me putting in "I", listening to Hedon, Insanity, Tongues and I, and popping it out...I listen to all of Damage. I was scared when I found out R2R had 14 tracks...generally, the more tracks, the crappier the record, I think, because not only are the songs shorter and less drawn out, you have to use more and different ideas rather than 10-12.

As far as "gay" or "happy" riffs...Dialogue with the Stars is definitely happy, but I still like it. There's generally no Flames songs I dislike, although some I like more than others. The DT songs I tend to dislike are the ones that have no musical "landmarks", memorable riffs, etc, which is a habit I think they're losing as they progress. Each song is becoming stronger on its own.

The lengthy diatribe before was complimenting the Scandanavian school system. Again, I made too many points.

[Villain]

The language-post was an interesting read, although I have very little to comment on it, as I haven't spent much time thinking about those matters.

About whether or not Finns still hate Russians, I can't say for sure, as I tend to avoid all racially-prejudiced people, but I believe they are generally no more hated than gypsies, somalies, or other not-so-much-like-us ethnic groups. There's very little politics or real historical background in prejudices, as far as I know. Some old people might still remember the wars and thus hate Russians, but the same is probably true in many other countries as well (France/Germany, for example).

But about the "prevalence" of Russian language/culture in Finland: there hasn't been one in my lifetime. I would say less than 1% of Finnish people can speak decent Russian (and I for sure am not one of them) and culturally they are probably as far as (or even father than) Germans from us. Only few government officials working near the eastern border or some businessmen know anything about Russian language or culture, and their numbers have been diminishing since the fall of the Soviet Union. Finns have simply never had much interest in the Russians, apart from the times when we were forced to "co-operate" with them.

Originally Posted by Inflames626

I like anime because it brings American themes like Die Hard, etc., to life on a much lower budget than real film and much more believeably. Hentai stuff will always ruin its credibility though, and it's really just the theme choice that bothers me. If they chose more Western themes, and drew things in a less-stylized fashion, I'd like it more. I think the tendency of a lot of anime to be either bizarre and hard to understand to the Western mind (like a lot of Michelle Yeoh action movies from the early 80's and 90's) or just a bit juvenile.

You really should watch Berserk. It takes an European medieval-setting with a hint of dark-fantasy elements and loads of bloodshed. It is based on a very long and still on-going manga (rumored to be excellent, haven't yet got my hands on it) made by one single man for something like two decades already. The anime-series covers less than half of the storyarc of the manga, but hopefully there's more coming in the future. The first episode of the series is the weakest one (IMHO) as it starts in the middle of the story and explains nothing of the background. The second episode takes a big time-jump backwards, when the main character was still a young boy and from there on the series advances chronologically over several years up to the time right before the first episode (a friend of mine, who has read the manga, says there are still some things happening between the last and first episodes that sadly weren't included in the anime-series - hopefully they are made into anime once more).

The story is (as the title implies) very brutal and dark, with none of the characters being truly "good" or "heroic" - more like a bunch of coldblooded murderers with ideals that are made to suit themselves first and foremost. It is drawn in a rough, yet most detailed way and the animation is simple, yet effective. The backgrounds are occasionally extremely eye-catching in all their beauty, even when there are most gruesome details in the forefront - overall this series makes Conan the Barbarian look like a children's picnic. The massive amount of red colour used in the battle-scenes is a bit unnerving at first, but once you get accustomed with the constant blood-shed, you can concentrate on the finer aspects of the series, cleverly hidden behind all the brutality. Berserk is the number 1 favorite series of a friend of mine, and weren't I so much in love with Evangelion, I might agree with him.

Also, as far as I know, Berserk has been a huge success in the USA (at least when the number of sold DVD's are counted), which is a great thing for a series with such a small target-audience (we are not talking about Pokemon or Sailor Moon here). That should speak volumes about the "western theme" issue, admittedly so common a problem (not for me though, I have liked Asian movies for over a decade now) with many other anime-series.

And I must admit I'm not too familiar with American animation (other than Disney, who put out some quality works now and then among the rest of their crap) and I have no idea what is FAKK2. Also, I wasn't so thrilled when I saw Heavy Metal - perhaps I should have watched it when I was a teen or something... The Monsters Inc. (if that's what it was called) was great though - even the normally horrible Finnish-dub was okay (we don't dub any programs other than those meant for children here in Finland, all are just subtitled, which is great for both learning new languages and experiencing the content of the movie / series at hand).

Btw, I must ask you: Did you watch Princess Mononoke dubbed in English? If yes, I can understand your dislike of the film, for the dub is poor (not even near the worst, though). Go watch it in the original language and you will hear the difference.

-Villain

[Inflames626]

As far as the racial thing, I don't think it's racial as Finns and Russians are Caucasian peoples. More of a nationality issue. Secondly, I was curious because Finland was owned by Russia for centuries and I'm looking for parallels between similar countries for some of my studies, i.e.: Austria/Germany, USA/Canada, Sweden/Norway, France/Belgium, Spain/Portugal etc. We never have much of a chance to talk to Europeans here save the odd exchange student, and I was curious as the Soviets under Stalin basically oppressed everybody and nobody seems eager to make the Russians pay for it. Also, inter-Scandanavian relations are also interesting, as whether they see themselves as part of a bloc, or as hugely defined countries, all within this EU movement. It's interesting that such warlike peoples early on are now so socially-progressive.

I'm basically trying to work up a thesis on social psychology, how nations form "us vs. them" notions, and how this is surviving in the modern world. As much as the Europeans are proud of the EU, I think this is only economic leverage against North America, not a social, political, or military solution.

[Delirious]

Originally Posted by Arch

Strange, I found "Satelites and Astronauts" one of the better tracks off of Clayman. It has that slow intro start and builds up to the climax of the solo, much like "Stairways to Heaven". I find it this song to be very emotional.

same here. additionally, the lyrics are great. I almost think Satellites... and Suburban Me are my two favourites on Clayman. great record over-all, though.

[Tebus]

Clayman was my first IF album. I love every album they have, so I'm not going to complain about any of that album. But I think Bullet Ride is my favorite song. The opening riff just makes me feel like I'm headed for war. I headbanged myself into a frenzy when I heard that one live.

Originally Posted by Inflames626

Someone also added earlier that Pinball Map sounded gay...I'd like to disagree and offer that it's the heaviest song Flames as ever done simply because the verses grind open C so much. It simply flattens you live because of all the wind coming out of the guitar cabs from it.

Isn't that open A#?

[Arch]

It points out that the Finnish language have roots in the Hungarian language. It's been said that Finns and Hungarians are very smart people due to their language. Of course, that's a just a gross over-generalization.
Wanna start a flame war over my comment?

[Aldraugth]

My first impression from R2R was like "what a fuck?". But after time I have learned to like from it, much but not as much as from The Jester Race or Whoracle. I'm eager to see what they do with their next album, aren't they recording it now??? Watch Them Feed is fine song and if next album is similar, I propably will like it...like I have liked from every IF album..

[rahvin]

i agree with incendiare.
now go back to her latest post to see what i mean. i read about 80 messages, i gotta have my revenge.

[Inflames626]

Originally Posted by Tebus

Clayman was my first IF album. I love every album they have, so I'm not going to complain about any of that album. But I think Bullet Ride is my favorite song. The opening riff just makes me feel like I'm headed for war. I headbanged myself into a frenzy when I heard that one live.


Isn't that open A#?

Do you mean A# literally or A# as it looks on E? Remember to tune C F Bb Eb G C before playing (down 2 steps)

[Tebus]

Originally Posted by Inflames626

Do you mean A# literally or A# as it looks on E? Remember to tune C F Bb Eb G C before playing (down 2 steps)

I mean they tune the way you say (C F Bb Eb G C) and then drop the lowest string to Bb (Bb F Bb Eb G C. I know that note they chug is an Bb. I'm not positive that it is drop tuning though.

[Inflames626]

Originally Posted by Tebus

I mean they tune the way you say (C F Bb Eb G C) and then drop the lowest string to Bb (Bb F Bb Eb G C. I know that note they chug is an Bb. I'm not positive that it is drop tuning though.

im not sure...the lowest i thought they tuned was on r2r...what's the song...transparent?

[Tebus]

Originally Posted by Inflames626

im not sure...the lowest i thought they tuned was on r2r...what's the song...transparent?

Yeah, Transparent actually goes down to Ab for the low string, and that's almost definitely drop tuning, but I may be wrong.

[C-Taylor]

I love it still. It is their worst work, but that doesnt mean its bad.

It has the best art work.

Colony is my favorite though.

[Steve]

You had to bump this, didn't you... it was the last thread on the page... and we even have an In Flames board...

[C-Taylor]

If we have an In Flames board then why is it on the Dark Tranquillity board in the first place?

[rahvin]

Originally Posted by C-Taylor

If we have an In Flames board then why is it on the Dark Tranquillity board in the first place?

we need to prove to outsiders we can talk about everything. possibly at the same time.

[Steve]

Becasuew the In Flames board is slow as hell.... I responded to every on topic thread on the first page and then seven posts in one day...

[Freddy Krueger]

Weird that this is in the DT forum... But whatever.

Anyway, I love Reroute to Remain, it's probably their best album since Colony ( Whoracle is towards the bottom of my list ) and I'm glad that they did what they wanted to with the album.

You know, this has been an arguement so much in the In Flames forum that I don't even know if I want to explain my case, or bother to defend the album.

I'm going to leave it at the fact that I like it.

[Dark_Jester]

I think if this thing is gonna get revived so often we change the thread title to 'Battle Royale'

[Malaclypse]

yeah, please

[rahvin]

[dick mode on]it's not as if this is my thread....[dick mode off]

[Malaclypse]

hey, your dick mode has been on all the time :P

[rahvin]

it must have been penis envy.