In Flames - A Sense of Purpose
Nuclear Blast - NB2083 - 4 April 2008
By Paddy Walsh
A sad state of affairs it is indeed, when the once seemingly infallible
In Flames become something of a guilty pleasure in one's record collection. For a band once so revered within the underground to have become the proverbial whipping boys to an ever angst-ridden metal community is by no means an unheard of phenomenon, but
In Flames have had to endure more flak than most in recent years. Of course, the collective groaning of the underground is unlikely to bother the band too much - with '06's
Come Clarity apparently shifting 400,000 units, their star is burning brighter than ever in the wider metal fraternity. This reality is much to the chagrin of those schooled in the ways of the magnificent trio of
The Jester Race,
Whoracle and
Colony - with their beautifully winding, melodic leads, thunderous riffs and Anders' snarling yet strangely emotive growls. 2002's
Reroute to Remain was undoubtedly the noose to their underground suicide, with nods to the alternative metal climate of the day, abandonment of the classicism of the past for a more straightforward, riff-based approach, and Anders' adoption of a less throaty, more mainstream-friendly rasp in conjunction with the increasingly cleanly-sung choruses.
Reroute... caused much of their traditional fanbase to erupt into convulsions of spasmodic aghastery, the mainstream metal media caught wind of all the fuss, and the rest is history...
Two albums of mixed results later and next up is
A Sense of Purpose. A certain UK 'metal' magazine recently proclaimed this work to be a return to twin-guitar mania of their earlier days - the reviewer was clearly either listening to
Clayman by mistake or is an evil liar - it isn't. Rather, it's another step into the realms of imminent commercial metal superstardom that retains cursory elements of their tantalising past, but more often than not leaves them behind completely. Opener 'Mirror's Truth' is a bog-standard moder
In Flames number, and its follow-up 'Disconnected' is almost identical - the latter wandering dangerously into dreaded emo territory with laughable lyrical abominations such as '
I feel like shit, but at least I feel something'. 'Alias', although sure to annoy the old guard with its heavy reliance on synths, is maddeningly catchy, Anders' clean vocals working well in this instance, and it's acoustic interlude an obvious nod to the Whoracle era. Bizarre as it may seem, Anders appears to be getting angstier with age, and as 'Disconnected' suggests,
A Sense of Purpose is loaded with teen-friendly choruses designed to saitiate their newly pubescent fanbase. 'The Chosen Pessiment' is an 8-minute anomaly for the band, as they attempt the 'slow build to an epic crescendo' tack, Anders doing his best Thom Yorke impression early on, but the track is stilted by a repetetive guitar lick that fails to utilise the time afforded to truly go anywhere interesting.
Despite its obvious shortcomings,
A Sense of Purpose is regardless a mostly enjoyable slice of poppy alt. metal, best listened to in the context of its mainstream contemporaries rather than as any addition to the current crop of Swedish melo-death pretenders. Indeed, alongside the many
Killswitch Engage-esque bands who have shamelessly pilfered from them in recent times,
In Flames are still a cut above most of them. It's just a shame that the fans of old must now look elsewhere, and it's unlikely that any of their Swedish copyists will ever create anything to match
In Flames at their peak.
A Sense of Purpose isn't the dismal failure the old-schoolers will have you believe, but nor is it the ragingly successful blend of vintage and modern the mainstream media are putting forth - rather it sits uncomfortably between these two summations.
Official In Flames Website
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