Now comes a long rant from slave telling you why you're so wrong. Jokes aside, that's what, probably, happens when you're not consistent amd alienate a part of your fanbase.
Yeah, this is the first time I can remember them having to downgrade venue due to poor ticket sales. Granted the support acts are nobodies - but maybe that's also a sign of IF's waning popularity. Personally it's a better location for me so I'm fine with it. The smaller venue tends to be where most metal bands play anyway, the bigger venue only tends to have really big metal bands. I don't think IF fall into this category anymore.
I think it's safe to say their attempts to become a popular butt rock band like Disturbed or 5 Finger have failed miserably. Most metalheads abandoned them long ago and butt rock fans haven't really latched on to them like they probably hoped, so they're in this in-between position atm.
Come Clarity was where they came closest to being the big crossover metal act they dreamed of, but IF seemed to lose a ton of momentum with ASOP and have never really recovered. I think SC and Battles were big nails in the coffin - driving away any remaining old school fans and, from what I've seen, a decent amount of "newer" fans who discovered them around the Reroute - CC era. Now they seem to be at a point where they are trying to pick up another new fanbase having already driven two sets of fans away. I don't see it being so successful nowadays though.
I saw IF last night. Not going to lie, despite the fact I dearly wish they'd play a greater balance of music from throughout their whole career I really enjoyed the show. The sound was great, the performance and connection between the band and the audience (arguably the most important parts) were awesome. The renditions of Pinball Map, Leeches, Colony, My Sweet Shadow and Cloud Connected were all superb, as were the SOAPF tunes. They played three of the six songs I like from the new album, and one of my highlights of the night was hearing the first ever live performance of Deep Inside, which might be one of my favourite IF tunes since Clayman. I actualy got goosebumps during the quiet melodic part after the solo. Say what you like about Anders' attempts to be a good clean singer on the recent records, I'll probably agree with you, but his live vocals were definitely a great reminder of why I found him such a compelling frontman in the first place. It's quite ironic that for most of the 2000s he moved away from the deep harsh vocals that had endeared him to so many on their earlier albums, in both recorded and live settings, but now that growl is his main 'weapon of choice' so we're (in a way) getting to hear what those songs would have been like if IF had stuck more to their 'classic' style after Reroute. Main example of the night was The Chosen Pessimist. It's the third time I've heard that song live. I found it boring on the record, and live I've felt the same way about it. When I heard the opening notes ring out last night, my immediate thought was "oh no, not again". They could have played two songs I'd never heard live before in the time taken up by that song. BUT as the song built towards its nadir (about 6:17 on the record), Anders digressed from the clean style he would normally use and sang the whole last part of the song the way he would have if it had been on Whoracle. He growled the whole thing... It really improved it, to be honest I thought it was brilliant, and I never thought I'd say that about any performance of TCP. I'd love to see another show like the one I saw in 2008, where we got six songs from The Jester Race, Colony and Clayman (plus a load of Reroute and Come Clarity stuff) in the same set, but last night was probably the second-best IF show I've seen. I haven't headbanged like that in a long time, and my neck is in a lot of pain today . All in all, a very good gig.
In an insane bout of procrastination, I just listed every IF song I have seen live by album over the last 11 years. It's a bit depressing that ASOP and Siren Charms are my two most-heard albums and I've heard nothing from Whoracle, but I've heard some great tunes as well. Lunar Strain/Subterranean: - The Jester Race: Artefacts of the Black Rain Graveland The Jester Race Dead God In Me Whoracle: - Colony: Embody The Invisible Colony Zombie Inc. Resin Insipid 2000 Clayman: Pinball Map Only For The Weak Satellites and Astronauts Reroute to Remain: System Trigger Cloud Connected Transparent Egonomic Soundtrack To Your Escape: The Quiet Place My Sweet Shadow Come Clarity: Take This Life Leeches Come Clarity Vanishing Light A Sense of Purpose: The Mirror's Truth Disconnected Sleepless Again Alias Delight and Angers Move Through Me The Chosen Pessimist March To The Shore Sounds Of A Playground Fading: Sounds Of A Playground Fading Deliver Us All For Me Fear Is The Weakness Where The Dead Ships Dwell Ropes Siren Charms: In Plain View Everything's Gone Paralyzed Through Oblivion With Eyes Wide Open Rusted Nail Monsters in the Ballroom Battles: The End The Truth Here Until Forever I, The Mask: Voices I Am Above Call My Name (Incorrect Use Of Brackets) House Deep Inside
All The Pain, Stay With Me, Voices are the songs I think about listening to. ITM, IAA are both solid but to be honest these don’t bring much new to the table. If I can just as easily go back and listen to Whoracle or Colony then why wouldn’t I just do that?
Well, yeah, but you could say that about pretty much every post-2000 IF album other than the name it's basically a different band nowadays. I don't equate the stuff they did back then with the stuff they do now. Songs like IAA/ITM are more in the ASOP/SOAPF modern metal category, of which I'd consider them worthy to be included with those songs. I actually really like ITM. IAA is decent but the more I've listened to it the more generic it's sounded. Much like everybody except me seemed to like All For Me and Drained, I don't really get the love for Voices. I've tried listening to it multiple times but I find it really boring.
Not even The Hive, which was their token "old tune" for a couple of years. I know, it sucks, I love that album. I really want to hear Jotun live, it's definitely top of my "it could actually happen" list of songs (December Flower is top of my list of "never going to happen" songs). There are loads more songs from that album that I think would be amazing to hear in concert, especially with Anders growling the way he does nowadays... Morphing Into Primal, Worlds Within the Margin, Episode 666 (Jester Script Transfigured is also pretty high on my "never going to happen" list).
The first time I saw IF this was their setlist: The Quiet Place Pinball Map System Episode 666 Clayman Trigger Cloud Connected Touch of Red Colony My Sweet Shadow At the time I remember being slightly underwhelmed. Nowadays I'd be ecstatic with that. Their Bloodstock 07 set was pretty weird. They played Dark Signs and Egonomic... as well as Bottled.
My first IF show Bullet Ride Embody the Invisible Cloud Connected Clay Man Behind Space Clad in Shadows Only for the Weak Pinball Map Colony Now you guys know why I like what I like.
I would love to hear Worlds Within the Margin with good (original) vocals. This recording (courtesy of our Krofius) makes it sound pretty bad...
Wow, I'd no idea that song had been played this millennium. The vocals were definitely Anders Reroute-ASOP-era shrieks though, which made the verses feel a bit anaemic. I think Worlds Within the Margin was probably actually Anders' most ferocious sounding studio performance overall throughout the entire history of the band, so the difference is really noticeable. In contrast, this sounds awesome, so I think if they played WWTM now, there's a strong possibility it would be great:
If I recall correctly, they played it after Whoracle in like 1998 a bit on tour, and they played it during a North American tour in 2006 I believe, don't think they've played it anytime else than those tours, could be wrong though. I think that song, especially if it was performed today would sound fucking sick if Anders used the death growl in the whole song. I mean even the studio recording it was one of the lowest growls he did back then. Vacuum-filled NIRVAANAAAAAAAAAAAA
Finally I think we all have a consensus here. Worlds Within the Margin = most brutal vocals In Flames has ever done. Time to bring it back! Hope this message reaches the band.
