(Rated this album with 10 out of 10) Reviewed by
sonosmemory
from New York, NY
First off, I just want to say that I am not a big fan of death/black metal (or whatever you want to call it). I just can't get into the growly vocals. But, for some reason, that doesn't bother me with In Flames. I just bought Colony and Reroute to Remain, and I was totally blown away. These guys write such powerful stuff, and the riffs are the most imaginative I've heard from probably any metal band. What strikes me is that these guys are intelligent and are great musicians first, and they choose to play this type of music, but could easily play any type of music they want. Compared to their other stuff, I really don't think Reroute to Remain is a sellout. It still has some very hard stuff on it, but now mixes in some more softer parts with clean vocals. I think this "reroute" for the band is great, because it opens up their sound more and makes them more diverse. I get the sense they were starting to feel a little claustrophobic in their earlier style. Reroute is a lot more "progressive", and the musical talent really shines through. Every member of the band is great, but for some reason the drummer really struck me. I'm sure he's not the best drummer in metal, but he has such a powerful sound and it goes so well with the music. My favorite song so far from the album is "Cloud Connected", and I think that song represents where In Flames is headed. It still has a really cool riff, almost tribal sounding, but its mixed in with keyboards and soft vocal parts. In Flames deserves to be bigger than they are. I agree that this nu-metal crap has got to go (I heard a Limp Bizkit song for the first time the other day and I almost threw up). But In Flames is authentic and deserves respect for holding on to something they believe in. I'm going to go out and get the rest of their albums now!!!
