In Flames's Reviews
Reroute To Remain (Average Rating: 8.04 out of 10)
Eeek... (Rated this album with 4 out of 10)
Reviewed by
Mark Horvath
from Inside a Hallowed Mind, Earth
Well, you cannot blame the decline of the Gothenberg scene on In Flames' 2002 release. In fact, you can blame this release for making the scene look even more profitable than ever. The famed Gothenburg "sound" is attributed mostly to this band of bands, who's classic releases such as Lunear Strain, Whoracle and The Jester Race showed this band was also one of the most talented groups to emerge onto the metal frontier since Obituary put the state of Flordia on the map with their unique brand of death metal. Reroute to Remain however, as the title could be suggesting, is a different path, a new creative direction that is much simpler than the patterns of past releases. Each of the past two prior to Reroute showed signs of more commercialism in this band's future, with Colony and Clayman scoring key singles and widespread acclaim from younger fans, but drew criticism from longtime hardcorests. This album shows the band as hardly the same group of guys that produced eye opening metal masterworks in the 90's, with the singles coming closer to radio and the fanbases gathering larger by the day, In Flames could quickly become the next European product to sell a million records within a few years. Most metal cds are lucky to get that far in a lifetime. (we wont go into the fact that Back in Black is now #6 all time) However, the oversaturated nature of this "evolution" corrodes the ears of a longtime Flamer. If you would like to see this band closer to its past glory, the 2004 release "Soundtrack to Your Escape" is closer to form, surprising as it may seem. We may only have to bear one Reroute to Remain, like Megadeth fans had to endure only one Risk. (an album i actually like) To the credit of the Flames though, at least they attempted something different, albeit unsuccessfully in many true metal minds. Don't label these guys as sellouts for one album...they are still In Flames. Trust me.
Buy this album on Amazon at $14.99
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