In Flames's Reviews
The Jester Race (Average Rating: 9.30 out of 10)
In Flames I reside (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
mysanthropyk_overlord
from USA
One of their earlier albums, The Jester Race/Black-Ash Inheritance (a combination of a full-length album and an EP) remains my favorite in my now-complete In Flames collection. From the acoustic beginnings of the stunning song "Moonshield" (in my opinion, In Flames' best song to date), the five Swedes deliver an undeniably damn-near flawless performance with this one. It keeps one's attention through a balanced mix of heavy melodic "death" metal (I really hate calling it that, because death metal is such a bland, boring, and unimaginative subgenre in general) and mellow acoustic tunes, in a vein similar to fellow Swedish metal masters Opeth. But where Opeth makes long, epic songs with many tempo changes, In Flames' songs are typically average length with more predictable switches from the heaviness to the softer parts. The Gothenborg sound, originated by the band, may be a little difficult to get into, as it is somewhat of a primitive sound (deliberately, enhancing the atmosphere created by the music). In contrast to Opeth, In Flames concentrates more on heavy parts, whereas with Opeth, you often get a nearly equal balance of heavy & acoustic. Both schemes work well, and it's hard to decide which scenario is more appealing. Lyrically, In Flames is one of the more introspective bands, not focusing on satanism or killing religious people or any of that overdone and cliche [stuff]. Their lyrics make you think, and most people can relate to them. It's almost like a narration of life, albeit with somewhat of a dark twist thrown in at points.So now, my faithful review-reader, I invite thee... open thy mind and check out In Flames today! If you're not a complete bonehead, you'll probably like what you hear (of course, if you don't like it, that doesn't necessarily make you a complete bonehead by default...).
Buy this album on Amazon at $14.99
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