In Flames
Battles

There are several reasons to celebrate the new album by In Flames. Firstly because they are returning rather soon following their latest release and secondly because they keeps saying fuck off to those who wants them to make the same music as they did in the nineties. I for one am happy with that, as they are much better now than they were then. The new album called Battles has a cool artwork and they have been to Hollywood working with a famous producer in the recording process – and that has led to a very strong new album.

It is perhaps a bit heavier than the previous album but gone are the times when melodic death metal was the melody for these fellows, it is great that the refuse to be labelled and keep evolving. With this album they focus on the choruses that are very catchy and find their ways into your minds immediately. There is quite the hit potential in most of the songs. The sound is excellent and Fridén’s vocals that range from clean vocals to growls are great as well, I would say that in terms of sound the band have never sounded better.

There are a dozen tracks on this album and they offer 48 minutes of music as well as some strong variation – and it is catchy. I would say that this is a great album in more or less any regards, although with one or two small reservations. I think the album would have benefitted from a bit more tempo and perhaps just a little bit more punch and a little more bravery. These are small issues though and do not detract much from the whole, a whole that is a great album with an infectious catchiness.

Speaking of catchiness, it is a great description of many of the songs on this album but the best one is The End that has stuck in my head and just will not leave. Then I also think tracks like The Truth, Wallflower and Save Me are other tracks I would like to mention. I think that they probably never have been better than they are on this album, an album that thoroughly deserves to be a hit album.

To round this one off I can conclude that I hope they never return to their roots, that they dare to experiment and walk down paths they haven’t tried before. And as this album is so strong and one of those you really ought to have from 2016 I also think that, barring some super album releases in the remaining year, this is an album that will feature on my top ten for 2016. You should however know that 2016 is a rather poor year in terms of music, but this is one of the albums you should savour from it.

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