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Having recently reviewed a promo of three tracks from this album (and giving it 4/10), I can't say that I've had very high hopes for In Flames' latest. Well, I can say with some meager pleasure that those three tracks were slightly deceptive, and the album is of higher quality than I expected. The first song, 'F(r)iend' opens the album promisingly, with some nice-ish riffage, some surprisingly deep growls, and even a pretty cool melodic lead section. It's a good song and a bit better than most 'Reroute to Remain' material. 'The Quiet Place' isn't so great, being the album's 'single' and focusing on Ander's truly weak vocals. It also isn't such a good idea for a 'melodic metal' band like In Flames to focus more on keyboards than guitars, as is the case with this song. It has grown on me a bit, but it's still quite dull. 'Dead Alone' is moderately cool, picking up the intensity and melodic riffage. It has a few neat melodies going on. 'Touch of Red' is predictable fare, chugging, sparse leads and a 'catchy' chorus, but with an interesting outro of a lone, echoey guitar. 'Like You Better Dead' follows your typical In Flames song structure and is completely un-notable. 'My Sweet Shadow' has better riffage and an electronic bit that is sort of effective. 'Evil in a Closet' is a neat little calm song that Anders almost wrecks with his bad Jonathon Davis impression. The guitar melodies almost recall the old-school stuff, containing an actual solo near the end. Overall, it comes off feeling like a bid for radio-play, but it's still a highlight. 'In Search For I' is a surprise, very intense speed, energy and guitar playing. 'Borders and Shading' has terrible verse vocals from Anders, but is otherwise basically decent.
Our two final songs, 'Superhero of the Computer Rage' and 'Dial 595 Escape' follow the same formula as the rest, but the latter has exceptionally excellent riffage. As much as I dreaded my first peek of this album, it isn't really so bad. The album is much more consistant than 'Reroute to Remain', and slightly more unified in its melodies and stylistic progression. I'm afraid it does suffer from some big flaws though. Firstly, it is incredibly predictable. All the songs follow a basic structure, and the 'big opening riff' -> 'calm verse' -> 'catchy chorus' thing really gets old quickly. Secondly, Anders can't sing but he keeps trying, badly, relegating the band to 'nu-metal wannabe' status with his whining. Finally, every band needs to progress, but In Flames has turned into a shadow of its former self. Everything has been dumbed down completely since past greats such as 'The Jester Race' or 'Colony', the riffs and melodies, the lyrics, the vocals, and they use keyboards to cover up the lack of truly excellent riffage. 'Soundtrack to Your Escape' is largely superior to 'Reroute to Remain' in almost every aspect, but is hardly a return to form. It only solidifies the new, keyboard/chorus heavy In Flames sound and establishes it as here to stay. Too bad that the new In Flames sound is massively inferior to the old one. Consistent, moderately melodic, predictable, merely average. Standouts: 'F(r)iend', 'Evil in a Closet' and 'Dial 595 Escape'.
| Tracklist |
| 1. F(r)iend |
| 2. The Quiet Place |
| 3. Dead Alone |
| 4. Touch Of Red |
| 5. Like You Better Dead |
| 6. My Sweet Shadow |
| 7. Evil In A Closet |
| 8. In Search For I |
| 9. Borders and Shading |
| 10. Superhero Of The Computer Rage |
| 11. Dial 595 Escape |
: 42.40
| Buy other In Flames albums |
