Label: Nuclear Blast
Release date: March 1, 2019
Production: Howard Benson
Album length: 50:47 min
For Swedish outfit In Flames, today considered one of the main names in melodic death metal, it’s surprising that they even survived at all. Over the last decade the band went through lineup changes, drastically changed its style, got on the bad side of plenty of fans and somehow managed to stay afloat. Not much of the typical melodic death metal has stuck around, but even though they started making music for bigger crowds, In Flames have won over a huge number of supporters.
The only two longtime members, Anders Friden and Björn Gelotte, finally got paid back for all the effort that at one point seemed pointless. In Flames are no doubt pretty enterprising too: these days they even have their own festival and countless other products. The music itself kind of confirms that the band is enjoying its comfort zone. In Flames found a style and polished it. And that’s exactly what I, The Mask reflects. Roughly speaking, In Flames now play a mix of alternative rock and melodic death metal, so they haven’t forgotten the past.
The album opens with Voices, which already shows you the In Flames of today. A mid-tempo track with loads of melody and a strong chorus hints that In Flames are still capable of writing a decent song. Maybe nothing spectacular, but with the title track In Flames shift into a higher gear and you get a whiff of classic melodic death metal, with a modern sound of course. In Flames won’t be putting speed front and center anymore, as the more melodic Call My Name proves. With I Am Above, though, they show they can go for something a bit punchier. As a counterweight, the very next track serves up the slower, at moments even dreamy Follow Me. There’s no shortage of variety on the album, so even with In Flames you can’t predict everything.
As a whole, I, The Mask doesn’t quite convince. But there are songs that still keep the faith in the band. In the second half of the album they prove it with We Will Remember, which doubles as a thank-you to the fans, the faster Burn and the infectious Deep Inside, where they cleverly worked in the Arabic scale. It all wraps up with the slow, ballad-tinged Stay With Me, which starts out acoustic before In Flames carry the ending to an emotional peak with melodies and vocals. Right at the very end Anders Friden shows he’s put a lot of work into his singing in recent years and managed to level it up. Compared to the early records, the difference is hard to miss.
Lyrically, Anders Friden stays quite personal in his signature style, even though the social criticism is more than obvious. The album isn’t a concept record, but it focuses a lot on what people get up to on social media when they “put on a mask.” Of course, in his view, how to interpret the lyrics is up to the listener.
In Flames did more than a solid job this time. The main question is whether you can fault In Flames for anything. The guitars are still a strong factor, and melodies play an important role, as they always have for the band. Guitarist Björn Gelotte undoubtedly knows his craft. It could use a bit more aggression, which is especially noticeable in the vocals. The rhythm section isn’t weak either, so as a whole In Flames aren’t slipping. What probably bugs most is that the songs have a typical pop structure where only the chorus matters. Here you could say In Flames lean too much on a formula.
Once the record’s played through, it’s clear In Flames didn’t skimp on production. The band teamed up again with the seasoned Howard Benson, who has won plenty of awards for his work. Recording took place in Los Angeles, which isn’t even surprising. In Flames have wanted to sound more American for quite a while now. The album has no unnecessary extras, it has a red thread running through it, and the songs are radio-hit material. So, it’s the right album for the masses, with quite a bit of effort put into it.
Older fans won’t be interested in this album in the slightest. But then, In Flames aren’t a young band anymore that has to pay the bills by playing small halls. Despite all the criticism, In Flames somehow hung on. It more than obviously works, and given the support, In Flames can keep enjoying their comfort zone.
7.5/10
Tracklist:
- Voices
- I, The Mask
- Call My Name
- I Am Above
- Follow Me
- (This is Our) House
- We Will Remember
- In This Life
- Burn
- Deep Inside
- All The Pain
- Stay With Me
Band members:
Anders Friden – vocals
Björn Gelotte – lead guitar
Niclas Engelin – rhythm guitar
Bryce Paul Newman – bass
Tanner Wayne – drums
