Moonshield still brings me to tears. Jester Race ftw! I adore In Flames so much, even through their rougher periods, there's just something stable and comforting about them, like they're the home-cooked meal among a collection of takeout in my metal collection. Always there, maybe not always cooked perfectly, but you always want to come back to it. Sorry if that got wierd.
It was the first album where me and my friends (long time IF fans) raised some eyebrows then lost interest. The title track remains a generic corny power ballad, while some of the songs on the album are still great nontheless, like half of them. They said in an interview they "took out the complexity of the songs for the songs' sake". That was the last time we went to see them live (with Slayer and Lamb of God, Unholy Alliance Tour). Come Clarity was definitely the "let's grab a beer" song of the set. It was clear they just wanted to appeal to a different audience and the songwriting suffered for it and they didn't exactly play to their strengths at that point. It was the "going downhill from here" album to many old school fans. Can't blame them. Forgone is roughly at that CC level for me, maybe a bit better even. So I still gave the new album a chance even though I know they probably will never abandon the "catchy clean chorus in EVERY song" formula, (let's not kid ourselves) but i'm still glad I did. The complete purists will not find much joy with at least half of either CC or Forgone though.
when it comes to this band's discography, the new album is basically the equivalent to getting a glass of water in the middle of the night when you're really dehydrated
S tier: The Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony A tier: Clayman, Come Clarity B tier: Lunar Strain, Reroute to Remain, Foregone C tier: Soundtrack to Your Escape, A Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading D tier: I, the Mask, Battles, Sirens Charm
My ranking: S - Clayman, Colony, TJR, Whoracle A - Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity B - Soundtrack, A Sense of Purpose C - Lunar Strain, Sounds OAPF, ITM D - Siren Charms, Battles We will see where Foregone sits... I believe it will come in at A for me. Clayman is my favourite metal album of all time (Suburban Me being my favourite song on it). Colony has some of the catchiest riffs ever and is just charged with energy and life. Both are absolute perfection imo... Clayman the definite winner though. Side note: DT did get the better deal with Mikael, no contest. Also, when you mentioned hearing the synths of Cloud Connected... it made me think of the first time I heard Dark Tranquillity, with Not Built To Last, just before Haven came out. I came across a pre-release MP3 of it (thanks Napster!). My brain absolutely melted from what I was hearing!! I very much understand the feeling!
S: The Jester Race; Clayman A: Lunar Strain; Whoracle; Colony B: Reroute to Remain; Come Clarity C: Soundtrack to Your Escape; A Sense of Purpose; Forgone D: Sounds of a Playground Fading; I, The Mask F: Siren Charms; Battles
1. Clayman 2. Come Clarity 3. The Jester Race 4. Colony 5. Whoracle 6. A Sense of Purpose 7. Reroute to Remain 8. Foregone 9. Soundtrack to Your Escape 10. Lunar Strain 11. I, The Mask 12. Sounds of a Playground Fading 13. Siren Charms 14. Battles 2-3 and 9-10 can go either way depending on the day, I feel a bit bad for putting RtR and Foregone that low but I truly do love them despite their placements, amazing albums. (May switch depending on how Foregone sits over time though.) And for your point on why I love Clayman, songwriting wise just fits in really well, I love the cohesion and the songs have some of the best tone/production of any metal album I've ever heard. I do have a personal connection as I do find a good amount of the lyrics relatable, not to mention it has just the perfect balance of heavy and melodic I've ever heard personally.
Clayman is my fav album. Only for the Weak and the title track can be on repeat ALL DAY and I'd be golden. Also: Foregone is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I actually agree with almost everything you said about the album but I think it deserves a tier higher in your ranking. The album sounds fresh at the end of the day if it's my 8th listen on repeat. Can't get enough, SUPER clean production on it.
honestly even though the new singles were already really promising im still surprised how good forgone actually turned out to be. its a good fusion of the oldschool with what they have done over the last 10 years. as someone who has been a hardcore in flames fan since 2008, this makes me really happy.
The Jester Race and Colony is like mum and dad, impossible to choose. These albums have something different, great riffs and accoustics. Wayfarer is my favourite In Flames songs as well as self titled Colony.
Clayman and I, Mask are probably my favourites with Colony so close behind them, they have a such a big discography now. Foregone has been good so far I like In The Dark
I started getting into In Flames around the time Reroute to Remain came out thanks to a show called Loud on Much Music (Canada's answer to MTV) showed the video for Trigger. I'll confess that I've liked a lot of select songs from In Flames, but I can't say I love a single album front to back from them. Colony and Whoracle were strong, I enjoyed a fair bit off of Clayman as well. However, Forgone was the first In Flames album I've actually purchased and I'm happy I did, as for the most part it was an enjoyable listen, but Bleeding Out, A Dialogue in B Flat Minor and End the Transmission dragging the album down for me.
For the Jester Race fans out there (I'm one!), check out the album Vast Reaches Unclaimed by Majesties. Just discovered them, and there's definitely some Jester Race sound present. Really fun album overall. Also, I gotta give some love for Dialogue in B Flat Minor. Loved that song from Foregone
My initial thoughts about Foregone were about the same as yours, but over the last month and further relistens, I have completely changed my mind about it for the better! I actually find tracks like Bleeding Out and In the Dark to be incredibly good and catchy. Anders actually ended up being a highlight on this album for me and his growls are what keep me coming back to this record. I honestly think, in terms of his harsh vocal performances, this might be a career-best for him. His lows sound so nasty and aggressive. Even his cleans are tolerable (and even enjoyable!) on this record. Plus I think this is the best production job of any In Flames record period. It is thick and punchy and just adds so much umpf to their sound. Props to the producer, for sure. But seriously, this album has been the biggest grower of an album I've listened to in quite some time.
I too think this has the best production value and I also believe that some of their not so good albums would be a lot, lot better with different (better) production. Just my opinion.
Colony is such a killer record, and Jester Race is awesome as well. Wasn't feeling the slower songs on Foregone, but I still can't get enough of Meet Your Maker. Perhaps In Flame's next record will be a complete return to form, which would be surreal.
I won’t lie, foregone is my first experience with in flames, it is easily one of my favorite albums ever And funny pure light of mind is probably my song of the year lol but to each there own
i would never listen to people that just wants to hate everything different to their musicals tastes Id say Listen every album cause in flames has reinvented themselves so many times that people has problems when they try to define the band. I like all their periods
@@eduardoalvarez8442 Well listen once or twice at least, cause you'll never know what you end up liking, but catchy clean sung choruses in almost EVERY song is the common hated theme among the fans of old In Flames, there is no mystery or problem of definition about it IMO (When it works it works, but it's just often too samey). They ain't reinventing the wheel with it either. This album just has slightly better songwriting as a result of more intense riffs and short detours on some of the songs that compliment the often repeated formula. Just as this review said, it could have been easily a much better album if they just put in more exciting riffs and some heavy choruses on roughly a third of the album. I always skip the powerballad (i have nothing against good ballads!) and some of the songs in the second half are forgettable at best. Just my 2 cents.
You don't need to be told what to listen to. But, if you want advice, don't listen to negative TH-cam commenters, and spend more time listening to all their albums.
1. Whoracle 2. Lunar Strain 3. The Jester Race 4. Come Clarity 5. Reroute To Remain 6. Colony 7. Clayman 8. Foregone 9. Sounds Of A Playground Fading 10. Siren Charms 11. Battles 12. I, The Mask 13. A Sense Of Purpose 14. Soundtrack To Your Escape
14. Reroute to Remain 13. Siren Charms 12. Soundtrack to your Escape 11. Sense of Purpose 10. Battles 9. Sounds of a Playground Fading 8. Come Clarity 7. I, The Mask 6. Foregone 5. Clayman 4. Lunar Strain 3. Colony 2. Whoracle 1. The Jester Races
Pure Light Of Mind is a really good song on a really good album and I haven't liked In Flames since Colony. I think this is a strong album that has good variety and doesn't get boring. I had zero expectations so maybe that's why I like it, good effort guys..
The Jester Race through Colony is just a fantastic run. Not that the next 4 albums aren’t top notch stuff too. Clayman is the Spiritual Healing of In Flames discography as something of a transitional album, but the first 3 songs are about as strong an opening salvo as they have. Your reassessment of Jester Race and Whoracle is welcome, and you nailed this reassessment.
I thought that In Flames’ new album Foregone was surprisingly good and easily their best since Come Clarity. Here would be my ranking for In Flames: S - The Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony A - Lunar Strain, Clayman, Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity, Foregone B - Soundtrack to Your Escape, A Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading C - I the Mask D - Siren Charms, Battles
In Flames are my favourite band of all time and I found your ranking to be nearly 1:1 with my own. I agree with Battles. It's an album that was made when In Flames were touring with Five Finger Death Punch and Avenged Sevenfold. A softer metal release for a new audience that wasn't really for someone like me. Having seen them live twice in the past 12 months, highly recommended by the way, they play so much old material from those first four albums and Anders absolutely slays vocally. I personally really love Foregone but the production is the only thing I am struggling to get over. Anders has a decent cleans voice. I really don't know why Howard Benson had to drown him in all that autotune and pitch correction. I'm hoping that the follow up record scales back on these moments and leans more into the aggressive riffs and harsh vocals. When you hear them live now it's like you've been transported back to 2004, it's a great experience. I've seen them 8 times in 10 years and now it's definitely the time to check them out.
I think Clayman is my favorite album just because it was my first In Flames album that I listened to all though Jr. High/highschool so it's just got a special place in my heart.
My ranking goes as follows: 1- Jester Race 2- Whoracle 3- Colony 4- Clayman 5- Come Clarity 6- Reroute To Remain 7- Lunar Strain 8- Foregone 9- Soundtrack To Your Escape 10- A Sense Of Purpose 11- Sounds Of A Playground Fading 12- I, The Mask 13- Battles 14- Siren Charms
Pretty much my list, except Playground Fading deserves A tier. Easily the best "late-career" In Flames album. Pretty great riffs, decent songwriting, and the last album where Anders' cleans didn't annoy the hell out of me. I haven't gotten to listen to Foregone yet, but based on your ranking, I'll probably enjoy the hell out of it. Edit: First impressions of Foregone are GREAT. The only song I didn't like is Pure Light of Mind, which is shmutzy as hell. Everything else was good to great. The album is a good mixture of old In Flames riffs with new In Flames clean choruses, without too much of the cringy elements of the latter. B tier currently, but fringe A tier for me. If the album proves to be one I go back to a few times, A tier.I understand why some people were still disappointed, but my expectations were exceeded in just about every way. Probably a product of my super-low expectations and my musical tastes being compatible with the album.
While as a whole I don't enjoy Playground as much, Liberation is one of my favourite songs they've done. I cry every time I hear it, it's a beautiful song.
Loving the new album. It’s almost if some of the songs were already written and some are a new style with the new guitar player. Dude shreds! I think, “In the Dark,” is the best of the non singles/Ep songs.
Mine is going to be the most let's say. Interesting ranking. S: Colony, Clayman, Come Clarity, Sounds of a Playground Fading A: Whoracle, Reroute to Remain, Soundtrack to Your Escape, Forgone B: The Jester Race, I the Mask C: A Sense of Purpose, Siren Charms D: Lunar Strain, Battles
Solid ranking overall, but Clayman would be S tier for me, it's my favourite In Flames album. Listened to Foregone and I agree with its placement, it's pretty nice
My personal ranking: 1. Clayman 2. Whoracle 3. The Jester Race 4. Colony 5. Foregone 6. Come Clarity 7. A Sense of Purpose 8. I, The Mask 9. Battles 10. Sounds of a Playground Fading 11. Soundtrack to Your Escape 12. Reroute to Remain 13. Siren Charms 14. Lunar Strain
Incredibly excited for Foregone, and even if the deeper cuts of the record are not good enough, the 5 singles alone destroys everything they have done since 2011 (even though i kinda like SOAPF and I, The Mask). Rankings: S - Colony, Clayman, The Jester Race, Whoracle, Reroute to Remain. A - Lunar Strain, Soundtrack to your Escape, Come Clarity. B - A Sense of Purpose. C - Sounds of a Playground Fading/I, the Mask. D - Siren Charms, Battles. Honorable mention (between S and A): Subterranean. Dishonorable mention (below D): Clayman 2020.
i do go through alot of phases with the massive library on my computer but im always in the mood to listen to sounds of a playground fading, not the whole album from start to finish but i wont skip a song when it comes on. same thing goes with holographic universe from scar symmetry.
Lunar Strain is great, but I agree, not really In Flames to me or most. I don't know that it's just trying to sound cool, however, I think they were really going for that death metal/Iron Maiden laden leads sound they claimed they were. It comes through on the recording that way, it's aggressive, fast and pretty entertaining outside of mediocre production.
This is my personal In Flame album's rating: - S - 2023 - Foregone - A - 1996 - The Jester Race - A - 1999 - Colony - A - 2000 - Clayman - A - 2002 - Reroute to Remain - A - 2014 - Siren Charms - B - 1994 - Lunar Strain - B - 1997 - Whoracle - B - 2008 - A Sense of Purpose - B - 2011 - Sounds of a Playground Fading - B - 2016 - Battles - B - 2019 - I, the Mask - C - 2014 - Soundtrack to Your Escape - D - 2006 - Come Clarity
Hi, huge IF fan here. I agree with your tier list, except for Clayman and the reason is simple: the first IF songs i've heard were Bullet Ride, Pinball Map, Only for the Weak and Clayman. My heart rank this album as a S tier, the reason as a low A, because the album is not consistant, there are some huuuuge bangers and some more filler songs. And just like you, I was disappointed of A Sense of purpose back then, I've tried to love this album, but no something is wrong and even today I can't tell why?! Playground was different but fun and after this album I dropped my favourite until a week ago :D Foregone is good but it's a pity the whole album is not like the singles, but it's a nice come back! To me, the jester race era to come clarity is f perfect! Cheers
Prefer their heavier albums however having said that Sounds of a Playground is my fave. Also after listening to Battles I haven’t even bothered to sin their latest two albums. Battles ruined them for me.
A tough list to make aside from the bottom 2. Those are obvious. A Sense of Purpose was my first exposure to In Flames, and I absolutely love the album. 1. The Jester Race 2. A Sense of Purpose 3. Come Clarity 4. Clayman 5. Colony 6. Foregone 7. Reroute to Remain 8. Whoracle 9. Soundtrack to Your Escape 10. Sounds of a Playground Fading 11. Lunar Strain 12. I, the Mask 13. Battles 14. Siren Charms
And delights and angers. The groovy, nasty, face curdling riff writing on the album is unmatched in their entire discography. And I think it was peak Anders vocally
Usually I'm the number one defender of Anders' clean vocals. But this time neither the way they sound nor the way they layered feels right and satisfying. Even the chosen vocal melodies themself sometimes almost kill the vibe of the song ("State of Slow Decay" for example). So I go with "Foregone pt.1" and "The Great Deceiver" as the best on the album as they don't have those "clean singing" plagues at all.
Rewatching this and I love how you quietly snuck A Sense of Purpose and Forgone above Clayman. So then the question is, do you like those two better than Clayman? Ofc I'm not an elitist, it's just a fun question that popped into my head and I'm curious lol
Good list, very similar to how I would rank them. My only big change would be to have Clayman at the top of A and Lunar Strain in B tier. I haven’t heard the new one yet though, other than the singles.
Great video man. Pretty much agree completely. U did a good job. Tell u tho man, I love the chosen pessimist though hahaha. I have a real soft spot for some of their softer/more unique tracks. Also love stay with me. It’s hard to even compare The Jester Race with Siren Charms. They are completely different and weren’t mean to really be similar ya know? I love all of In Flames but really couldn’t agree with this list more.
I've been following In Flames for two decades, but sometimes I really feel like an outlier when I say... I don't like Whoracle, and never really "got" it, no offense to anyone! The older I get, the more I kind of fall out of love with anything pre-Reroute, too.
What's with the weird In Flames hate? Sure, Siren Charms is not great when compared to their earlier stuff, but people really sleep on the song, 'Siren Charms'. Disagree with the 'Stay with Me' and 'A Dialog in B Flat Minor' comments. 'Stay with Me' hits in the feels in a good way, and 'A Dialog' is a banger. I would have given the Foregone album a low A at best. It does make me excited for what they do next and is the album that made me pick up my guitar again after a long drought of unmotivation. But that's just me.
S: Clayman, Colony, The Jester Race, Whoracle A: Come Clarity, Reroute to Remain, Soundtrack to Your Escape B: A Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading C: I The Mask, Foregone, Lunar Strain D: Battles, Siren Charms
Good ranking, I tend to concur on almost everything, except Lunar Strain, which I'd rank at A-tier. Not quite as good as their "classic" era of Whoracle to Colony, but damn solid regardless. I love the more primordial, folky sound. Clayman is almost as good as the classic albums, but you can kind of see small signs of what's to come... I love the album, but I can't help but notice that. Reroute to Remain I also like a lot, but it's got more decline elements. Soundtrack a bit more than that. Come Clarity is actually a bit of a comeback, and A Sense of Purpose is the edge of the cliff... it's still listenable, but the decline is significant here. Then they jump off the cliff - nothing after ASOP is listenable until they came up with Foregone, which for the first time in 15 years show In Flames actually having a goddamn pulse. It's not perfect, but it's a solid step in the right direction.
I agree except I'd put Clayman in S tier Or even still I'd push all these album down 1 tier from where you put them and make Clayman the only S tier album... along side Days of the Lost
Totally agree with you on Colony Dude, the very pinnacle of their sound. Also gotta agree on Clayman, just never hit with me the way it did with the majority, plus it left me wary about their future...
S : The Jester Race, Whoracle (Those 2 are 100% in my top 5 favourite metal albums. Pure perfection) A+ : Colony, Clayman (Different sound approach than the ones above, but it definitely works aswell. Amazing albums) A-: A Sense Of Purpose (it's getting alot of shit, but I actually really liked it. Sounds more like a side project, since it doesn't have that In Flames sound. The only track that bothers me is The Chosen Pessimist... it's dragging on forever. Overall great album) B+: Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity (Solid albums. Had some very good and some ok songs) B: Soundtrack To Your Escape, Foregone (Good albums. I actually thought that the newest one would land as the best B+ album, but after listening to it for a while it's gonna stay at B. Overwhelming amount of unnecessary clean vocals are dragging it down) C: Sounds Of A Playground Fading (It's ok. I liked like 3 songs on it. The rest are a skip) D: I, The Mask (meh. Was disappointed by it. I liked only 2 songs on it) F: Siren Charms, Battles (not a single song, that I liked on those 2 albums) i won't rate Lunar Strain, cause it was pre-Anders era, so I can't give a fair judgement on it.
I also like Reroute and Colony quite a bit more than Clayman. From what I know almost everything Clayman did was done better on Whoracle, Colony, and Reroute imo. Take this with a pinch of salt since I haven't revisited it. But there's probably a reason I didn't fall in love with any songs on there like I did with everything else from Jester Race to Reroute. Only For the Weak is still interestingly catchy and the kind of thing I would only ever hear In Flames do, but the lyrics are awkwardly worded and the clean singing is not good😭
I would give Sound of a playground a "B" cause it was an experimental album but some really succesfull songs. Also I like Come Clarity as an "S" cause its a very very emblstic album for the fanbase as whole, not just the people that likes their 90's stuff. And almost every song its very good and unique. That was the first album of them i heard. Really good list. Just that Foregone it ill be an A for me.
I understand that I have some unpopular opinions on the In Flames discography. I'd have to say my top 5 from them are: 5. Reroute to Remain 4. Whoracle 3. Colony 2. Sounds of a Playground Fading 1. Soundtrack to Your Escape Honestly, the new album for me is their best album in a decade, and may be one of their best overall. Not quite a top 5 from them though, but I don't think we can expect them to hit those levels at this point
I mostly agree with your rankings. I would move Whoracle to the top spot followed by STYE then Jester Race and Colony would be at the top of A tier with the rest in tact. Jester Race was my intro to IF and there's a lot of nostalgia there for me, but when I heard Whoracle, it just blew me away. I remember clearly when ASOP came out and feeling the same sense of disappointment. I was traveling a lot when ASOP dropped and I had a ton of time to just listen to it in the car...but I could never really connect with it at the time though I have grown to appreciate it more over the years. The new album is very refreshing. I think high B tier is probably a good place for it now and see how it ages. I hear a lot of my favorite eras of IF in the album and what I really liked from those eras but the deeper cuts you mentioned are pretty meh. After a few listen throughs it's like half the album is really strong and half of the album will probably fade into obscurity for me.
Clayman is my favorite album of all time (Tied with Demigod by Behemoth) and i think its because it was the first album with screaming i ever heard and it opened the Gates for me finding Death, black and grind. I think its just a perfect album from start to finish. I may be a slight fanboy though.
Lunar Strain was just the reference to Ceremonial Oath: The Book of Truth (More experimental). The reason why Lunar Strain sounds so different compared to the Jester Race. Jesper Stromblad Ceremonial Oath: Book of Truth 1993 In Flames: Lunar Strain 1994
I enjoyed the new album quite a bit, though I didn't like the last few songs, starting from In The Dark. Would be somewhere in the low B to C for me. Favorites from In Flames are Jester Race, Colony and Lunar Strain
Haven’t given the new album a spin yet, but the singles were promising. Haven’t been excited about In Flames since the mid 2000s. Started with Clayman, so that album is very nostalgic to me.
Not that anyone should care, but this is how I would rank them as someone who has been listening to IF for over 20 years. S- Colony, Jester Race A- Clayman, Whoracle B- Reroute to Remain C- Come Clarity, Soundtrack, Lunar Strain, Foregone D- Battles, Siren Charms F- Mask, Sense of Purpose, Playground
Kinda had a challenge loving Foregone in the beginning, the songs were great but the album didn’t feel like it flowed too well. I changed the order that I listen to it so that the order is 1. The Beginning of All Things 2. The Great Deceiver 3. Bleeding Out 4. Dialogue in B Flat Minor 5. Foregone Pt 1 6. End The Transmission 7. In The Dark 8. Foregone Pt 2 9. Cynosure 10. Pure Light of Mind 11. Meet Your Maker 12. State of Slow Decay This order seems to make the album flow much better.
As a In Flames that likes the modern style and older style of In Flames I think Forgone is a masterpiece and one of their best albums, probably right now my favorite because I want to buy the vinyl same day it released and decided it after 2 listens on spotify, so right now it's my favorite. No bad songs In my opinion and powerful all through. Wasn't prepared for an such a slap In the face when I listened to it. Had hard to not try to headbang In school. I respect your ranking but I disagree to much and probably the majority. But still intressting and cool ranking.
Hey, dunno if you've heard this band before, but I am in love with Alter Bridge. They were definitely post-grunge for their first 3 albums, but now they've morphed into a borderline alt-metal band tinged with prog. I would love it if you gave Fortress and The Last Hero a spin, and they just released Pawns and Kings last October. If you don't like them then I suggest listening to Tremonti's solo work, so many good speed and thrash metal tracks.
@@MetalTrenches Gotcha. Yeah they're definitely not everybody's thing. I will say they have a few fairly heavy songs, but if Tremonti's solo work doesn't do anything for you, I don't see you really digging them either. However if there's parts of their discography you haven't heard, I would suggest this song playlist for Tremonti: (Once Dead, Arm Yourself, Wish You Well, Make It Hurt, My Last Mistake, The Day When Legions Burned, Bringer of War, and Tie The Noose) if you're feeling it then try A World Away, Let That Be Us, Now and Forever and In One Piece from his last album Marching In Time. This is by far his heaviest work. I left out some of their flagship songs cuz they're a little more paint by numbers.
@@MetalTrenches there's the grim chance that you may like a sliver of Alter Bridge's songs, but they would be few. I'd sum them up to these few: Indoctrination, Fable of the Silent Son, This Side of Fate, Island of Fools, The Last Hero, Last of Our Kind, Crows On A Wire, Bleed It Dry, The Uninvited, Peace Is Broken and Cry of Achilles.
@@alucard3317 I like WTS and ODR. I won't lie post grunge is a guilty pleasure for me, but I know that is hated by critics and is pretty simplistic. Also I have grown to like heavier songs more, so stuff like Meshuggah, In Flames and Vektor has been my niche lately.
I like everything from Jester to sounds of a playground fading, bit Clayman is probably my favorite, even it is slightly bloated. Just the banger level of the best songs are off the chart
I hate the truth was my first exposure to them many years ago however I'm glad I made myself check the entire discography out. God colony imo is probably the best in the discography
i feel sorry for you that it was your 1st exposure to them,Colony & all their older albums are so much better,the hidden gem ep is Subterranean is something to check out if you haven't already
I loved Ander's vocals in Come Clarity. I think it has his best sounding screams, I don't know what it is exactly about his screams in that album but they just sounded more agressive than ever and they have never sounded so good again.
In Flames was the gateway band for me into metal I actually started with their newer stuff and listened to the discography backwards its all so good. I really like Foregone. Colony and Clayman make great gaming music
You're gonna upset a lot of babies with that Clayman ranking lol. I'm shocked it's so low but it's whatever you like. Good to see so many B tier or higher.
Lunar Strain and Subterranean are their peaks imo, I don't say that as a hater or contrarian, I like In Flames up until A Sense of Purpose, but those 2 releases really just scratch a very particular itch that appeals to me and a lot of other death metal fans. That early Gothenburg blackened melodeath sound with all the folksy passages and proggier structures. Skydancer, Once Sent From The Golden Hall and The Red In The Sky Is Ours also come to mind. It's just a very unique sound that's only rarely been replicated by a handful of bands like Mi'gauss and more recently Dungeon Serpent. The Jester Race and Colony by comparison, well I love them but they've been ripped off to hell lol Also like you said, Mikael is just the better vocalist than Anders
MORE Melodic Death Metal Rankings: th-cam.com/play/PLGt4fzX5jyuco8t7MdgU_rBfP0u4jfMWC.html
Moonshield still brings me to tears. Jester Race ftw!
I adore In Flames so much, even through their rougher periods, there's just something stable and comforting about them, like they're the home-cooked meal among a collection of takeout in my metal collection. Always there, maybe not always cooked perfectly, but you always want to come back to it. Sorry if that got wierd.
That is a really good explenation of why I like In Flames. Sometimes the good things don't need to be complicated.
Spot on comment
I feel the same way
Come Clarity may not be a perfect album but its a masterclass in catchy and memorable songwriting. I still love it after all these years
It was the first album where me and my friends (long time IF fans) raised some eyebrows then lost interest. The title track remains a generic corny power ballad, while some of the songs on the album are still great nontheless, like half of them. They said in an interview they "took out the complexity of the songs for the songs' sake". That was the last time we went to see them live (with Slayer and Lamb of God, Unholy Alliance Tour). Come Clarity was definitely the "let's grab a beer" song of the set. It was clear they just wanted to appeal to a different audience and the songwriting suffered for it and they didn't exactly play to their strengths at that point. It was the "going downhill from here" album to many old school fans. Can't blame them. Forgone is roughly at that CC level for me, maybe a bit better even. So I still gave the new album a chance even though I know they probably will never abandon the "catchy clean chorus in EVERY song" formula, (let's not kid ourselves) but i'm still glad I did. The complete purists will not find much joy with at least half of either CC or Forgone though.
Come Clarity was the album which served as my gateway to harsh vocals and pretty much my music taste all these years later.
Finally, 'Come Clarity' getting some love.
Well deserved
Based Come Clarity enjoyer
Me and some good friends went and seen this album with chaimira unearth in Frisco bad ass
THIS
I love that album 🤷♂️
when it comes to this band's discography, the new album is basically the equivalent to getting a glass of water in the middle of the night when you're really dehydrated
😂
lukewarm bathroom sink water
@@anony-moonbut water none the less
S tier: The Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony
A tier: Clayman, Come Clarity
B tier: Lunar Strain, Reroute to Remain, Foregone
C tier: Soundtrack to Your Escape, A Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading
D tier: I, the Mask, Battles, Sirens Charm
You know what, that's fair.
This is a perfect take
My ranking:
S - Clayman, Colony, TJR, Whoracle
A - Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity
B - Soundtrack, A Sense of Purpose
C - Lunar Strain, Sounds OAPF, ITM
D - Siren Charms, Battles
We will see where Foregone sits... I believe it will come in at A for me.
Clayman is my favourite metal album of all time (Suburban Me being my favourite song on it). Colony has some of the catchiest riffs ever and is just charged with energy and life. Both are absolute perfection imo... Clayman the definite winner though.
Side note: DT did get the better deal with Mikael, no contest. Also, when you mentioned hearing the synths of Cloud Connected... it made me think of the first time I heard Dark Tranquillity, with Not Built To Last, just before Haven came out. I came across a pre-release MP3 of it (thanks Napster!). My brain absolutely melted from what I was hearing!! I very much understand the feeling!
Oh man. Goosebumps just thinking about that song
Very solid ranking. I'd put Lunar higher up but that's it.
This list makes sense unlike video! Gj man
Good choice...Suburban me amazing
Suburban is beautiful but the best song imo is swim. So melodic and it’s the most pleasing to me btw nice ranking
S: The Jester Race; Clayman
A: Lunar Strain; Whoracle; Colony
B: Reroute to Remain; Come Clarity
C: Soundtrack to Your Escape; A Sense of Purpose; Forgone
D: Sounds of a Playground Fading; I, The Mask
F: Siren Charms; Battles
1. Clayman
2. Come Clarity
3. The Jester Race
4. Colony
5. Whoracle
6. A Sense of Purpose
7. Reroute to Remain
8. Foregone
9. Soundtrack to Your Escape
10. Lunar Strain
11. I, The Mask
12. Sounds of a Playground Fading
13. Siren Charms
14. Battles
2-3 and 9-10 can go either way depending on the day, I feel a bit bad for putting RtR and Foregone that low but I truly do love them despite their placements, amazing albums. (May switch depending on how Foregone sits over time though.)
And for your point on why I love Clayman, songwriting wise just fits in really well, I love the cohesion and the songs have some of the best tone/production of any metal album I've ever heard. I do have a personal connection as I do find a good amount of the lyrics relatable, not to mention it has just the perfect balance of heavy and melodic I've ever heard personally.
Clayman is my fav album. Only for the Weak and the title track can be on repeat ALL DAY and I'd be golden. Also: Foregone is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I actually agree with almost everything you said about the album but I think it deserves a tier higher in your ranking. The album sounds fresh at the end of the day if it's my 8th listen on repeat. Can't get enough, SUPER clean production on it.
honestly even though the new singles were already really promising im still surprised how good forgone actually turned out to be. its a good fusion of the oldschool with what they have done over the last 10 years.
as someone who has been a hardcore in flames fan since 2008, this makes me really happy.
The Jester Race and Colony is like mum and dad, impossible to choose. These albums have something different, great riffs and accoustics. Wayfarer is my favourite In Flames songs as well as self titled Colony.
agree... but whoracle is my wife so...
I'm happy The Jester Race grew on you. And you're absolutely right about it being a whole album experience!
Clayman and I, Mask are probably my favourites with Colony so close behind them, they have a such a big discography now. Foregone has been good so far I like In The Dark
I'd love to see a video of you talking about albums you didn't like at the beginning but latter on, enjoyed it and appreciated it a lot more
That would be a good one too
The Jester Race, Whoacle and Colony are In Flames best albums. Easily
Yup, and Lunar Strain and Clayman are close too.
My personal favorite gotta be Clayman
Facts!
Fuck yeah, the good albums before they became a hot topic myspace band
Yeah… They lost me after Colony
I started getting into In Flames around the time Reroute to Remain came out thanks to a show called Loud on Much Music (Canada's answer to MTV) showed the video for Trigger. I'll confess that I've liked a lot of select songs from In Flames, but I can't say I love a single album front to back from them. Colony and Whoracle were strong, I enjoyed a fair bit off of Clayman as well. However, Forgone was the first In Flames album I've actually purchased and I'm happy I did, as for the most part it was an enjoyable listen, but Bleeding Out, A Dialogue in B Flat Minor and End the Transmission dragging the album down for me.
For the Jester Race fans out there (I'm one!), check out the album Vast Reaches Unclaimed by Majesties. Just discovered them, and there's definitely some Jester Race sound present. Really fun album overall.
Also, I gotta give some love for Dialogue in B Flat Minor. Loved that song from Foregone
My initial thoughts about Foregone were about the same as yours, but over the last month and further relistens, I have completely changed my mind about it for the better! I actually find tracks like Bleeding Out and In the Dark to be incredibly good and catchy. Anders actually ended up being a highlight on this album for me and his growls are what keep me coming back to this record. I honestly think, in terms of his harsh vocal performances, this might be a career-best for him. His lows sound so nasty and aggressive. Even his cleans are tolerable (and even enjoyable!) on this record. Plus I think this is the best production job of any In Flames record period. It is thick and punchy and just adds so much umpf to their sound. Props to the producer, for sure. But seriously, this album has been the biggest grower of an album I've listened to in quite some time.
I too think this has the best production value and I also believe that some of their not so good albums would be a lot, lot better with different (better) production. Just my opinion.
Really good list, Colony is also my favourite. But holy shit, this new album is really good. Blew my expectations completely out of the water.
Colony is such a killer record, and Jester Race is awesome as well. Wasn't feeling the slower songs on Foregone, but I still can't get enough of Meet Your Maker. Perhaps In Flame's next record will be a complete return to form, which would be surreal.
I won’t lie, foregone is my first experience with in flames, it is easily one of my favorite albums ever
And funny pure light of mind is probably my song of the year lol but to each there own
Time to dive in
just listen to the albums up until 2000. forget the rest of em theyre just alternative bullshit
i would never listen to people that just wants to hate everything different to their musicals tastes
Id say Listen every album cause in flames has reinvented themselves so many times that people has problems when they try to define the band. I like all their periods
@@eduardoalvarez8442 Well listen once or twice at least, cause you'll never know what you end up liking, but catchy clean sung choruses in almost EVERY song is the common hated theme among the fans of old In Flames, there is no mystery or problem of definition about it IMO (When it works it works, but it's just often too samey). They ain't reinventing the wheel with it either. This album just has slightly better songwriting as a result of more intense riffs and short detours on some of the songs that compliment the often repeated formula. Just as this review said, it could have been easily a much better album if they just put in more exciting riffs and some heavy choruses on roughly a third of the album. I always skip the powerballad (i have nothing against good ballads!) and some of the songs in the second half are forgettable at best. Just my 2 cents.
You don't need to be told what to listen to. But, if you want advice, don't listen to negative TH-cam commenters, and spend more time listening to all their albums.
1. Whoracle
2. Lunar Strain
3. The Jester Race
4. Come Clarity
5. Reroute To Remain
6. Colony
7. Clayman
8. Foregone
9. Sounds Of A Playground Fading
10. Siren Charms
11. Battles
12. I, The Mask
13. A Sense Of Purpose
14. Soundtrack To Your Escape
I love lunar strain
@@gzplog2967 Me 2😎🤘
Really liking Foregone, I'd have it in A tier, other than that I agree with your rankings.
14. Reroute to Remain
13. Siren Charms
12. Soundtrack to your Escape
11. Sense of Purpose
10. Battles
9. Sounds of a Playground Fading
8. Come Clarity
7. I, The Mask
6. Foregone
5. Clayman
4. Lunar Strain
3. Colony
2. Whoracle
1. The Jester Races
Pure Light Of Mind is a really good song on a really good album and I haven't liked In Flames since Colony. I think this is a strong album that has good variety and doesn't get boring. I had zero expectations so maybe that's why I like it, good effort guys..
The Jester Race through Colony is just a fantastic run. Not that the next 4 albums aren’t top notch stuff too. Clayman is the Spiritual Healing of In Flames discography as something of a transitional album, but the first 3 songs are about as strong an opening salvo as they have. Your reassessment of Jester Race and Whoracle is welcome, and you nailed this reassessment.
S - Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony, Clayman
A - Foregone, Lunar Strain, ASOP, SOAPF
B - Come Clarity, Reroute
C - STYE
D - Siren , Battles, Mask
I thought that In Flames’ new album Foregone was surprisingly good and easily their best since Come Clarity. Here would be my ranking for In Flames:
S - The Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony
A - Lunar Strain, Clayman, Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity, Foregone
B - Soundtrack to Your Escape, A Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading
C - I the Mask
D - Siren Charms, Battles
In Flames are my favourite band of all time and I found your ranking to be nearly 1:1 with my own. I agree with Battles. It's an album that was made when In Flames were touring with Five Finger Death Punch and Avenged Sevenfold. A softer metal release for a new audience that wasn't really for someone like me.
Having seen them live twice in the past 12 months, highly recommended by the way, they play so much old material from those first four albums and Anders absolutely slays vocally.
I personally really love Foregone but the production is the only thing I am struggling to get over. Anders has a decent cleans voice. I really don't know why Howard Benson had to drown him in all that autotune and pitch correction. I'm hoping that the follow up record scales back on these moments and leans more into the aggressive riffs and harsh vocals. When you hear them live now it's like you've been transported back to 2004, it's a great experience. I've seen them 8 times in 10 years and now it's definitely the time to check them out.
we are, we are, we are, we are the truth that hurts the most
I think Clayman is my favorite album just because it was my first In Flames album that I listened to all though Jr. High/highschool so it's just got a special place in my heart.
Clayman in B-tier.
That's a different take.
I like it.
My ranking goes as follows:
1- Jester Race
2- Whoracle
3- Colony
4- Clayman
5- Come Clarity
6- Reroute To Remain
7- Lunar Strain
8- Foregone
9- Soundtrack To Your Escape
10- A Sense Of Purpose
11- Sounds Of A Playground Fading
12- I, The Mask
13- Battles
14- Siren Charms
Pretty much my list, except Playground Fading deserves A tier. Easily the best "late-career" In Flames album. Pretty great riffs, decent songwriting, and the last album where Anders' cleans didn't annoy the hell out of me.
I haven't gotten to listen to Foregone yet, but based on your ranking, I'll probably enjoy the hell out of it.
Edit: First impressions of Foregone are GREAT. The only song I didn't like is Pure Light of Mind, which is shmutzy as hell. Everything else was good to great. The album is a good mixture of old In Flames riffs with new In Flames clean choruses, without too much of the cringy elements of the latter. B tier currently, but fringe A tier for me. If the album proves to be one I go back to a few times, A tier.I understand why some people were still disappointed, but my expectations were exceeded in just about every way. Probably a product of my super-low expectations and my musical tastes being compatible with the album.
While as a whole I don't enjoy Playground as much, Liberation is one of my favourite songs they've done. I cry every time I hear it, it's a beautiful song.
@@dmphax Totally fair. It's been awhile since I've listened to the album as a whole, but All for Me is one of my favorite In Flames songs ever.
@@richardsinclair7661 now that's as unusual as someone sayin his best song would be bottled or everything counts
Loving the new album. It’s almost if some of the songs were already written and some are a new style with the new guitar player. Dude shreds! I think, “In the Dark,” is the best of the non singles/Ep songs.
Mine is going to be the most let's say. Interesting ranking.
S: Colony, Clayman, Come Clarity, Sounds of a Playground Fading
A: Whoracle, Reroute to Remain, Soundtrack to Your Escape, Forgone
B: The Jester Race, I the Mask
C: A Sense of Purpose, Siren Charms
D: Lunar Strain, Battles
Not bad really
Lmao having Whoracle and Jester lower than the shitstain albums from the 2010s... to each their own I guess
Solid ranking overall, but Clayman would be S tier for me, it's my favourite In Flames album. Listened to Foregone and I agree with its placement, it's pretty nice
My personal ranking:
1. Clayman
2. Whoracle
3. The Jester Race
4. Colony
5. Foregone
6. Come Clarity
7. A Sense of Purpose
8. I, The Mask
9. Battles
10. Sounds of a Playground Fading
11. Soundtrack to Your Escape
12. Reroute to Remain
13. Siren Charms
14. Lunar Strain
Incredibly excited for Foregone, and even if the deeper cuts of the record are not good enough, the 5 singles alone destroys everything they have done since 2011 (even though i kinda like SOAPF and I, The Mask).
Rankings:
S - Colony, Clayman, The Jester Race, Whoracle, Reroute to Remain.
A - Lunar Strain, Soundtrack to your Escape, Come Clarity.
B - A Sense of Purpose.
C - Sounds of a Playground Fading/I, the Mask.
D - Siren Charms, Battles.
Honorable mention (between S and A): Subterranean.
Dishonorable mention (below D): Clayman 2020.
Awh man a sense of purpose is probably my favorite in flames album. Disconnected is such a good song
i do go through alot of phases with the massive library on my computer but im always in the mood to listen to sounds of a playground fading, not the whole album from start to finish but i wont skip a song when it comes on. same thing goes with holographic universe from scar symmetry.
Lunar Strain is great, but I agree, not really In Flames to me or most. I don't know that it's just trying to sound cool, however, I think they were really going for that death metal/Iron Maiden laden leads sound they claimed they were. It comes through on the recording that way, it's aggressive, fast and pretty entertaining outside of mediocre production.
Swim on clay man is good too
This is my personal In Flame album's rating:
- S - 2023 - Foregone
- A - 1996 - The Jester Race
- A - 1999 - Colony
- A - 2000 - Clayman
- A - 2002 - Reroute to Remain
- A - 2014 - Siren Charms
- B - 1994 - Lunar Strain
- B - 1997 - Whoracle
- B - 2008 - A Sense of Purpose
- B - 2011 - Sounds of a Playground Fading
- B - 2016 - Battles
- B - 2019 - I, the Mask
- C - 2014 - Soundtrack to Your Escape
- D - 2006 - Come Clarity
New album really isn't THAT good 😂
Hi, huge IF fan here. I agree with your tier list, except for Clayman and the reason is simple: the first IF songs i've heard were Bullet Ride, Pinball Map, Only for the Weak and Clayman. My heart rank this album as a S tier, the reason as a low A, because the album is not consistant, there are some huuuuge bangers and some more filler songs. And just like you, I was disappointed of A Sense of purpose back then, I've tried to love this album, but no something is wrong and even today I can't tell why?! Playground was different but fun and after this album I dropped my favourite until a week ago :D Foregone is good but it's a pity the whole album is not like the singles, but it's a nice come back! To me, the jester race era to come clarity is f perfect! Cheers
Prefer their heavier albums however having said that Sounds of a Playground is my fave. Also after listening to Battles I haven’t even bothered to sin their latest two albums. Battles ruined them for me.
Fortunately they have not put out anything quite as bad since Battles
A tough list to make aside from the bottom 2. Those are obvious. A Sense of Purpose was my first exposure to In Flames, and I absolutely love the album.
1. The Jester Race
2. A Sense of Purpose
3. Come Clarity
4. Clayman
5. Colony
6. Foregone
7. Reroute to Remain
8. Whoracle
9. Soundtrack to Your Escape
10. Sounds of a Playground Fading
11. Lunar Strain
12. I, the Mask
13. Battles
14. Siren Charms
ASOP is such a damn good album. Disconnected is such a good song
And delights and angers. The groovy, nasty, face curdling riff writing on the album is unmatched in their entire discography. And I think it was peak Anders vocally
Usually I'm the number one defender of Anders' clean vocals. But this time neither the way they sound nor the way they layered feels right and satisfying. Even the chosen vocal melodies themself sometimes almost kill the vibe of the song ("State of Slow Decay" for example). So I go with "Foregone pt.1" and "The Great Deceiver" as the best on the album as they don't have those "clean singing" plagues at all.
Rewatching this and I love how you quietly snuck A Sense of Purpose and Forgone above Clayman.
So then the question is, do you like those two better than Clayman? Ofc I'm not an elitist, it's just a fun question that popped into my head and I'm curious lol
Good list, very similar to how I would rank them. My only big change would be to have Clayman at the top of A and Lunar Strain in B tier. I haven’t heard the new one yet though, other than the singles.
Great video man. Pretty much agree completely. U did a good job. Tell u tho man, I love the chosen pessimist though hahaha. I have a real soft spot for some of their softer/more unique tracks. Also love stay with me. It’s hard to even compare The Jester Race with Siren Charms. They are completely different and weren’t mean to really be similar ya know? I love all of In Flames but really couldn’t agree with this list more.
I've been following In Flames for two decades, but sometimes I really feel like an outlier when I say... I don't like Whoracle, and never really "got" it, no offense to anyone! The older I get, the more I kind of fall out of love with anything pre-Reroute, too.
What's with the weird In Flames hate? Sure, Siren Charms is not great when compared to their earlier stuff, but people really sleep on the song, 'Siren Charms'. Disagree with the 'Stay with Me' and 'A Dialog in B Flat Minor' comments. 'Stay with Me' hits in the feels in a good way, and 'A Dialog' is a banger. I would have given the Foregone album a low A at best. It does make me excited for what they do next and is the album that made me pick up my guitar again after a long drought of unmotivation. But that's just me.
Hello just wanted to pop in and say that I enjoyed watching and listening to your thoughts about each of these albums in this video
🤘🏻
S: Clayman, Colony, The Jester Race, Whoracle
A: Come Clarity, Reroute to Remain, Soundtrack to Your Escape
B: A Sense of Purpose, Sounds of a Playground Fading
C: I The Mask, Foregone, Lunar Strain
D: Battles, Siren Charms
Come clarity is their best album. This new album is pretty solid start to finish been enjoying it
Good ranking, I tend to concur on almost everything, except Lunar Strain, which I'd rank at A-tier. Not quite as good as their "classic" era of Whoracle to Colony, but damn solid regardless. I love the more primordial, folky sound. Clayman is almost as good as the classic albums, but you can kind of see small signs of what's to come... I love the album, but I can't help but notice that. Reroute to Remain I also like a lot, but it's got more decline elements. Soundtrack a bit more than that. Come Clarity is actually a bit of a comeback, and A Sense of Purpose is the edge of the cliff... it's still listenable, but the decline is significant here. Then they jump off the cliff - nothing after ASOP is listenable until they came up with Foregone, which for the first time in 15 years show In Flames actually having a goddamn pulse. It's not perfect, but it's a solid step in the right direction.
I agree except I'd put Clayman in S tier
Or even still I'd push all these album down 1 tier from where you put them and make Clayman the only S tier album... along side Days of the Lost
Good list.
Im really excited for their 15th album with this current line up.
Totally agree with you on Colony Dude, the very pinnacle of their sound. Also gotta agree on Clayman, just never hit with me the way it did with the majority, plus it left me wary about their future...
S : The Jester Race, Whoracle (Those 2 are 100% in my top 5 favourite metal albums. Pure perfection)
A+ : Colony, Clayman (Different sound approach than the ones above, but it definitely works aswell. Amazing albums)
A-: A Sense Of Purpose (it's getting alot of shit, but I actually really liked it. Sounds more like a side project, since it doesn't have that In Flames sound. The only track that bothers me is The Chosen Pessimist... it's dragging on forever. Overall great album)
B+: Reroute to Remain, Come Clarity (Solid albums. Had some very good and some ok songs)
B: Soundtrack To Your Escape, Foregone (Good albums. I actually thought that the newest one would land as the best B+ album, but after listening to it for a while it's gonna stay at B. Overwhelming amount of unnecessary clean vocals are dragging it down)
C: Sounds Of A Playground Fading (It's ok. I liked like 3 songs on it. The rest are a skip)
D: I, The Mask (meh. Was disappointed by it. I liked only 2 songs on it)
F: Siren Charms, Battles (not a single song, that I liked on those 2 albums)
i won't rate Lunar Strain, cause it was pre-Anders era, so I can't give a fair judgement on it.
Forgone is up there for me
I also like Reroute and Colony quite a bit more than Clayman. From what I know almost everything Clayman did was done better on Whoracle, Colony, and Reroute imo. Take this with a pinch of salt since I haven't revisited it. But there's probably a reason I didn't fall in love with any songs on there like I did with everything else from Jester Race to Reroute. Only For the Weak is still interestingly catchy and the kind of thing I would only ever hear In Flames do, but the lyrics are awkwardly worded and the clean singing is not good😭
I would give Sound of a playground a "B" cause it was an experimental album but some really succesfull songs.
Also I like Come Clarity as an "S" cause its a very very emblstic album for the fanbase as whole, not just the people that likes their 90's stuff. And almost every song its very good and unique. That was the first album of them i heard.
Really good list. Just that Foregone it ill be an A for me.
I understand that I have some unpopular opinions on the In Flames discography. I'd have to say my top 5 from them are:
5. Reroute to Remain
4. Whoracle
3. Colony
2. Sounds of a Playground Fading
1. Soundtrack to Your Escape
Honestly, the new album for me is their best album in a decade, and may be one of their best overall. Not quite a top 5 from them though, but I don't think we can expect them to hit those levels at this point
I mostly agree with your rankings. I would move Whoracle to the top spot followed by STYE then Jester Race and Colony would be at the top of A tier with the rest in tact. Jester Race was my intro to IF and there's a lot of nostalgia there for me, but when I heard Whoracle, it just blew me away. I remember clearly when ASOP came out and feeling the same sense of disappointment. I was traveling a lot when ASOP dropped and I had a ton of time to just listen to it in the car...but I could never really connect with it at the time though I have grown to appreciate it more over the years.
The new album is very refreshing. I think high B tier is probably a good place for it now and see how it ages. I hear a lot of my favorite eras of IF in the album and what I really liked from those eras but the deeper cuts you mentioned are pretty meh. After a few listen throughs it's like half the album is really strong and half of the album will probably fade into obscurity for me.
Jester Race and Whoracle my favorites. Colony is right up their. Clayman is neat, Swim and Suburban Me are my favorites
I’m sorry but forgone is fuckjng amazing
Clayman is my favorite album of all time (Tied with Demigod by Behemoth) and i think its because it was the first album with screaming i ever heard and it opened the Gates for me finding Death, black and grind. I think its just a perfect album from start to finish. I may be a slight fanboy though.
I suprisingly pretty much agree with that ranking, save for a couple of swaps
Lunar Strain was just the reference to Ceremonial Oath: The Book of Truth (More experimental). The reason why Lunar Strain sounds so different compared to the Jester Race.
Jesper Stromblad
Ceremonial Oath: Book of Truth 1993
In Flames: Lunar Strain 1994
I enjoyed the new album quite a bit, though I didn't like the last few songs, starting from In The Dark. Would be somewhere in the low B to C for me.
Favorites from In Flames are Jester Race, Colony and Lunar Strain
I've only got 3 In Flames albums (Jester Race, Clayman, Sounds Of A Playground Fading) and I think they're all solid lol
Maybe we should thank The Halo Effect for Forgone being a thing, feels like In Flames listened to them and got their act together
Haven’t given the new album a spin yet, but the singles were promising. Haven’t been excited about In Flames since the mid 2000s. Started with Clayman, so that album is very nostalgic to me.
Jester Race has never once left my top 10 albums of all time
Not that anyone should care, but this is how I would rank them as someone who has been listening to IF for over 20 years.
S- Colony, Jester Race
A- Clayman, Whoracle
B- Reroute to Remain
C- Come Clarity, Soundtrack, Lunar Strain, Foregone
D- Battles, Siren Charms
F- Mask, Sense of Purpose, Playground
Kinda had a challenge loving Foregone in the beginning, the songs were great but the album didn’t feel like it flowed too well. I changed the order that I listen to it so that the order is
1. The Beginning of All Things
2. The Great Deceiver
3. Bleeding Out
4. Dialogue in B Flat Minor
5. Foregone Pt 1
6. End The Transmission
7. In The Dark
8. Foregone Pt 2
9. Cynosure
10. Pure Light of Mind
11. Meet Your Maker
12. State of Slow Decay
This order seems to make the album flow much better.
As a In Flames that likes the modern style and older style of In Flames I think Forgone is a masterpiece and one of their best albums, probably right now my favorite because I want to buy the vinyl same day it released and decided it after 2 listens on spotify, so right now it's my favorite.
No bad songs In my opinion and powerful all through.
Wasn't prepared for an such a slap In the face when I listened to it.
Had hard to not try to headbang In school.
I respect your ranking but I disagree to much and probably the majority.
But still intressting and cool ranking.
Thanks. I’ll be interested if you still feel the same a few months from now, so keep in touch
@@MetalTrenches Yes will try to uppdate and maybe rank the albums
Since this comment my opinions and ranking have changed. Because it changes almost monthly. But yea I got new thoughts about all the albums.
1. Colony (9/10)
2. Whoracle (9/10)
3. The jester race (8/10)
4. Clayman (7.5/10)
5. Come clarity (7.5/10)
6. Reroute to remain (7/10)
7. Soundtrack to your escape (6/10)
8. Lunar strain (6/10)
9. Foregone (5.5/10)
10. A sense of purpose (5/10)
11. Sounds of a playground fading (4/10)
12. I, the mask (3/10)
13. Siren charms (2/10)
14. Battles (2/10)
Can i please have your take on the top 10 songs of all time for in flames from your perspective? Highly appreciated
You should rank all the Hypocrisy albums
Colony is food for the Gods!!!!
"Through My Eyes" is my favorite track post-Playground
Hey, dunno if you've heard this band before, but I am in love with Alter Bridge. They were definitely post-grunge for their first 3 albums, but now they've morphed into a borderline alt-metal band tinged with prog. I would love it if you gave Fortress and The Last Hero a spin, and they just released Pawns and Kings last October. If you don't like them then I suggest listening to Tremonti's solo work, so many good speed and thrash metal tracks.
Tremonti is a great guitar player but I never really got into their music
@@MetalTrenches Gotcha. Yeah they're definitely not everybody's thing. I will say they have a few fairly heavy songs, but if Tremonti's solo work doesn't do anything for you, I don't see you really digging them either. However if there's parts of their discography you haven't heard, I would suggest this song playlist for Tremonti: (Once Dead, Arm Yourself, Wish You Well, Make It Hurt, My Last Mistake, The Day When Legions Burned, Bringer of War, and Tie The Noose) if you're feeling it then try A World Away, Let That Be Us, Now and Forever and In One Piece from his last album Marching In Time. This is by far his heaviest work. I left out some of their flagship songs cuz they're a little more paint by numbers.
@@MetalTrenches there's the grim chance that you may like a sliver of Alter Bridge's songs, but they would be few. I'd sum them up to these few: Indoctrination, Fable of the Silent Son, This Side of Fate, Island of Fools, The Last Hero, Last of Our Kind, Crows On A Wire, Bleed It Dry, The Uninvited, Peace Is Broken and Cry of Achilles.
@@johnathanpratt944 what do you think about Walk The Sky? And I always loved One Dad Remains, however the vocals can be cheesy at times
@@alucard3317 I like WTS and ODR. I won't lie post grunge is a guilty pleasure for me, but I know that is hated by critics and is pretty simplistic. Also I have grown to like heavier songs more, so stuff like Meshuggah, In Flames and Vektor has been my niche lately.
Dude, unbelievable, you are the first person that is completely in my head regarding their discography. I feel VINDICATED!
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I like everything from Jester to sounds of a playground fading, bit Clayman is probably my favorite, even it is slightly bloated. Just the banger level of the best songs are off the chart
I hate the truth was my first exposure to them many years ago however I'm glad I made myself check the entire discography out. God colony imo is probably the best in the discography
i feel sorry for you that it was your 1st exposure to them,Colony & all their older albums are so much better,the hidden gem
ep is Subterranean is something to check out if you haven't already
I loved Ander's vocals in Come Clarity. I think it has his best sounding screams, I don't know what it is exactly about his screams in that album but they just sounded more agressive than ever and they have never sounded so good again.
In Flames was the gateway band for me into metal I actually started with their newer stuff and listened to the discography backwards its all so good. I really like Foregone. Colony and Clayman make great gaming music
You're gonna upset a lot of babies with that Clayman ranking lol. I'm shocked it's so low but it's whatever you like. Good to see so many B tier or higher.
So far people have been reasonable, but yeah I know that’s probably the most unpopular opinion on here
I would rank the albums almost the same. Reroute is my favorite and I would put Soundtrack in S tier as well.
1. Jester Race 2. Colony 3. Clayman 4. Lunar Strain 5. Whoracle 6-14....yep. I do like the Great Deceiver from the new album cause of no clean vocals.
The funny thing is that all that received a B are probably my favorite albums
I always loved Colony and Reroute to Remain for sure!! What a band!
Lunar Strain and Subterranean are their peaks imo, I don't say that as a hater or contrarian, I like In Flames up until A Sense of Purpose, but those 2 releases really just scratch a very particular itch that appeals to me and a lot of other death metal fans. That early Gothenburg blackened melodeath sound with all the folksy passages and proggier structures. Skydancer, Once Sent From The Golden Hall and The Red In The Sky Is Ours also come to mind. It's just a very unique sound that's only rarely been replicated by a handful of bands like Mi'gauss and more recently Dungeon Serpent. The Jester Race and Colony by comparison, well I love them but they've been ripped off to hell lol
Also like you said, Mikael is just the better vocalist than Anders
How you doin Ick? New thumbnail looks awesome
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jester race so insanely good
I would've never liked Wallflower until I heard them play it live