Raziel's Reviews: In Flames - Clayman

I had heard the name "In Flames" rolling around for years. I used to be a longtime regular at KNAC.COM, and I kept hearing this band mentioned every once in a while. I was always curious about how they sounded, but this was back in my earlier days. Had someone told me three years ago that scandinavian death metal would eventually become my favorite genre of music, I'd have punched them in the face. It was because of that attitude of mine that I made a conscious effort not to give this band a shot. If I could go back in time three years, I'd slap myself silly for being such a fool.

Clayman, the second most recent offering from Sweden's unstoppable In Flames, is an album that will, quite frankly, completely alter your perspective of current music. Any moron that says "rock is dead these days" is listening to the wrong kind of rock.

The album blasts forward with the opening track "Bullet Ride", and what a fucking ride it is! The intro riff alone is enough to sell a few million copies of this album, and it only gets better from there.

The album follows in suit with the second track "Pinball Map" and the album's crowning achievement "Only For The Weak". "Only" has a slower pace, but don't let that little aspect fool you into thinking that it's a softy. This song has easily one of the most powerful chrouses in recent history. Iron Maiden guitarwork churns throughout the refrain overlaid by vocalist Anders Friden's proclamation "Sell me the infection, it's only for the weak. No need for sympathy, the misery that is me."

"Square Nothing" brings along with it a slower, deadlier sensation than the previous tracks. Lulling the listener into a flase sense of security with a relatively downplayed first verse, and then launching into a behemoth of a song, seemingly spewed from the bowels of hell itself.

The remainder of the album is simply phenomenal, displaying a huge variety of insanely catchy guitar work and the evolutionary stylings of Friden's vocals. other sandout tracks include the title track "Clayman", "Swim" and "Another Day In Quicksand".

You're going to become obsesed with In Flames at some point anyway, so why not take my advice and pick Clayman up? Expect a few more In Flames reviews in the near future.

*****

I'll chk it out... Since right now I'm into my "heavy rock in your ear" mode.

Thanks for the new installment, Miztere Razzberry. However, In Flames wasn't really my style. I listened to those songs of theirs you recommended a long time ago, but didn't particularly care for them. I think my twenty bucks will be better spent on some other album.