In Flames is Pop??? them's fightin words!

[Jysan]

I keep hearing people call In Flames some variation of "pop with a hint of Gothenburg sound"....Seriously, I would fight anyone who spoke such of such heresy to my face! =D

First of all, it's ridiculous to call In Flames pop for several reasons, mainly, pop is a BS genre! Just because they have an ever-growing fanbase and are popular worldwide doesnt make them 'pop' in the sense that it is regarded/defined today. Popular doesn't = Pop! By that merit, Bethoven would have been pop in his day. Also, you can't say that they are following the "Gothenburg sound" trend when they fuckin created it! That's just ridiculous. Not their fault they set a trend that's become pretty popular! And why would they want to change their style to be outside of this trend when it's such a HUGE part of their identity?! I think In Flames is one of the best bands in metal and I know a lot of people agree with me on that...but I think too many people get cought up in the fact that they're no longer an underground band with horrible production qualities. You can't blame them for changing and you can't say they changed to become famous. At least they had the ballls to do it...when I got a chance to talk to Bjorn and Jesper as part of my Scandi Studies research, they said they wouldn't have changed a thing about the progression of their band...the "Older In Flames" was a different part of their lives, particularly Jesper's, that they both say is something that should stay history. Why would they want to spend the remainder of their careers trying to recreate something they could never possibly recreate? Music is never completely subjective, it is shaped by environmental/external influences as much as internal creativity...In Flames could never return to Gothenburg 1996...thus they could never recreate Jotun or the Jester Race etc...

not sure where I'm going with this...just felt like writing what was on my mind...

 

[MattyCakes]

in flames ultimate sellouts, they used to be amazing. colony has the best melodies in metal history. fuck them

 

[poisonelvis]

kick his face!!!

 

[Prometheus]

Dude. Ouch.

Honestly, I like all everything they've done, even - gasp! - Reroute To Remain. Even at their, supposedly, most commercial they write pretty kick-ass music! In Flames rock, they'd have to do something ridiculously lame, like record a duet album with Britney Spears, to make me write them off.

 

[Apophis]

Fuck everybody who's saying that

 

[zimbloth]

Their newer stuff isn't as heavy and the style has changed, but Come Clarity still has a lot of very catchy stuff going on, and is a good record. I obviously prefer Clayman and Colony, but I don't hate on them because they've changed. They can clearly write good songs still, it's just in a style that I'm not a big fan of.

 

[Dead but Dreaming]

And why would they want to change their style to be outside of this trend when it's such a HUGE part of their identity?!

lol what? They went from a wicked metal band to some metalcore sounding thing with only small hints of their previous awesomeness for whatever reason, I guess to become more popular. I used to be a huge In Flames fanboy but Come Clarity is a borefest compared to their older tunes. I was so disappointed when I listened to that album.

 

[zimbloth]

There's nothing metalcore about Come Clarity dude, you clearly have never listened to metalcore before.

They definitely changed their sound, in my opinion for the worse, but they're not metalcore. It's just they seem to have put all the catchy stuff in their big choruses, and they left the verses/etc sounding pretty boring and tame.

They still have a few good songs, but it's not the fun intense yet melodic style like they had that peaked w/ Clayman.

 

[noodles]

Sorry, but I think In Flames sucks now. They haven't released an interesting album in years. Whoracle and Colony were definitely their best.

So many of those melodeath bands have gone this route. Soilwork is the one that hurts the most to think about, because Predator's Portrait is such an awesome album. I still pop it in at least once a month.

 

[ShawnFjellstad]

clayman is one of my favorite albums ever, but the new stuff doesn't really do it for me.

that said, its far from bad, its just not my cup of tea.

 

[Dead but Dreaming]

There's nothing metalcore about Come Clarity dude, you clearly have never listened to metalcore before.

nu-metal, then? who knows what to call their stuff now, other than a lot worse than their older stuff

I'm not even an elitist or anything who talks about the golden age of bands all the time, it's just when a band does some amazing songs and albums and then comes out with something crappy, it's even more disappointing since they already set a standard of awesomeness.

 

[sakeido]

I've got Come Clarity and I really liked it. I was never into them back in the day though and have zero familiarity with their old stuff.

 

[zimbloth]

Sorry, but I think In Flames sucks now. They haven't released an interesting album in years. Whoracle and Colony were definitely their best.

So many of those melodeath bands have gone this route. Soilwork is the one that hurts the most to think about, because Predator's Portrait is such an awesome album. I still pop it in at least once a month.

I totally agree, except that IMO Clayman was brilliant as well and I never could understand how one could love Colony and not Clayman or vice versa, it's so similar. Both have infectious melodies, catchy riffs. Theres some filler as with all their albums, but the strong tracks are amazing (the title track is probably my favorite).

My main point was that whether you like or dislike newer in Flames, it's not metalcore, it's just different. I agree about the direction of other melodeath bands as well, it's troubling.

nu-metal, then? who knows what to call their stuff now, other than a lot worse than their older stuff

I'm not even an elitist or anything who talks about the golden age of bands all the time, it's just when a band does some amazing songs and albums and then comes out with something crappy, it's even more disappointing since they already set a standard of awesomeness.

No, not even close to nu-metal either. There's no song on their new album that sounds like Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, Korn or (hed)pe. You don't need to call it anything. It's In Flames, just in a different direction. More verse/chorus/verse/chorus, less power and heaviness. Fuck genres.

That said I share your feelings man, I absolutely adored their old stuff, and to hear them now... its disappointing. That said I don't think it's ALL bad, a few good songs here and there still slip through the tracks.

 

[noodles]

I totally agree, except that IMO Clayman was brilliant as well and I never could understand how one could love Colony and not Clayman or vice versa, it's so similar. Both have infectious melodies, catchy riffs. Theres some filler as with all their albums, but the strong tracks are amazing (the title track is probably my favorite).

Clayman is pretty good, but I don't like it as much as the previous two. It was definitely the last album that had the In Flames sound.

My main point was that whether you like or dislike newer in Flames, it's not metalcore, it's just different. I agree about the direction of other melodeath bands as well, it's troubling.

I could care less about classification. I only have two classifications, suck and not suck.

 

[oompa]

in flames today and in flames pre-clayman is different, i think we can all agree on that. i find the old stuff is more emotional, more creative, more alive and more raw and unique in some way, while the new stuff is clean, safe and without identity sorta, wich is why i now stuff em together with a bunch of other newer metal bands, and that almost makes them "pop metal with a touch of gothenb. sound" to me, or whatever first poster wrote

i kinda dislike the new in flames cus i started listening to them when jester was new out, and thats why im kinda stuck with the older style they have, compared to their newer stuff. i guess its the same with many bands, its easy to want a band to stay where they are/were when you discovered them, and in flames was one of the first death metal bands i heard, and they really influenced me for a long time.

im still kinda harsh on the new in flames, i think they suck, and i think its because they got a taste of fame and $$$ and decided to go with it, wich kinda makes them sellouts. but its my opinion.

 

[zimbloth]

in flames today and in flames pre-clayman is different, i think we can all agree on that.

No we can't all agree on that. Clayman should be not included in that. Maybe you're getting it confused with Reroute to Remain or something. Clayman and Colony are the same exact style. Then, Reroute/Soundtrack had the same vibe, then the new one. Pre-Reroute is what you meant to say I hope?

 

[Axel]

I see Clayman as the equivalent of the Metallica black album. Pretty good. Some people like it, some don't. But after that is was mostly shit. (imo of course)
Some people just simply take offense to the word "sell out" or I guess in this case "pop." The bottom line is they changed style. Less intricate original riffs. Less riffs that require two guitars to work. Mostly just chords and jumping around in suits and reminding people of bands like Linkin Park. It wouldn't surprise me in the least that their style changed to gain a wider audience. If they stuck to their old style they probably wouldn't be as big as they are today. Don't get me wrong, they'd still be pretty big and respected, but they wouldn't have won over their current fans who don't understand more intricate riffing.

 

[Regor]

First of all, it's ridiculous to call In Flames pop for several reasons, mainly, pop is a BS genre! Just because they have an ever-growing fanbase and are popular worldwide doesnt make them 'pop' in the sense that it is regarded/defined today. Popular doesn't = Pop!

Are you fucking retarded?? Where do you think the term "Pop" came from?? It totally came from 'popular'.

And why would they want to change their style to be outside of this trend when it's such a HUGE part of their identity?!

Maybe because they saw that Metallica can make more money by changing their sound to fit a wider audience, so they followed suit?

You can't blame them for changing and you can't say they changed to become famous. At least they had the ballls to do it...

Yes. You can. See also: Metallica's Load/ReLoad, Edguy's Rocket Ride, Nocturnal Rites' The 8th Sin

 

[Stitch]

Are you fucking retarded?? Where do you think the term "Pop" came from?? It totally came from 'popular'.

I'm sorry mate, but if you look and read what he's said he accounts for that when he says "Pop! by todays standards, not as in popular" - or words to that effect. Don't be so aggressive if all you've done is speed read.

Also, I think zimbloth has hit it on the head. He's saying everything I would, so I'm not going to add anything other than that I actually think there are elements of Reroute's songwriting style in Clayman and Only For The Weak. They were big developments, but not totally unreasonable ones that are hard to see the flow - just big steps. That said, listening to "Dead End" off Come CLarity and comparing it with anything off Lunar Strain is a hard leap of imagination - they were a very different band back then. They've just evolved. Look at Dir en Grey as another example - they hardly stay the same style each song, but no one hates on them for it.

 

[Jysan]

Are you fucking retarded?? Where do you think the term "Pop" came from?? It totally came from 'popular'.



Maybe because they saw that Metallica can make more money by changing their sound to fit a wider audience, so they followed suit?



Yes. You can. See also: Metallica's Load/ReLoad, Edguy's Rocket Ride, Nocturnal Rites' The 8th Sin

Metallica's sellout'ness doesn't even compare to In Flames'...if you could say they even have! Don't you have to get money to sell out? dumb fuck