Sounds of a Playground Fading

Well, times sure have changed since the true Gothenburg days. The 1990's in the Scandinavian metal scene was a time of courageous song writing and originality. Bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility were completely different from anything forged from the depths of the earth. Melodies, raspy vocals, double bass, harmony, and progressive song writing were just beginning to be morphed into one genre. In Flames helped pioneer the genre of Melodic Death Metal much like the Beatles did for rock n' roll. The truth is, In Flames had their time. In my opinion this time was between Lunar Strain and Clayman. The albums that followed sounded like something shifted dramatically within the band. It could have been the influence of Western popular culture, or it simply could have been that the band was bored and tired of writing the same material over and over again. Mike Akerfeldt from Opeth has stated in interviews that the reason Opeth shifted their writing style was partly due to the fact that everyone was now writing melodic, dual guitar, harmonizing metal. In my mind, their transition was much more original than that of what In Flames made. My personal heart lies deep within their Gothenburg style writing when the melodies and progressive song writing was at the essence of the band.

I don't care much for In Flame's newer material and much of that is due to the vocals of Anders. I am a death growl kind of guy. I do appreciate clean vocals once in a while but for some reason Anders does not reach a clean quality worth praising about. It sounds whiny and desperate. To me, it seems that he tries too hard. NU Metal, or Americanized metal according to me, is much more prominent in their music these days. I personally get very irritated by the American influence and think that much of the Metal-core is a bunch of junk.

As far as Sounds of a Playground Fading goes, I don't care for it. A few of the songs tease past riff writing, more like something off of Clayman, but the emotions seem very absent. Yeah, here and there they put in epic guitar melodies and ripping drums, much of what old time fans originally loved the band for, but they don't stick and are very brief. The songs are bland and just sound like every other Metal-core band out there these days. I wish I could tell the band, "Hey guys, aren't you the ones who developed an original sound? Aren't you the ones who defied possibilities in metal song writing?" My disappointment is clear when listening to this record but because of my dedication to the band, I will always try to find something to enjoy, even if it is only a couple of songs. But you know what, that is the beauty of music. Even when things seem like they have hit rock bottom, there are often things that seem like a candle is still burning. A few of the songs are a joy to crank up. I can still find myself head-banging and groovin'.

I don't think In Flames will ever return to their melodic death metal past. The trail they have taken is just too different and as they have grown, their music has evolved with them. This is something that happens to all bands whether we like it or not. I will always buy IF records until they can't spit anymore out. That is just the kind of fan I am. Though, most likely what will be playing in my cd player will be a Lunar Strain, Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony, or Clayman album.