Whoracle

In Flames... a name that has seemed to join the ranks of Metallica and others as being a sell-out. However, back in the day they were the elite in melodic death metal. Friden didn't sound like Elmer Fudd, his growls were more menacing, more towards Mikael Stanne than before.

I keep hearing The Jester Race as being their greatest work, yet I think Colony is much better, with more depth and feeling. Where does this leave Whoracle? Right in the middle. This is a step up from The Jester Race and just a wee bit less than Colony.

The overall feel that skyrocketed Colony to my all time favorite Melodeath disc is present on this CD as well, but at the same time this has the classic acoustic work that In Flames seems to have abandoned lately. They add more depth to the songs, such as Gyroscope. Without the acoustic intro, that song wouldn’t have as much of a punch to it like it does now.

What play the biggest role in creating a brilliant atmosphere are the guitars. The riffs are amazing, they are tight and fun to listen to, dancing around the fret board like… little jesters. That’s what I envision these riffs to be, little jesters dancing on a fret board. Putting away the silliness, one thing In Flames does so extremely well are the rhythms. They are energetic and drive the solos crazier than if there were just a bass accompanying them.

However, the bass provides a subtle backdrop of power that isn’t as in your face, but it’s similar to the feel that is given by the acoustic parts. During the acoustic interludes, the bass is most apparent, but when there are rhythm guitars flying off during a solo, it takes a careful ear to hear the bass.

The drumming is fairly standard, it’s tight with the guitars and bass and does its job. That’s all I really need to say about it.

Anders’ vocals on this album are a lot better than what they have become in recent years. Even when he attempts clean singing, he doesn’t sound like Elmer Fudd, although he’s no Bruce Dickinson either. His growls are better than the ear ringing shrieks he develops later on to accompany his Fudd impressions, they meld in with the guitar parts a hell of a lot better than on their later albums. His lyrics are the standard metaphorical abstractions that seem to be the only similarity between this album and STYE. However, on here, they are more focused on the state of humankind, while on STYE they are focused on the state of Anders’ mind.

There is hardly any filler on this album. Dialogue With The Stars might be considered such, as it’s only a 3 minute instrumental, but it’s far from boring. It’s not the kind of filler that provokes one to skip it. The very last track on this album, Whoracle, is… but it’s in the best spot – the last track. It’s a rather boring outro, and the worst song on the album, and In Flames had the common courtesy to put it last, yet it still manages to be beautiful. Not even the cover on this album, Everything Counts by Martin Lee Gore, sounds filler. It fits in nicely with the rest of the album, although it’s not quite to the standard as the rest. However, by now I’m satisfied, I usually change CD’s after this song anyway.

Highlights: World Within the Margin, Episode 666, Gyroscope, Jotun