Colony

Early In Flames albums have got to be some of the most frustrating albums I’ve ever listened to. Not because they’re bad necessarily. More because they have the potential to be these great amazing albums that I’d always heard about them being ever since I got into metal. Between the guitar harmonics, the twin-guitar melodies and the oftentimes smooth rhythm sections, these guys had all the right ideas to make this power metal-laden death metal kind of thing often called melodeath work wonders! I mean, it does – but you have to listen to older Dark Tranquility records and Raintime’s first album to see that. In Flames’ problem is that often, after they blaze through the gates with a hectic intro containing some sick ass harmonics, the songs just chug along, existing in the background and doing little else. It comes to a head with the last album they put out in the 20th century, Colony. Boy, this is going to be fun...

...especially since “Embody the Invisible” opens the album with aplomb, but it also embodies pretty much everything that In Flames stood for back in the day. I mean, this is exactly what you’d think of when you think of In Flames – the harmonic leads introduce the song in a remarkably flashy fashion, and they permeate throughout much of the song to accentuate the dull grooves, particularly during the chorus. The song’s a real fucking toe-tapper when the intro melody comes out swinging during the chorus, after the solo and right before the song ends. Although it’s easy to attribute this to old mate Jesper’s guitar theatrics, it’d be a little inaccurate since Daniel Svensson’s lively drumming. Granted, he is largely keeping in time with the riffs and leads, but there’s some pep in his step and energy in his arms – the sort that, well, peps up some sweet leads and uninspired chugging. The vocals, well... you won’t get any argument from me in saying that his vocals are the sore spot in this album. Just this screamy caterwauling that sounds more annoying than anything else. But it’s one of those things where if you got a singer like Jeff Scott Soto or something and put a little more work into the riffs, you’d have an absolute banger of a song.

Songs like “Ordinary Story” and “Colony” have similar qualities to them that make them enjoyable listens despite their deficiencies. The former has a similarly lively vibe going on, albeit with its verses having those clean guitars and Anders doing this lame off-key Lou Reed/Robert Smith impersonation. Meanwhile, the latter tries for a slightly more spacey thing with its verses, mainly through virtue of the Hammond organ. Towards the end, “Insipid 2000” pops up and, after a bunch of filler (more on that later), here’s this song that has this subtle lead that finds itself becoming a real earworm alongside the chugs, and between a couple of neat bass segments and a totally harmonic solo, the song picks things right back up. Once again, if not for the vocals and riffs, these would actually be quite good songs.

Frankly, if every song on Colony was like this, I mean sure, there would still be some issues; but beyond that, it’d be a fairly good album with all things considered. They understood what they have at their disposal and play to their strengths here. They knew Jesper and Bjorn can pull off some nice harmonic leads to grab your attention. They knew those harmonics and Jesper’s leads played atop Bjorn’s chugs could lead to some common cold catchy tracks. They knew Anders... was Anders, BUT REGARDLESS, they knew what they were doing, and they did it well.

The problem is, not every song is like this. Not even close. Introduce the listener with a cool lead or busy dual-guitar lead, then lifelessly chug on through. Maybe bring back the intro for the chorus – which, unlike in “Embody the Invisible” and “Ordinary Story”, weren’t exactly purposed for a chorus and thus, it just sounds like they had no idea what to really do for the chorus. Maybe throw out a decent solo – or, in the case of “Coerced Existence”, have a guest (in this case, Kee Marcello) Malmsteen their way through the solo, if only briefly – before repeating the chorus. Then... well, that’s another song in the bag – next one.

There’s a nice and good EP somewhere in Colony – mostly in the beginning – and I definitely recommend doing what you probably would’ve been doing anyway when you listen to this album and stick with “Embody the Invisible”, “Ordinary Story”, “Colony” and “Insipid 2000”. Despite all that, Colony is still a solid album and absolutely the last worthwhile In Flames album.