In Flames - "Come Clarity" (Nuclear Blast)

It’s often difficult to review your favourite band and be objective. Sometimes you can end up being too harsh – as I was with In Flames’ previous release, Soundtrack To Your Escape.

In Flames have grown yet further with this latest release, Come Clarity (their 9th full-length album). Some purists will again cry foul when they hear the guest vocals of Lisa Miskovsky on “Dead End”, or when they notice that every chorus on here will lodge itself in your subconscious. “Dead End” adds a lot to the band’s repertoire, and is perfectly placed on the album, making it all the more enjoyable to listen to.

This is not to say that the band have gone pop – far from it. “Take This Life” and “Leeches” open the album with a visceral roar of defiance, and the pace never really lets up. Guitarists Jesper Stromblad and Bjorn Gelotte continue to peal off melodic riff after melodic riff, while retaining a healthy amount of heaviness. The rhythm section, too, puts in an especially good performance, with Pete Iwers’ bass rumbling along in a satisfying manner, and Daniel Svensson’s superb drumming (groove, speed, variation, actual catchiness) underpins the whole work.

‘Anthemic’ is a good word for the whole album. With Anders Friden’s vocals continuing to defy all preconceptions of what the human voice can do, his highly melodic screams (seriously, have a listen to “Take This Life” and “” to hear it in its purest form) manage to lift the songs out of the drudgery that can often befall Death Metal albums. Other stand-out tracks include “Vacuum”, “Crawl Through Knives”, and “Versus Terminus”.

The title track drops the tempo a little, but not in a way that will jar us from the moment.

In a bizarre twist, on “Reflect The Storm”, Anders’ vocals actually make him sound like some of the American imitators that have sprung up in recent years, citing In Flames as influential. It’s odd, but he still sounds better than anyone else in the genre.

If you purchase the special edition with DVD, then that, too is pretty interesting. A little unimaginative, perhaps, as it merely shows the band perform the complete album in their rehearsal space, but interesting nonetheless.

Overall, this is the band once again spreading their wings, continuing to try new things, regardless of what people might think. They are all the better for it, and if this record doesn’t send them stratospheric, there really is no justice in this world. Each song could be singled out as potential radio hits, but there would be little point in spelling it out for you.

Truly essential listening.

www.inflames.com