Review by Daniel for In Flames - Come Clarity (2006)

Most of our regulars would probably be aware that I've never been a fan of In Flames' most celebrated 1996-2000 period with albums like "The Jester Race", "Whoracle", "Colony" & "Clayman" doing very little for me. The Swedes' 2006 eighth full-length is a bit different to those records though & offers me just enough appeal to see it reaching a more acceptable rating. This isn't your standard melodic death metal release though. In fact, it's a little hard to argue that it's a death metal release at all, although they never fully pull away from their roots either.

With "Come Clarity" we see In Flames embracing the melodic metalcore sound that was making waves in the underground metal scene at the time & combining it with their signature melodeath riffage & alternative metal song-structures to create a more accessible record that aims to win a new fanbase over with more of a stadium sound. When they manage to nail that combination, it works really, really well, as evidenced by the classic alternative metal anthem that is the title track or the very solid melodic death metal burner "Vacuum". The vocal performance of Anders Fridén is worth mentioning as it never feels like a death growl, instead sitting closer to a psychotic metalcore scream during the more extreme sections while making a decent fist of the clean chorus melodies too. It's worth noting that there are just as many failures as there are wins here though but, thankfully, those wins are comprehensive enough to overcome the losses & leave me with a more positive feeling than I can recall having with In Flames' more unanimously praised albums. As with a lot of releases like this one though, a song's potential to capture the listener all comes down to the quality of the chorus melody & your experience will ultimately depend on whether you can connect with those enough to get onboard with "Come Clarity" or not. I've been surprised to find that I can these days so perhaps there's hope for me yet.

For fans of Soilwork, Darkest Hour & Trivium.