Dimension Zero

Silent Night Fever (Century Media)
by Martin Popoff

In Flames guitarist Jesper Strömblad and ex-In Flames guitarist Glenn Ljungström enlisted current In Flames vocalist Anders Friden to produce this follow-up to the six years back EP Penetrations From the Lost World. The sound enclosed is like gritty, violent, power-packed, fast In Flames with Swedish death vocals provided by Jocke Göthberg, ex of Marduk. Friden is a big part of this record’s success, somehow (accidentally) massaging in a couple layers of distortion, one that undoubtedly emanates from the fuzzy guitars, one that seems to fall out of the drums. Think new Crown, old Soilwork, all Haunted and timeless At The Gates, but with a sense of confident, compressed mission that supersedes all four. A little samey (quick and quicker, save for hangover cure, “Slow Silence”) and a little shoved into a glut of farsightedly high-quality bands and albums, but nevertheless, a half-hour of heart palpitations and devil horn salutations.
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