In Flames have carved themselves an endearing, enigmatic, amusing place within a scene now dominated to the left and right by American metalcore bands.
In Flames’ Anders Friden just goes about his business, unconcerned with the controversy surrounding directions taken with his main band, as well as Passenger.
Metal is alive and well and living in Europe. Americans futz with knuckledragging nü metal and ’til-you-grow-outta-it hardcore, European metal pushes forward.
Split (kinda) into power metal on disc one and extreme on disc two, tracked alphabetically per disc, there’s so much to open yer eyes, if yer at all into metal.
I’m digging the lion’s share of this thing, because it’s packed full of those shining-moment riffs that are the unanimous highlights of the past two albums.