IN FLAMES Foregone | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by  Nuclear Blast Records on February 10th, 2023

Quick Background

In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquility, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. Their 90's albums are classic Melo Death must haves but their sixth studio album Reroute to Remain (2002) showed the band moving toward a newer style of music that moved further away from melodic death metal and closer to alternative metal. This decision was criticized by fans of the group's heavier metal sound; however, it increased the band's mainstream audience and bolstered their album sales. I came to know the band in the year 2000 with the release and tour of Clayman, I love that album. I did lost touch with them until the release of Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011) which I surprisingly like quite a lot. But the 3 albums after that were really not for me, so I have been waiting for 12 years for an In Flames album that I actually like. 

Foregone

Foregone is their fourteenth studio album. It is the first album by the band to feature guitarist Chris Broderick and the first to entirely feature drums performed by Tanner Wayne. It features 12 songs in 47 minutes including "The Beginning Of All Things", a  2-min intro with acoustic guitars and symphonic arrangements. The album marks a return to their classic 90's elements without loosing their more recent influences. As a result many songs are quite heavy and mostly with death growls while others have a mix of growls and clean vocals. The focus on melody is a continuous stable in their sound. 

Following the intro the album kicks off with the high-energy track "State of Slow Decay" which is old school In Flames, I really enjoy this track. Fast paced guitar riffs, aggressive singing, relentless drumming, and melodic guitar solos. It's a perfect opener that demonstrates In Flames' ability to write memorable hooks while still maintaining their heaviness. Another standout tracks on the album is

"Meet Your Maker" which is also a heavy track with a lot of groove and a catchy chorus. "Foregone Pt. 1" is so Colony, I love it and Pt 2 is still OK but it's a much mellower song. Still, the guitar work and that heavy pre-chorus makes it an interesting song, it reminds me of Sounds of Playground Fading era. 

Throughout the album, the band seamlessly blends their heavier roots with the melodic sensibility of the 2000's. "Bleeding Out" is a clear example of that, it features heavy and engaging guitar riffs and a very cool guitar solo, kind of Malmsteen at half speed. On the other hand, the verse and chorus go much more into their softer melodic side of the last few albums. It sounds to me like Bullet For My Valentine. But this time it works for me as a whole experience. Then at track number 7 we hit the sort of ballad "Pure Light Of Mind" and I must say it's not too bad, I mean by the time we get here I am super invested in the album and while I will never love the song I think it bridges well into the single "The Great Deceiver" which is again a punch in the face and back to 90's In Flames! "End The Transmission" closes the album in a high note, a heavy mid tempo song that balances early sound with the direction of latest albums. So it's a good summary of this album and good way to close it. 

In Flames' musicianship is top-notch throughout Foregone specially when it comes to the guitar work. The melodic and short guitar solos are memorable and Chris Broderick contribution is a big plus for the band. In addition there are some harmonized guitars and tons of cool chugging heavy riffs. The keyboards are on the background only and the rhythmic section does a good job holding the album together. I also really like Anders Fridén harsh vocal delivery and there's a lot of it on this album. The clean vocals though are weird. I'm not sure what it is, but it sounds overproduced almost artificial at times.

The Picky Guy

I do struggle with albums with more than ten songs, and it's no different here. All in all, the last one third of the album is not so strong. "In The Dark" is a mid-tempo groovy and heavy song but I am on the fence on this one. The same for "A Dialogue In B Flat Minor". Both feel like they were trying too hard to build a catchy chorus but it didn't work. With that said parts of these songs are still quite OK. Then "Cynosure" doesn't help to bring me back into the album.  And that's my main problem with this album, but I am sure many old time fans won't like this album very much because it is still modern In Flames with lots of melody and clean singing. While that side of the album is not my favorite, at least this time around it is quite OK.  

Wrap Up Opinion 

Overall Foregone is the best In Flames album in many years, and while some songs really bring me back to their 90's sound, the band has maintained their later alt-rock influences very much alive, I just think the song writing and the balance is much better than in previous albums. At the end of the day, it may just be that I wanted to like a new album from them so much that I'm glancing over their over produced vocals and sounding like Bullet From My Valentine at times. With that said, I'm enjoying it and it's a very good effort deserving 82/100. 

SCORE: 82/100

Genre: Alterative Metal

Released by  Nuclear Blast Records on February 10th, 2023

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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XANDRIA The Wonders Still Awaiting | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Napalm Records on February 3rd, 2023

Quick Background

Xandria is a German symphonic metal band founded by Marco Heubaum in 1994. since then the band has gone through various lineup changes. Their seventh album, Theater of Dimensions was released on January 2017 and after that the whole band left leaving founder Marco alone. In 2022, then he announced a new lineup, with the addition of the band's new vocalist Ambre Vourvahis. Ambre has an impressive dynamic range varying between beautiful classical harmonies to powerful clean singing in the style of Nightwish, to even harsh growls that remind me of Arch Enemy.

The Wonders Still Awaiting

The Wonders Still Awaiting is their eighth studio. It is the first studio album to feature not only Ambre  but also Tim Schwarz on bass, drummer Dimitros Gatsios and guitarist Rob Klawonn. With 13 songs and clocking in at 75min, this is a very long album. 

From the first bars of the opening track "Two Worlds" the use of choir and orchestral elements creating an epic and cinematic feel of the album are very clear. While the symphonic elements are very prominent, there's also a considerable emphasis on the guitars. At some moments it gets pretty heavy as in the bridge of this song. Not only it's a heavy guitar tone with cools riffs but also Ambre showcases her ability with death metal growls. While not used very frequently, they appear throughout the album and to me they add a lot of character to their music. In "Illusion is Their Name" the growls are prominent. On the other hand, in the single "Reborn" we can hear she going full operatic (e.g. the Post-Chorus). 

If you are distracted as the single "You Will Never Be Our God" starts, I can bet you will think it's a new Arch Enemy song. Now, this song features Ralf Scheepers from Primal Fear and I must say, why? His voice is so low in the mix that it barely makes a difference and he only does backing vocals, not for a sentence he sings alone. I liked the song a lot, but what a missed opportunity.

The title track is so Nightwish, but ok I like it. There's even more emphasis on keyboards which is not the case for most of the album. And actually this focus on guitars backed up by symphonic arrangements is what I like the most in Xandria's new sound. That's very evident in many tracks, but specially in the single "Ghosts", sick riffs here and super over the top symphonic blasts. Worth noting how cheesy this song's video is, it's so bad that it's good, if you know what I mean. And damn the chorus is catchy. 

In terms of musicianship, Xandria showed their technical proficiency on instruments, particularly in the guitars, while maintaining a strong sense of melody and catchiness. Take "My Curse is My Redemption" as an example. The album was produced by Marco Heubaum to a high standard, with a clear and balanced mix that allowed almost all elements of the music to shine through. The only exception is the bass. 

Finally I want to talk about the epic album closer "Astèria", a 9 min piece translating from Greek into stars. One of Marco's passion is film scores and the best example is the album closer. Featuring a eastern flavor and lyrics about refugees leaving their home country behind. The whole song could be part of the soundtrack of an actual movie. Marco is so proud of all the symphonic arrangements on this album that a deluxe version can be found with a second CD with  Orchestral Version of the entire album.

The Picky Guy

Xandria demonstrate their versatility as songwriters, incorporating elements of different sub-genres of metal into their sound. The album features a mix of aggressive, fast-paced tracks and more atmospheric, slower pieces that showcase the band's strong sense of dynamics. Do I really like the slower tracks such as "Your Stories I'll Remember" and "Paradise"? Not really. The other thing is when we reach track number 10, we are already 50min into the album and still 4 songs to go. It's difficult to keep the focus.

Wrap Up Opinion 

Overall, The Wonders Still Awaiting is Xandria's long waited comeback showcasing strong songwriting skills and musical talent from the new members, specially singer Ambre, making it a standout release in the symphonic metal genre. The album is a diverse blend of symphonic metal, power metal, and subtle death metal elements. And while not innovative and a bit too long, it is a good release deserving a strong 81/100. For fans of the genre, this is a must check release. 

SCORE: 81/100

Genre: Symphonic Metal

Released by Napalm Records on February 3rd, 2023

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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RIVERSIDE ID.Entity | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by InsideOutMusic on January 20th, 2023

Quick Background

Riverside are a progressive rock band from Warsaw, Poland. They were founded in 2001 by friends Mariusz Duda (vocal, bass, main songwriter), Piotr Grudziński (guitars) and Piotr Kozieradzki (drums) and soon after Michał Łapaj(keyboards), who shared a love for progressive rock and heavy metal. On February 21, 2016, guitarist Piotr died of a pulmonary embolism. 

Wasteland, their seventh studio and first album without founding guitarist was released on September 2018. The album was released as a trio, meaning without a replacing guitarist, but Maciej Meller contributed with 4 guitar solos. In 2020, Riverside announced that Meller had now become an official member of the band.

ID.Entity

The group’s 8th studio album features seven new tracks in 54 minutes and marks the return to Riverside’s heavier roots that defined their 2000s output: theatrical keys, maximalist songwriting and metal-inspired riffing as opposed to more moody and atmospheric direction from recent albums. "I’m Done With You", the album's first single is a good example of a track that revisits that energy and aggression. Duda began writing ID.Entity while on the tour for Wasteland. But the band worked together in the studio so final arrangements were a team effort. Lyrically, ID.Entity sees Duda questioning his own place in the world and, also, Riverside’s place in the prog scene. 

The opening track, "Friend or Foe?," sets the tone for the album in the sense that you don't know what's coming next. It's not a typical opening track. It's impossible not to think of  the song "Take on me" by a-ha. So it takes some spins to get used to it, but then you can appreciate how cool the vocal melody sounds. Moreover, the song builds up and delivers some heavy riffs. I really enjoyed the overall result. One of the standout tracks on the album is the 13-min long "The Place Where I Belong". It features a long intro with acoustic guitars then a very cool instrumental interlude, amazing bass lines, bluesy guitars and cool Deep Purple-like keyboards. And then the mid section with this amazingly beautiful melody, not to mention the melodic guitar solo that closes this masterpiece of a prog song.  Other cool tracks are the short and catchy "Landmine Blast" and the riff driven "Post-Truth".

The musicianship on this album is truly great. Each member of the band showcases their talents and abilities throughout the album, from the intricate bass lines to the heavy riffs. I also love the keyboards in here going from Deep Purple to Pink Floyd and brining a lot of flavor and texture to their music. Riverside are able to seamlessly blend different styles and instruments, creating a cohesive and immersive sound. The bass work is particularly noteworthy, with the instrument often taking the front stage. The pop rock elements of the album are also expertly executed, adding a catchiness to the music without loosing the heavy elements. Overall, the band's musicianship is top-notch and it is clear that they allowed themselves to go where their imagination led them.

The Picky Guy

While I don't think "Big Tech Brother" and "Self-Aware" are by no means bad songs, I do think that for me they have some ups and downs. Therefore they do not captivate me from start to finish like the other songs on the album. And that's my only criticism of this album. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

ID.Entity Riverside's latest album is a masterful blend of hardrock and experimental prog rock. The band takes the listener on a journey through a variety of moods and emotions. Overall, ID.Entity is a must-listen for fans of prog-rock. The band has truly allowed themselves the freedom to create something unique. It is a testament to their skills as musicians and composers in this newly open new phase for the band. To me except for a couple of missteps it's a very good album deserving 83/100. 

SCORE: 83/100

Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal

Released by InsideOutMusic on January 20th, 2023

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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