IN FLAMES: Colony (DEATH METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With "Whoracle", In Flames showed a huge potential by offering a very good melodic death metal album and then presented itself as one of the future big names of the international metal scene. This "Colony" is therefore like a capital test. Either the band confirms and settles permanently, or it stagnates and remains anchored in the second division. For this album, the band has finally found a full-time drummer and a new bass player. It should be noted that this line-up will be the same in 2009, a proof of its great solidity. It must be said that the recruits are of high quality, especially with the arrival of Daniel Svensson on drums, which allows Bjorn Gelotte to devote himself solely to his work as a guitar player.

The melodic death scene is not yet saturated and In Flames has a boulevard ahead of it to settle down permanently. Dark Tranquillity has just released a high quality "Projector" but which will not find its audience, while Arch Enemy and Soilwork have not yet completely exploded. In fact, only the newcomers of Children Of Bodom seem to be able to oppose the growing power of In Flames. With this record, the band will continue the momentum of "Whoracle" by offering a heavy death metal with unforgettable melodies, but this time with the special touch that "Whoracle" was missing. The immediate and hit aspect is often present, partly thanks to keyboards that appear discreetly and to clear voices that are more present than on "Whoracle". This beginning of mutation makes the album unforgettable and will definitely make the Swedes change their status.

Because this "Colony" has everything of the perfect and essential album of the genre. Everything is more elaborated, more thoughtful and more efficient with alternating lulls and more furious passages and a sheer death metal side set aside. The production of Fredrik Nordström, a great craftsman of the In Flames sound, is once again perfect and integrates perfectly the heavy guitars and the solos, the death vocals of Anders Friden and the keyboards.

So there is not much to throw away all along this "Colony" which starts with a terrible "Embody The Invisible", a perfect illustration of what the genre can give at its best. The guitars create a wall of sound and the vocals are furious. "Ordinary Story" is a bit quieter with clear vocals, breaks and a very present piano. This evolution of the genre into more commercial aspects is a perfect success that opens new horizons for the band. The eponymous title also shows some innovations with a Hammond organ and keyboards very present on a typically melodic death base.

Apart from the opening track, In Flames offers other purely sheer melodic death songs of great quality such as "Scorn" on which the two guitarists are engaged in some beautiful gunplay. We will also mention the excellent "Coerced Coexistence" with its incredible opening riff and its reinforced rhythmic, proving that the new recruits have perfectly integrated themselves. This title offers a huge chorus doubled by keyboards with a vocal halfway between calm and fury. Let's not forget "Resin" and "The New World", two very good tracks, typical of the melodic death style of In Flames, nor the re-reading of "Behind Space", originally released on the first album. This version is sublimated to give a very death result with vocals and drums on an ultra effective guitar riff.

"Colony" is therefore one of the best records of In Flames which shows itself particularly incisive and effective. The band seems to be on the way to explode everything in the genre, and the evolutions undertaken suggest that this is only the beginning of a great story. - Official website

IN FLAMES

COLONY

NUCLEAR BLAST

DEATH METAL