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Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile,

 
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JosephC



Joined: 26 Apr 2000
Posts: 1074
Location: Middleton, WI

PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2002 11:04 pm    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

Grading scale:
10-Top
7-Good
5-Average
3-Bad
1-Forget it
And of course, everything in between counts. Remember, 5 is average. Anything an 8 and above deserves a serious look into.

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IN FLAMES = REROUTE TO REMAIN

I had been anticipating this one for awhile. One of the things that I had loved about the early stages of In Flames was the amount of experimentation that they would do with each release. After all, how many death metal bands were doing things like Everlost (Part II) 10 years ago? And how about the spacey/acoustic Jester Script Transfigured or the Depeche Mode cover on the Whoracle release? Colony was without question more mainstream, but there were just enough change ups (the acoustic break in Zombie Inc) to keep the listener guessing. However, even though it had some great songs and maintained the great guitar melodies, Clayman was pretty much a safe, predictable release.

Make no mistake about it, In Flames has not played it safe with Reroute To Remain. The insertion of synths as a major instrument, harmony vocals and some clean (but not very clean) vocals are all new for the band. In Flames really is no longer a death metal band, but if you step back and take a look at it, they really haven't been since The Jester Race. Heck, Whoracle had as many progressive elements as death elements, and Clayman sounded more like classic German bands like Accept and Rage than it did death metal. And while some people will likely be put off by the latest direction, I'm quite enthused that In Flames have added the new elements and not simply made Colony Part 3.

Flat out, I love the majority of the 14 songs on this. In fact, the only songs I really don't care for are "Transparent" and "Dark Signs." Most of the songs I like a lot, and as many as 5 or 6 of them just blow me away. I thought there was an excellent mix of fast material, mid-paced stuff, and the two acoustic numbers are perfectly placed. And just when you think the melodic guitars have vanished, they reappear and are better than ever: check out the frantic riffs in "Egonomic." And although there are some new elements, there are some songs which really bring back memories of the past. "Minus" has the Colony thing going, while "Free Fall" recalls the second half of the Whoracle release ("Worlds Within the Margin"/"Everything Counts").

I have nothing bad to say about this except there are only 12 great songs on it (not 14). But when you have 5 songs that are just mindblowers, that overcomes any shortcomings. Oh yeah, Niklas Sundin did a fantastic job on the artwork as well. You put it all together, and this could very well be the best CD released in 2002.

Final grade = 9.5

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DARK TRANQUILLITY = DAMAGE DONE

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I was slightly disappointed by the Haven CD. Not that Haven is a bad disc, but I thought Projector was just an exceptional release and I was slightly disappointed with the direction the band went in when doing Haven.

Nonetheless, I was excited to see which way Dark Tranquillity would go with Damage Done! Would they go back to any of their speed/progressive stuff as displayed on The Gallery? Would Damage Done be as keyboard heavy as Haven was? Would they bring back the clean vocals of Projector?

Well Dark Tranquillity ended up putting together a fine CD here. The songwriting combines elements of Projector and Haven and almost splits the two right down the middle. Some stuff sounds like it could have come right off of Haven (Monochromatic Stains) while other stuff sounds very much in the Projector vein (Hours Passed in Exile, Format C: For Cortex). The keyboards and toned down and don't play nearly as prominent a role on this CD as they did on Haven. Unfortunately (in my opinion) there are no clean vocals on this disc.

For the most part the songwriting is solid. This CD starts off with a bang and ends good as well. But there are a few songs mixed (Cathode Ray Sunshine, I Deception) that don't do much for me. While there are a number of good songs, there is nothing that is going to rival Insanity's Crescendo or Therein on this CD. But overall it is solid, and I really enjoy the first three tracks and White Noise/Black Silence. And the instrumental, Ex Nihilo, is great and a perfect way to end the CD.

Overall this is a good one. It may not be Projector, but I think it's better than Haven and may be the second best CD Dark Tranquillity has released. If you like the Swedish stuff (In Flames, Gardenian), this is one you should check out.

Final grade = 7.5

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NILE = IN THEIR DARKENED SHRINES

Make no mistake about it. This is extreme death metal. If you don't like rough vocals, skip to the next review. If you don't like music that is 100% frantic, skip to the next review. This is as frickin' nasty as nasty can get.

I have to admit that stuff like this isn't for me. I hate to sound like my Grandmother, but when the songs get really fast I just can't tell one apart from another, and that becomes the big downfall. But I will say there are some nice change of paces in here (Sacrophagus, I Whisper in the Ear of the Dead) that can keep me listening for the full hour. And I'm not a history buff, but I really dig the Egyptian flavored lyrics on this. I also think the booklet, which not only has lyrics but has text talking discussing the lyrics, is fantastic. Folks, if you are into this band you don't want to download this CD, you want to buy it for the booklet/text as much as the music.....trust me.

So do I like this disc? Well not really. This is just too extreme for me and it's just not my cup of tea. But can I respect it? You bet. Technically these guys can play (really play!), the production is top-notch, and it's obvious these guys are serious and passionate about what they do. If you are into extreme death metal I think you will love this. Unfortnately for me, I just can't handle it. Too old I guess.

Final grade = 4.5

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PRIMORDIAL = STORM BEFORE CALM

When I made my last pickup from theendrecords I just had to give someone I hadn't heard much about a chance. This was the lucky winner.

This is a pretty unique disc, 7 songs (1 of them an instrumental) totalling 46 minutes. The non-insturmentals average out in the 6.5 to 7 minute range, and most of them are fairly ambitious. This band is from Ireland, and it's pretty apparent when listening to it. It definitely has the "medieval war" flavor to it, and in a couple of places (ONLY A COUPLE) it has the gallop and guitar harmonies that reminds me of Iron Maiden (unfortunately there is not enough of that).

I couldn't get into this one. I liked the first track but really didn't find much to my liking after that. Most of the songs are longer than they need to be. Most of the songs don't have a chorus and the riffs just weren't memorable enough. This is a pretty original and unique sounding band, but I couldn't get into it.

Final grade = 3.5

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Other recent grades:

Lizzy Borden/Love You To Pieces (re-issue) = 9.0
Opeth/Blackwater Park = 9.0
Korn/Untouchables = 8.5
Opeth/Morningrise = 8.5
Green Carnation/Light of Day, Day of Darkness = 8.0
Halford/Resurrection = 8.0
Judas Priest/The Remasters (12 CD) = 8.0
Lizzy Borden/Deal With the Devil = 8.0
Cradle of Filth/Lovecraft and Witch Hearts (2 CD) = 7.5
Opeth/Orchid = 7.5
Dark Tranquillity/The Gallery = 7.0
Dimension Zero/Silent Night Fever = 7.0
Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra/The Key to the Gates of the Apocalypses = 7.0
Prince/The Rainbow Children = 7.0
Wolverine/The Window Purpose = 7.0
Blaze/Tenth Dimension = 6.5
Glassjaw/Worship and Tribute = 6.5
Opeth/My Arms Your Hearse = 6.5
Sentenced/The Cold White Light = 6.5
Shadows Fall/Deadworld (Japanese EP) = 6.5
Dark Tranquillity/The Minds I = 6.0
Jacob's Dream/Jacob's Dream = 6.0
Judas Priest/Demolition = 6.0
Lizzy Borden/Menace To Society (re-issue) = 5.5
Dio/Killing the Dragon = 5.0
Dimmu Borgir = Alive In Torment (EP) = 5.0
Cradle of Filth = Live Bait for the Dead (2 CD) = 3.5
Rush/Vapor Trails = 3.5
Green Carnation/Journey to the End of the Night = 3.0
Nokturnal Mortum/To the Gates of Blasphemous Fire = 2.5
Def Leppard/X = 2.0
Geoff Tate/Geoff Tate = 2.0
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Jake



Joined: 02 Mar 1999
Posts: 4963

PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2002 10:02 am    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

When I saw Nile in concert I had those exact same thoughts about them. Yeah they can obviously put together some cool riffs but the constant speed was just too much. They didn't even use the egyptian sounds much except for intros to the songs, which also put me off.

The vocalist/bassist told me afterwards that they like to get out of the gates fast and just play all out for a few songs before they even put down any slow intros, but I must say that the songs they played later with the intros were a fair amount better than the all out fast songs. That's when I got into the show a little more. Are there no midpaced songs whatsoever? I can't say I like the full on speed all the time either.
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General Zod



Joined: 24 Jan 2001
Posts: 2519
Location: Krypton

PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2002 2:34 pm    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

The In Flames CD is growing on me more and more. Ironically, the songs that most people have a problem with (the "Nu-Metal" songs") were the songs I liked most from the beginning. The songs I had a problem with, were those that would start off brutal, and then slow to a MTV-friendly crawl. However, this CD is beginning to find favor with my ear.

I would rate the DT CD higher than you have. I think it kills. You'd be hard pressed to find a CD with 5 stronger opening songs. "The Treason Wall" is just sick.

Couldn't agree more in regards to Nile. I've read many a post (on other boards) where folks have called this their CD of the Year. So naturally, my curiosity was peeked. However, when all is said and done, this CD doesn't do it for me. Maybe, I just don't get this music. I suppose it could be fair to say that it's just to extreme for my taste. Then again, it might also be fair to say that there is very little on this CD that is musically redeeming.

Primordial is on my list (actually, it's a spreadsheet) of bands to check out. However, I'm a little less psyched to do so after reading your review.

GZ
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Tyrannorabbit



Joined: 04 Oct 2000
Posts: 3985
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2002 2:04 am    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

I'm still waiting for the DT in the mail. The IF, I don't think it's a "top 10" release in any way, but man it makes for a cool, enjoyable listen.
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Jake



Joined: 02 Mar 1999
Posts: 4963

PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2002 9:53 pm    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

Why does everything have to be top ten? I say you like it or you don't. Even Manowar, who didn't come out with the greatest release this year, have some stuff I like to listen to and some stuff I don't. Sometimes I feel like people buy stuff more to rate it and put it in the top ten then to enjoy it. Then again maybe I do it too.
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Tyrannorabbit



Joined: 04 Oct 2000
Posts: 3985
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2002 10:21 pm    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

quote:
Originally posted by Jake:
Why does everything have to be top ten? I say you like it or you don't. Even Manowar, who didn't come out with the greatest release this year, have some stuff I like to listen to and some stuff I don't. Sometimes I feel like people buy stuff more to rate it and put it in the top ten then to enjoy it. Then again maybe I do it too.

I see your point, but another way to put it would be merely to say that there's a certain division between CD's I enjoy, and CD's I enjoy enough to play regularly for months after first acquiring them.
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General Zod



Joined: 24 Jan 2001
Posts: 2519
Location: Krypton

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2002 7:34 am    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

I would agree that the expression "Top 10 CD of 200x" gets thrown around a lot. But so do word like "brilliant", "genius", etc. It's just a means of conveying how strongly you feel about something.

GZ
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Jake



Joined: 02 Mar 1999
Posts: 4963

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2002 9:48 am    Post subject: Thoughts on recent buys (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nile, Reply with quote

Ok. Was just thinking about that was all.
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