Search - In Flames :: Colony

The Best In Flames Album

J. Hilden | Texas | 08/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best in Flames album hands down. A pleasure to listen to from beginning to end; Man Made God is a great conclusion to this beautiful album."

Swedish Metal Rulz

I. Davila | Denver | 06/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Metal was mired down in its NU stage, and hardcore was still underground, and nobody knew what the hell to call metalcore, much less, melodic death metal, In Flames was already pushing melodic death metal to the next level. Possibly the greatest hard rock/metal band to come out of Sweden, the In Flames crew has always been pushing the limitations of the genre to the next level. This album not only gave credibility to the Swedish Melo-Death scene, it helped bring forth the modern American metalcore brand, inspiring New England acts such as Shadows Fall, Unearth, Killswitch Engage, and All that Remains.



This CD takes quite a turn from Whoracle, and The Jester Race, yet keeps the signature sound In Flames had developed over their first few offerings. They keep the dual guitars inspired by the NWOBHM, and the death vocals, but add some singing, something very few metal bands were doing at the time. The melodic ingredients are still there, possibly even more than on previous outings, and the brutal Swedish heavy metal is still a part of this metal awesomeness. But it is accessible, almost radio friendly, in an age when metal was almost left for dead.



I can't go into detail about each song, but I can say this is so far ahead of its time. I mean Slipknot and Disturbed were releasing so called "groundbreaking albums" in the same point in music history, but this album was so much more influential, and better than the aforementioned wastes of music history. And this is only one of many Swedish bands that helped expand Heavy Metal into something better. Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates, Arch Enemy, Opeth, Meshuggah, Wolf, Dream Evil, Soilwork, and many others have slayed the masses with their killer metal.



Behind Space '99 is my favorite song on the album, but every song delivers on this modern refined Melodic Death masterpiece. Maybe the best In Flames album, up there with Jester Race, Clayman, and their new one, A Sense of Purpose.

"