In Flames – Foregone

In Flames first album of the decade is a vicious one. Since the release of the single “State of Slow Decay” they have done nothing else than showing us that this album will be heavier and a lot faster than their recent albums of the last decade.

Now the album has arrived, and we were not disappointed.

As a band that has been around since the mid-90s, you are bound to start experimenting in your production and sound. Something we have seen quite a bit during the last couple of albums and this new album is no exception. While it doesn’t have the raw speed and brutality of the early years we see something new that is a merge of all their sound across the albums together.

With a nice acoustic opening, we are blasting off into some of the heaviest sounds I haven’t heard from them since the “A Sense of Purpose” album. With catchy lyrics and even catchier guitars we are prepared for a great ride across the album. The rest of the album is no exception, we can truly hear that the combination of their recent albums together with the “nod” to their early days and great production creates something I would like to call “Melodic Anger”.

Although I find most of the tracks quite similar to each other in the album I can’t help but just fall in love with the single “Meet Your Maker”. This track is the perfect In Flames song. It is a great example of all I have mentioned earlier and this one stands out from the rest. The chorus makes you scream to the top of your lungs and together with a beat that is impossible not to headbang along with. Although we have many years to go, I would not be surprised to see this track make it into the top 10 of all metal tracks of this decade.

In Flames is doing a great job in experimenting with their sound and at the same time keep themselves relevant in the metal scene today. I would not be surprised to see more albums to come with new experimentation and even catchier lyrics. As always, I will be on the lookout and keep listening to this band that have made themselves one of the greatest metal exports of today.

Artist: In Flames
Title: Foregone
Rating: 8/10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Date of Release: 2023-02-10
Place of origin: Sweden
Standout track: Meet The Maker