In Flames Take Home More Swedish Awards
February 2, 2009 by Scott
In Flames took home more awards for last years A Sense Of Purpose. They recently took home three awards at The Bandit Rock Awards. After recenttly reading an article over at Strait Jacket Union, I decided that I needed to expand my In Flames collection and there is still something I don’t understand. Almost everyone calls them “Melodic Death Metal” but I just don’t see it. Yes, they are melodic but I think just plain “Euro Metal” would be a more fitting title. Why “Euro Metal” and not to include “Melodic” in there? I think Melodic is used far too much because I have found that there isn’t much metal that’s not melodic coming out of Europe. Maybe it’s because I see so many wanna-be bands in the U.S. that are lazy and don’t put the work in, or don’t have the musical talent of bands like Opeth, In Flames, and Children Of Bodom. Sadly music isn’t taught as much on a public school level in the United States and most of the bands that are trying to make it on the scene are more in to the fame and fortune (Fortune?) and not putting together a good melody.
Anyway, if you look at their songs, they don’t sing about the things that 99% of the death metal genre is singing about and the music and vocals don’t really fit my concept of Death Metal even though some songs may have a close resemblance. When I think of Death Metal I think of bands like Suffocation, Death, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide. Perhaps the perception of Death Metal in Europe is different than what it is in the U.S., I don’t know.
On another note, if I had heard the other albums like Come Clarity, Reroute To Remain and Colony, I probably would have had a different outlook on A Sense Of Purpose. I still think it’s a great album, but now I understand why more seasoned In Flames fans didn’t receive it as well as I did. I’m especially diggin Clayman and Soundtrack To Your Escape but Colony is by far my favorite. Specifically Coerced Coexistence.
Is it me or is Anders Friden looking a little 1990’s Johnathan Davis-ish in this photo.
Image: Newscom
my fav is Whoricle with clayman as a very close second, but i think that just because most euro bands are melodic, doesn’t mean that they should stop being called that.
“Colony is by far my favorite. Specifically Coerced Coexistence.”
Ditto. My other favorites are actually Lunar Strain and Whoracle, and I loved these albums before Soundtrack To Your Escape was even released…which might be why I find STYE, Come Clarity, and ASoP to be pretty unlistenable. They’re also the reason I probably won’t go out of my way to see IF in concert again.
And while I agree that newer IF is not at all melodic death, the older stuff fits the bill of Gothenberg sound perfectly–in fact, they, with Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates, are largely considered to be the pioneers of it.
Dark Tranquility is next on my list. I have Fiction and I think I can count on one hand how many times I’ve listened to it.
I s’pose the differences between Europe and America are numerous, metal-wise. Firstly, America seemed to get a LOT more caught up in thrash than Europe, and I assume it is because many thrash acts start up because they simply don’t have the talent to be more melodic. Now, I’m not calling Dave Mustaine or Hanneman or King untalented musicians, I’m mostly talking about the “thrash copycats” that have sprung over all over the States. The same with Death, in Europe, scenes were trying to move forward and were one-upping each other with creativity, virtuosity and diversity, whereas in America, I always sort of felt it became a “brutality contest”. This isn’t to say all acts are like that, obviously bands like Kyuss or Iced Earth don’t always rely on “brutal metal” to get their point across, but it’s a trend that I’ve noticed to be rather significant. Even the NWOBHM scene was extremely diverse. More melodic acts like Saxon went alongside other bands like Venom and whatnot.
that is a valid point. Europe produces way more dark melodic death metal (premarily in the late 80’s during the death metal boom) and yes the u.s. produces more thrash than death metal. but what i’m trying to say instead of bells and sounds of creatures of the night American metal artists express their hate through their guitar work.
You know, Giles, you’re exactly right. I’ve totally forgotten about a few Swedish death metal bands that just come with that brutal force. Straight Jacket Union also had a goo article yesterday that dipped in to bands like Entombed, Unleashed, Dismember and Grave. It makes perfect sense not to drop the “Melodic” when there are still bands like this. I got thinking in one frame of mind when I started writing this post and got off track with that thinking.