"Clayman" the Review!
"Bullet Ride" begins this album with a bang. Record player noise precurses the typical metal-esque intro; open tonic chord with crashes - single band hit followed by a riff of significant nature that progressively palm mutes towards the end of every two measures. Brilliant. The rest of the band comes back in with a stuttered drum fill that is reiterated at the end of each phrase forthwith until the verse. The verse is very demure, and is crushed abruptly by a very edgy pre-chorus. A silence just before each chorus gives the song consistency, while calming the listener for a very steady chorus. After the solo/bridge, the intro is revisited in full force just before the third verse and just after the last chorus, but modified slightly dragging the chord progression and the beat, signaling the end which it climaxes quite nicely. Electronic drum sounds help this song out in the verse sections, giving a nice dynamic contrast from verse to pre-chorus.
In Flames has been called a "melodic" death metal band at times, and the ultra-fast "Pinball Map" is a tune that leans in the direction which earns the band that reference, sporting trash beats and sung vocals over the chorus. However, the tune never leaves the ballpark, including a brief but meaningful solo before the very heavy, very death metal bridge. What is interesting about In Flames writing style is that they rely so heavily on the sub-dominant chord in almost every phrase. "Pinball Map" grabs the listener with a riff that moves as fast as the drums; in typical fashion, the guitar grabs at the notes up each measure towards the end of the phrase which is stuttered. Phrases like "early morning moments, a glimpse of joy, but soon it's over and I return to dust" are good examples of the lyrical content being classically asthetic and dually introspective in typical scandinavian metal style.
"Only for the Weak" hard-rocks a little more than the rest of the album and sports the most melodic solo on the album. The chorus is quite epic, more so than the rest of the album, especially the last time through; a modulation, a tagged/faded ending, and dragged drums at the end all fortify this song's grand essence.
The fourth song "As the Future Repeats Today," though probably not realized at the time of conception, incorporates a widely used concept in heavy music today; the breakdown. A breakdown occurs when the beat is either cut in half or in fourth (in extreme cases, an eigth, but no more than that), the space is filled in with a washed out ride or crash and some succinct, sparse double-kick flourishes complimented by guitar parts which mimic the rhythm, while, vocals screech above the drudgery.
"Square Nothing" is the first song on the album that starts clean and slow. This continues on into the verse, where a beautiful mood is created by ominous "chug-a-chug" at the end of each phrase. An interlude between the first and second half of the first verse is complimented by a string part. Brilliant. The second half of the verse explodes into a full-blown death metal beat that is the chorus. The solo is done clean at first, guitars only. Then, modulated up, the solo is repeated in full metal glory, followed by the chorus. For being a relatively underground form of music, the musicality of the compositions on Clayman is astoundingly good.
The title track is fast as hell. The chord progression departs a bit from the standard musical fare of natural minor/harmonic minor melodic movement and incorporates a little bit of riffing around some borrowed chords, but not to the detriment of their style. This song sounds significantly more like what In Flames accomplished on their acclaimed later release "Reroute to Remain."
"Satellites and Astronauts." This song, begun quietly, peaks normality and is reminiscent of their earlier work on Whoracle, what with reverberated whisperings, clean and quiet verses, and lofty melodic guitaring. A hint at jazz takes place after the first chorus. Very inventive and daring for the genre. Scandinavian Metal is typically associated with mild xenophobia, racially and musically. A very melodic, very expressive solo leads nicely back into one, last chorus just before a clean guitar postludes quietly into nothingness...
...And into...the decisive beating of drums. "Brush the Dust Away" does just that. From the solitude and calm of "Satellites..." comes the fastest, most metal track on the album. Blazing forth from the stealth of whispered vocals and sparce riffing of the verse, the second half explodes with:
Hey, get in line for tragic
Let us dance to the pistol magic
Just aim and end another
But think, as I rape your mother
The aggressive nature of this song is known from the first phrase of drumming, but this blatancy is just insult ontop of injury. The double-kick just blasts away right up until the very beginning of the pre-chorus, slowed down a bit, but not for long. The chorus kicks it back into high gear, and then, greeted with triplets fills down down the toms to a decisive hit...bridge and solo time. The arpeggio lurks in lofty places, only to revisit the beginning riff at full speed, the pre-chorus is skipped right to the chorus, in order to not belabor the point, and then the song is over.
"Swim" is one of my favorites. Never quite descending into full-blown death metal, the tone is kept to a heavy metal hum. The melody is a smart one, and to drive the point home, they let you hear all by itself once; pretty cool. A breakdown is used later to carry it. It winds up getting more emphasis thusly.
"Suburban Me" is quite an epic tune. In keeping with Swim, it never descends into death metal, and a breakdown is used to help with dynamics and clarity. The solo is magnificient, a classic. Starting low, and wanking all the way up to the top, the band supports the magnificient display. A not-so-clever-but-purposefully-chaotic whammy wank plunges the listener back into reality, but only for a second before the chorus riff is soloed once through, and then rejoined by the band for a big ending.
"Another Day in Quicksand" returns the listener to the death metal drive lost by the last two tracks, but still incorporates breakdowns. The song slows down a bit to give some space to some Queen-inspired soloing; but a pentatonic flourish just before the end of the solo lets you know that you are still coming back to riff-land. The song returns to the chorus, ends, and then, record player noise outro. Brilliant.
In Flames did all their own production and engineering on this album, amazingly, and they were thusly able to preserve their style (not assert the contra-positive about their more current releases, but frankly, the studio is just as viable a medium as a guitar or a drum kit, and their prowess and authenticity as such is displayed well in this album). This band has had a very particular style ever since their first release, Lunar Strain, and this album maintains that style while dabbling briefly in other areas like hard rock ("Suburban Me") and jazz ("Satellites and Astronauts"); the consequence is beautiful. Unlike some other metal bands who've experimented in an effort to reinvent themselves, creating sub-genres with entire albums, In Flames has stayed relatively true to their death metal roots throughout their career.
In Flames has been called a "melodic" death metal band at times, and the ultra-fast "Pinball Map" is a tune that leans in the direction which earns the band that reference, sporting trash beats and sung vocals over the chorus. However, the tune never leaves the ballpark, including a brief but meaningful solo before the very heavy, very death metal bridge. What is interesting about In Flames writing style is that they rely so heavily on the sub-dominant chord in almost every phrase. "Pinball Map" grabs the listener with a riff that moves as fast as the drums; in typical fashion, the guitar grabs at the notes up each measure towards the end of the phrase which is stuttered. Phrases like "early morning moments, a glimpse of joy, but soon it's over and I return to dust" are good examples of the lyrical content being classically asthetic and dually introspective in typical scandinavian metal style.
"Only for the Weak" hard-rocks a little more than the rest of the album and sports the most melodic solo on the album. The chorus is quite epic, more so than the rest of the album, especially the last time through; a modulation, a tagged/faded ending, and dragged drums at the end all fortify this song's grand essence.
The fourth song "As the Future Repeats Today," though probably not realized at the time of conception, incorporates a widely used concept in heavy music today; the breakdown. A breakdown occurs when the beat is either cut in half or in fourth (in extreme cases, an eigth, but no more than that), the space is filled in with a washed out ride or crash and some succinct, sparse double-kick flourishes complimented by guitar parts which mimic the rhythm, while, vocals screech above the drudgery.
"Square Nothing" is the first song on the album that starts clean and slow. This continues on into the verse, where a beautiful mood is created by ominous "chug-a-chug" at the end of each phrase. An interlude between the first and second half of the first verse is complimented by a string part. Brilliant. The second half of the verse explodes into a full-blown death metal beat that is the chorus. The solo is done clean at first, guitars only. Then, modulated up, the solo is repeated in full metal glory, followed by the chorus. For being a relatively underground form of music, the musicality of the compositions on Clayman is astoundingly good.
The title track is fast as hell. The chord progression departs a bit from the standard musical fare of natural minor/harmonic minor melodic movement and incorporates a little bit of riffing around some borrowed chords, but not to the detriment of their style. This song sounds significantly more like what In Flames accomplished on their acclaimed later release "Reroute to Remain."
"Satellites and Astronauts." This song, begun quietly, peaks normality and is reminiscent of their earlier work on Whoracle, what with reverberated whisperings, clean and quiet verses, and lofty melodic guitaring. A hint at jazz takes place after the first chorus. Very inventive and daring for the genre. Scandinavian Metal is typically associated with mild xenophobia, racially and musically. A very melodic, very expressive solo leads nicely back into one, last chorus just before a clean guitar postludes quietly into nothingness...
...And into...the decisive beating of drums. "Brush the Dust Away" does just that. From the solitude and calm of "Satellites..." comes the fastest, most metal track on the album. Blazing forth from the stealth of whispered vocals and sparce riffing of the verse, the second half explodes with:
Hey, get in line for tragic
Let us dance to the pistol magic
Just aim and end another
But think, as I rape your mother
The aggressive nature of this song is known from the first phrase of drumming, but this blatancy is just insult ontop of injury. The double-kick just blasts away right up until the very beginning of the pre-chorus, slowed down a bit, but not for long. The chorus kicks it back into high gear, and then, greeted with triplets fills down down the toms to a decisive hit...bridge and solo time. The arpeggio lurks in lofty places, only to revisit the beginning riff at full speed, the pre-chorus is skipped right to the chorus, in order to not belabor the point, and then the song is over.
"Swim" is one of my favorites. Never quite descending into full-blown death metal, the tone is kept to a heavy metal hum. The melody is a smart one, and to drive the point home, they let you hear all by itself once; pretty cool. A breakdown is used later to carry it. It winds up getting more emphasis thusly.
"Suburban Me" is quite an epic tune. In keeping with Swim, it never descends into death metal, and a breakdown is used to help with dynamics and clarity. The solo is magnificient, a classic. Starting low, and wanking all the way up to the top, the band supports the magnificient display. A not-so-clever-but-purposefully-chaotic whammy wank plunges the listener back into reality, but only for a second before the chorus riff is soloed once through, and then rejoined by the band for a big ending.
"Another Day in Quicksand" returns the listener to the death metal drive lost by the last two tracks, but still incorporates breakdowns. The song slows down a bit to give some space to some Queen-inspired soloing; but a pentatonic flourish just before the end of the solo lets you know that you are still coming back to riff-land. The song returns to the chorus, ends, and then, record player noise outro. Brilliant.
In Flames did all their own production and engineering on this album, amazingly, and they were thusly able to preserve their style (not assert the contra-positive about their more current releases, but frankly, the studio is just as viable a medium as a guitar or a drum kit, and their prowess and authenticity as such is displayed well in this album). This band has had a very particular style ever since their first release, Lunar Strain, and this album maintains that style while dabbling briefly in other areas like hard rock ("Suburban Me") and jazz ("Satellites and Astronauts"); the consequence is beautiful. Unlike some other metal bands who've experimented in an effort to reinvent themselves, creating sub-genres with entire albums, In Flames has stayed relatively true to their death metal roots throughout their career.