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| CDcame out the 04 April 2008 - Nuclear Blast / Toy's Factory / Koch Records |
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Also avalaible in limited edition with DVD (making of)
1. The Mirror's Truth
2. Disconnected
3. Sleepless Again
4. Alias
5. I'm the Highway
6. Delight and Angers
7. Move Through Me
8. The Chosen Pessimist
9. Sober and Irrelevant
10. Condemned
11. Drenched in Fear
12. March to the Shore
Bonustracks (Japanese Release)
13. Eraser
14. Tilt
15. Abnegation |
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| Review |
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Over the past few years In Flames have been wandering down questionable paths as far as long-time fans are concerned, some abandoned the band completely and the others decided that the new In Flames isn't really all that bad after all, and stuck with them. "A Sense of Purpose" is a shockingly low blow to the second group of people here as In Flames continue to push towards the twelve-year-old, black dyed fringe bearing individual market - and this time do it in a way that indefinitely is the straw that breaks the camel's back and will not be tolerated by long-running fans.
One month ago "The Mirror's Truth" EP although brandishing a very Korn-esque cover, showed a promising outlook with four heavier, faster and generally better songs. This however has shown to provoke false hope of a good album from the band. Song "The Mirror's Truth" kicks off the album in mediocre form and for about the first minute into "Disconnected" we have that higher tempo and intensity that is frankly one of the only things In Flames do well these days, but just as the once loyal fans of the band will after hearing this, the tempo and attraction the band had runs to the hills to never be seen again.
"I'm The Highway" has a slight kick in it, but generally "A Sense of Purpose" is an album laden with mediocrity and annoyance. Guitar riffs sound as uninspired as uninspired gets, usually plodding along at some mind-numbingly dull tempo. Anders' vocals are as unique and distinguishable as they always have been, just with an extra edge of whine and angsty teenager thrown in there - lyrics fit the vocal style used, but that is like saying excrement is fitting for a toilet when the audience are hoping for an album of quality, intense modern metal. Both most laughable and representative of In Flames' direction is "The Chosen Pessimist" with its pretentious title, long duration, lyrics that are supposed to be deep and meaningful but come across as plastic and fake, and predictable structure turning up the heaviness towards the end.
So long-time fans will not be impressed with the latest offering of "A Sense of Purpose", but the direction taken does expose the band even more to the mainstream popular rock and metal scenes. "A Sense of Purpose" is a very polished album, produced immaculately and sounds very professional - it will be certain to pick up more followers but from a different area to before. Most tracks have melodies running throughout, there is no doubting that In Flames have that charm a band needs in order to acquire a vast following.
With an album of anguish and inner struggles "A Sense of Purpose" takes on further the direction the band were already taking but just to an extra degree. It has what it takes to become a popular hit among the fringe-wearing community, but for the people who like their metal hard, fast, loud and real, this one is best avoided.
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| Mini-Review |
 14 / 20 |
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In Flames 2008 LP "A Sense of Purpose" hones in on a style that echoes death metal with an easy listening sense of pop. In general, the music is rhythm guitar oriented with the strumming techniques ranging from stop/go, to punk, to engine churning heavy metal - most of the time within the same song ("Drenched In Fear" is one of the only tracks that feature a lead foreground). Add this to a high quality production and the sounds come out fresh. The album's heaviness is still maintained; however, by the always pleasing vocal work of Anders Friden and the thunderous drumming of Daniel Svensson (one song though, the slow and eerie "The Chosen Pessimist" is sung clean, and that is not Friden's strong suit. To be fair, though, a clean voice was the right artistic choice to match the song's tempo and mood). "A Sense of Purpose" also benefits from an almost masterful use of breaks in between various parts in most of the songs. A great example of this would be from "I'm The Highway" which sports a filtered guitar and drums in its break. "Alias" breaks with an accoustic guitar, and "Sleepless Again" shines with a most melodic middle movement. The lyrical content for the most part is introspective and poetically vague in first person. "Sleepless Again" is the most overt in its subject matter with its spin on drug use, perhaps crystal meth. Still, what needs to be said is that it is the guitar playing that makes the record; there is enough variation within a small frame of time (most of the songs are slightly over three minutes) to keep all the songs fun and high energy even though by design they are all simple and devoid of hooks. It's the In Flames overall vibe that drives this album and makes "A Sense of Purpose" a solid work of metal.
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