In rock ‘n’ roll, metal, or indeed any genre, there is always two schools of thought regarding the way a band should go about pursuing their career, in a pure musical/songwriting sense. Should a band grow, expand, experiment and stretch themselves musically with every new release, or should they just give their fans what they want, album after album?
Of course, there is really no hard and fast answer to this. If there is one, it really is down to the individual band in question, and in In Flames’ case, they definitely come from the latter school of thought. I would count myself as a fan of the band, although not a hardcore one. I’m pretty familiar with a fair wack of their past material, and while a true, dedicated, long term fan who knows all of their stuff inside out would no doubt pick out many individual nuances between each record, this really is another typical In Flames record.
That is to say, it is an excellent modern melodic metal album, with great songs, excellent musicianship, a strong sense of dynamics and beautiful, crystal-clear production values. And iconic long time vocalist Anders Friden is in typically fine form here, handling the cleans, dirties, and screams in his stride. But with great passion and precision.
That is not to say, however, that Siren Charms is a complete carbon copy of previous releases, they’ve done a few different things here, like experiment with operatic female vocals on ‘When the World Explodes’, which is quite emotional and quite spectacular. Some subtle electronica provides some nice colour as well.
If you love In Flames, this album will do nothing to dissuade you from your fandom. If you don’t, it will do little to win you over. Siren Charms is yet another, very strong In Flames album, it really is as simple as that.
Reviewer: Rod Whitfield