So basically, "I, The Mask" is a tale of two halves, and the first single of the record represents the first half. When I first heard "I Am Above", I was first struck with how strange the video was, but also how much this sounded like something out of "A Sense of Purpose", which definitely made me happy. The riff is heavy, yet fluent, and the whole song structure is so well crafted, making it a clear return to form. Fortunately for me, and hopefully all of you as well, there were more of this to be found on the disc.
All of the first four tracks are just great In Flames songs, harking back to the pre-"Siren Charms" era where the band was on a whole different level. Besides the previously mentioned "I Am Above", we have the catchy "Voices", the epic "Call My Name", and also the self titled track that is on a league of its own, having a flow we have not heard from the band in so many years, almost forcing you to scream "in the maaaaaaaaaaask", and also adding a great, melodic solo. It is as strong of an opening to an In Flames record you could ever hope for. The album takes a slight dip after that in the acceptable "Follow Me", but then we come to the second single of the record, officially entering the second half.
From here on out, we are witnessing a complete nose dive for "I, The Mask", starting with "(This Is Our) House", which is one of the dumbest In Flames songs I have ever heard. It starts out with the children's choir bullshit that we also heard on "Battles", which then leads to some interesting chugging riffs and build ups that gets your hopes up just enough for you to get disappointed again once Anders Fridén goes falsetto. God damn, this is one of the most disjointed songs out there, changing tempos at will, going everywhere and nowhere at the same time, never staying in one place long enough for the listener to get orientated. I truly hate this song, and I do not understand how such talented guys could look at this song and feel good enough about it to actually release it at its current state.
While that was rock bottom of the album, "I, The Mask" does not exactly get better for the rest of the run time. What follows is a mish mash of forgettable songs that do not get out a lot of emotions out of me, and the few emotions that do escape my hollow shell are not good. No other song does make me rage like "(This Is Our) House", but songs like "We Will Remember" and "Deep Inside" just makes me uneasy because they are basically pop rock radio songs, unimaginative ones at that. I kind of like "Burn" for its intensity, and closing track "Stay With Me" has some sweet moments (showing off the improved clean singing of Mr. Fridén), but the rest of the second half is so dull that it becomes pure misery just reaching the end of the record.
Well, this is about as two-faced of an album I have ever encountered. "I, The Mask" is pretty reminiscent of its predecessor "Battles" in how uneven it is, but "Battles" did mix the ups and downs in the track list, making the entire experience much more bearable. I believe "I, The Mask" would have been perfect as a 5, maybe 6 song long EP, because there is genuinely great material in here, but with so much filler and other shit, it just does not make a good album. It is just like "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" in that it contains a lot of masks, some are really good for you, and others are just horrifying.
Songs worthy of recognition: "I, The Mask", Voices, I Am Above
Rating: 5,5/10 Houses
www.inflames.com/
twitter.com/inflames_swe
More reviews of In Flames
Siren Charms
Battles
No comments:
Post a Comment