Sounds Of A Playground Fading Cd Review

For as long as the world is turning and time still lingers by 'til that last lonely breathe - until the end of time - there will always remain a definite degree of elation when any In Flames movement stirs the earth; perhaps as a form of nostalgia. Perhaps, simply of hope. For what was once one of the greatest and most defining melodic death metal bands of all times, whose style and innovation influenced an entire generation of metal to come, they have just released their tenth studio album which seems to be dwindling astray from their original intense creativity and while rousing rumors permit the perception that the album title, Sounds Of A Playground Fading, has become ironically exact in the paradox of their own marvel, we, their followers and life-long believers, can only hope that therein lies a pathetic fallacy because it is when you put on an In Flames record that you find the comfort in knowing that you are finally home.

After In Flames founder and co-writer Jesper Strömblad left the band early last year guitarist Björn Gelotte was left to write an entire album on his own for the first time and while this album continues the progression in classic In Flames style with remnants from previous records, that familiar charisma that once defined everything this band represented is missing. The thirteen track album is based on a foundation of melodic experimentation and self-consciously epic guitar riffs colliding with the instantly recognizable vocals of Anders Fridén which get stretched out to almost breaking point.

Sounds Of A Playground Fading begins with a self-titled track of gloom and despair as a sorrowful guitar melody introduces the album until finally, at just under a minute into the track, everything you’ve spent the last three years waiting for inaugurates into a power track of melodic guitars contrasting against the otherwise brutal sound of screams. Deliver Us and All For Me evoke something reminiscent of earlier albums and it is in these songs that the album finds its depth in the allure of their chords and flawless delivery. The Puzzle makes wide use of post-hardcore vocal styles that listeners will either love or hate, but after the breakdown at 01:48 which is followed by an 80’s inspired guitar solo, the track becomes more harmonious and less of Fridén’s vocal rat race before it soothes into a calm end which gradually develops into Fear Is The Weakness, one of the better tracks on the album as its musical composition is easy listening and natural with a trace of Blues in the riffs.

Songs like Where The Dead Ships Dwell and The Attic are laced in guitar solos and drizzled in a blues-infused dressing. Enter Tragedy and A New Dawn are definitely worth mentioning as their arrangements and use of synthesized flourishes are powerfully array. A New Dawn is layered with intermittent interventions of vocal effects, dirty in emotional rawness and desperation. The elusive chord phrasings create a dramatized, deeper impact that aspires towards moods and memories in a way that draws in the subconscious and invites us to paint our own pictures. It is music which encompasses the Holy Trinity of creative endeavour: intellect, emotion and imagination.

The album closes with Liberation, a pop-rock song that seems completely out of the band’s character yet somehow Fridén’s singing does this heart wrenching tale of emancipation from life enough justice in order to evoke the webs that tangle with every suffering. Yet emotional and reflective, it possibly ruins the driving, relentless mood of the blackened metal songs. While this album is nowhere near previous albums such as The Jester Race, Whoracle and or Colony, the albums that defined In Flames as a band, the music on this album is still current and even though the trend-setting in it may be more subtle, they have evolved from abstract themes to more personal endeavours of inner struggles as they try to restore artistic dignity to the musical arrangement and lyrics.

In more recent albums the traditional In Flames style has been rootless and at times, lost. The vast diversity in musical and vocal variation on this record deserves some credit as they explore and experiment with new ideas and styles; this shift will always leave those who refuse to progress and mature with the band slightly bitter. However, this album may just be the beginning of good things to come.

Sounds Of A Playground Fading Tracklist

01. Sounds Of A Playground Fading
02. Deliver Us
03. All For Me
04. The Puzzle
05. Fear Is The Weakness
06. Where The Dead Ships Dwell
07. The Attic
08. Darker Times
09. Ropes
10. Enter Tragedy
11. Jester's Door
12. A New Dawn
13. Liberation

In Flames Line-up

Vocals: Anders Friden
Guitar: Björn Gelotte
Guitar: Niclas Engelin
Bass: Peter Iwers
Drums: Daniel Svensson

In Flames Weblinks

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