Iconic Swedish death metal band, In Flames, have returned to form and have created one of their best albums in years, Foregone.
Few bands represent the microcosm of death metal's past, present, and future. New Wave Swedish death metal's innovative master builders In Flames have perfected the art of blending hard rock, incessant grooves, and mesmerizing melodies into every experience, yet always find a way to reinvent themselves within every step of their career. Having one of the most dissonant and compelling discographies to date, In Flames are just as vibrant and fresh since the pinnacle releases of Come Clarity and Clayman. The most impressively dynamic bands in metal are back again with their 14th studio album release, Foregone.
Denuded and ethereally rich moment, "Pure Light of Mind" keeps their inventive use of melodic death metal and brilliantly gift wraps one of the best songs on the album to listeners, "The Great Decieiver." With one of the album's best instrumental guitar solos and the best melodic to harmony structures on the record.
Foregone is the second In Flames album with bassist Bryce Paul and drummer Tanner Wayne, the first with ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Broderick, and the third with Grammy-winning producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Three Days Grace). Mike Plotnikoff (All That Remains, Warbringer) was engineered at Benson’s West Valley Recording Studios. Joe Rickard (10 Years, Starset, Diamante), who played drums for In Flames from 2016 through 2019, handled the mixing of this heavy metal magnum opus. Combining some of the best of their colossally heavy, metallic, and melodic strengths for their newest release, In flames prove time and time again why they are one of the most iconic metal bands in the postmodern era.
Forgone starts with one of the most beautifully breathtaking instrumental pieces ever, "The Beginning Of All Things That Will End." With an immersive and emotional blend of atmospheric and melodic elements, metal giants In Flames prove a point early on why they are one of the strongest instrumental forces to reckon with in all of metal.
Forgone continues to brim with confidence with the next track, "State of Slow Decay." In Flames, captivating and full of raw and vicious rage within its guitar and percussive energies derives from the world's unaltered pain and suffering and immerses it within this track and many others that follow it.
"Meet Your Maker " and "Bleeding Out" continues to provide the same massive power and agitation from the last tracks, with every instrumental and vocal note delving deeper into the desperation and raw nerve of humanity, In Flames delivers a dualistic approach of vulnerability that works effortlessly within Forgone.
"Foregone, Pt.1" and "Pt. 2" move towards more personal junctures in the album, showing the band's devotion to going back to a sound that feels familiar but evolved through experience. While the title is very resonant with such evidence, it proves to be more of a defining point through each track's nostalgic instrumental structure.
Denuded and ethereally rich moment, "Pure Light of Mind" keeps their inventive use of melodic death metal and brilliantly gift wraps one of the best songs on the album to listeners, "The Great Decieiver." With one of the album's best instrumental guitar solos and the best melodic to harmony structures on the record.
"In The Dark" keeps the journey going with much more massive sounds that possess a heavier, and percussively robust backbone to it compared to the melodic gem that came before, segueing into other impactful soundscapes such as "A Dialogue In B Flat Minor" and "Cynosure."
The album ends beautifully, with the finale track, "End The Transmission ," boldly showcasing one of their most gravid and dominant songs to finish the album.
Forgone is an album that speaks for itself throughout the record and by title alone. The band is better than they have ever been in years, with their return to form displaying some of the most genius uses of heavy and delicate elements on an album thus far. While the band is never afraid to try something new, sometimes going back to your basics and finetuning an already unique approach to the genre shows more weight than doing what everyone will please everyone else. As a result, In Flames has come back swinging with one of their best albums, with a head-turner of an album that has put some original zest and spice back into metal again. If this is just a prelude to what In Flames can pull off now with an already impressive career under their belts, the future looks fantastic for death metal.
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