Gothenburg, the birthplace of Melodic Death Metal and famous for its “Swedecore” sound is one of my personal favorite inspirations for metal.  From the early to mid 90’s, the metal scene in Gothenburg has grown to be refined and full of variety, growing a heavy and huge metal scene in a beautiful city.

 

Gothenburg metal bands include Amaranthe, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquility, and Entombed, At the Gates,  just to name a few.  There is no lack of talent in Sweden in general, but this one city has something magical.  There is a recipe for brilliant metal written in Gothenburg; Melodic guitars, dynamic vocals that switch between a growl and soft delivery, hard and loud pounding drums, and lyrics that seem sad but are truly inspiring.  This recipe never fails to wet my appetite for more Melodic Death Metal.  When I came across another influential band, In Flames, my expectations were high when put in the same category as the first bands I listed.  In Flames unfortunately fooled me into believing bands in Gothenburg will never stray away from the brilliance.

 

In Flames released Siren Charms on September 9th, 2014 as a very anticipated album.  In Flames mixes Melodic Death Metal influence with a more modern flavor on this latest album.  At first listen, I thought they were an American band influenced by Chevelle and Dark Tranquility.  I was shocked to find this band was from Gothenburg, Sweden, because of how mainstream and radio friendly this album appeared to me.  Upon more listens, Siren Charms does have its Gothenburg influences, you just have to listen harder to hear it.  It is not In Flames best album by any means, but Siren Charms dares to break out of the mold of Swedecore.

 

In Plain View opens the new album with a building heavy intro, breaking into a nice groove reminiscent of Arch Enemy’s guitar lines.  The vocals are cleaner on this one, on the whole album to be honest, and lacks some solid emotion throughout.  The album continues with Everything’s Gone, a faster and heavier track than the later with that same cool groove to it.  Unfortunately what came to mind on the clean vocals to me, is Marilyn Manson, but maybe you hear something different and less grading.  Paralyzed is dark and haunting with a dual guitar overlay and better sounding clean vocals from Anders.  I found Paralyzed to be a little more on the Metalcore side, but with Sybreed like vocals.  Next is one of my least favorite tracks on the album, Through Oblivion.  I feel like this song falls flat and is a serious low point in the album, losing the power and groove other tracks have.

 

With Eyes Wide Open, picks the album back up from Through Oblivion, into a more melodic and better composed sound from In Flames.  The song is begging to be one of those slow building epics and it achieves it well.  With Eyes Wide Open  is so good and different that it sounds misplaced on the album.  The title track on the album follows the epic, with a rhythmic driving sound and desperate vocal delivery.  Siren Charms inserts a much needed bit of emotion on the album.  One of the highlights of the album, is When the World Explodes, as In Flames go back to a more European metal sound.  This track features beautiful and enchanting vocals from Stockholm Opera Soprano, Emilia Feldt, which really add an amazing touch to this song.  The single, Rusted Nail, pounds and drives just like it went high on the charts in Sweden and also North America.  It is still one of the best songs on the album.  After that, Dead Eyes comes in and once again Siren Charms falls flat.  This song could honestly be left of the album and it certainly wouldn’t be missed.  Monsters in the Ballroom picks the album back up a bit, but sounds to me like 90% of what’s being played on rock radio right now.  The album finally closes with Filtered Truth, an apt disappointment of a generic song, lacking dynamics and anything to make me want to listen to this album again.

 

Siren Charms was disappointing and sounds like a complete departure from their legendary sound.  I can only hope that they will return to their roots after this flop of an album.