Comments on: IN FLAMES TRY TO FIND THEIR SENSE OF PURPOSE BUT MISS BY A LITTLE

By: Josh Gunderson

Josh Gunderson — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:43:22 +0000

Picked it up at Circuit City last weekend (40% off, fuck yeah!). Sounds like an Emo/hardcore album. It’s probably going in my GoodWill box. :(

By: bob

bob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:29:36 +0000

It’s funny how people are saying the production is weak, personally I find it’s a big step up from come clarity at least, which is so compressed it actually induces a headache

By: IN FLAMES GIVE ME A STIFFY (BUT THEIR NEW VIDEO GIVES ME A SEMI) | MetalSucks

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:16:29 +0000

[...] though I’m not such a fan of In Flames’ latest album A Sense of Purpose, I will always love this band to death. The [...]

By: Conor

Conor — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:55:43 +0000

I’ll die an IF fan (bug me on AIM at inflamesarebest), but this is the first IF album I will not buy. It just isn’t there. It isn’t anything. It’s not even worth hating on, it’s just a half a retard in every category.

Also, weird jab about the “long and prolific career.” IF have that. They are easily one of the most influential bands in melodeath, right next to ATG’s SOTS. And at least IF had several memorable releases.

By: defender of the faith

defender of the faith — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:24:58 +0000

thease guys kick ass but this album aint worth shit

By: Wayne

Wayne — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:00:24 +0000

Great review, Vince. I feel the same way. It’s not bad, exactly, but it doesn’t inspire any great feelings of any kind, either. I feel that there are some good hooks in the first 5 or so songs of the record, but the further on you go the more same-y it starts getting, and it gets pretty repetitive. Bands need to know when to start chopping songs. This album is too long for what it is.

By: Muttweiler

Muttweiler — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:21:04 +0000

It kind of reminded me of Judas Priest’s couple of albums before Painkiller…listenable but nothing really earthshattering. It stayed in the CD player for maybe 5 days until I got my order from Century Media with my Warrel Dane and Mercenary imports in it. I stuck it in an ipod playlist with my last 6-8 album purchases so it gets played in hour 5 in the garage if I don’t touch it.

By: C.J. (the D.J.)

C.J. (the D.J.) — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:26:08 +0000

as for the guitar sounds, someone please go buy these guys some new amps!
The peavey 5150/6505 sound is fucking tired. I’d rather hear a mesa with a MXR micro amp infront of it!
Play an amp with some guts or maybe
at least change the tubes in the amps you guys have? You don’t have to sound like the 500 metalcore bands that already make fun of.

Song Writing: I think I remember hearing this record is the first one in awhile where there was working together as a unit instead of one guy doing his part and emailing it over to the next guy so he can do his thing on it.
I imagine we will hear better things on the next release. They had to make this record first though after the tough time they we’re going through personally.

But I still think they could have done better with the friggin guitars!!!

By: ste

ste — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:47:47 +0000

I heard a bunch of songs off this album on their myspace page. Bland, boring… I wasn’t impressed. Shame, as I like everything else they’ve done (apart from Soundtrack-)

Come Clarity pisses all over this from a very great height.

By: chris

chris — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:04:58 +0000

why hasn’t anyone pointed out that anders’ new style of singing, whinning like a little emo kid who got kicked in the nuts, is goddamned fucking annoying. this band is no longer the great swedish deathmetal band they once were. i will always love this band and all their previous albums (yes even come clarity) but this piece of shit sounds like a highschool version of in flames. glad to own all their previous albums, glad i pirated this before going out and buying it

By: Nate D

Nate D — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:16:12 +0000

I have to agree with NuMallCore Pwns YoMama . At first I was like ” WTF is this” and then I did not touch it for a bit. Thinking about it more I thought “I need to give it a try”. Some songs grew on me but all in all I took it out again. I just could not get into the HO HUM sound.

It is like they did not even try. I never look at peoples comments on “selling out” or ” it’s not Lunar strain, clayman etc.” To me it is all presentation. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of aggressiveness. They need to take a lesson from their Swedish counter parts Soilwork who changed their sound in such a different way and still put on a fucking amazing show.

Guess I’ll use the cd as a frizbe for my dog.

By: joe w

joe w — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:17:35 +0000

Hey guys I’m huge In Flames i would buy their cd if it was just them sitting around farting into a microphone. This new album however has the best drumming I have heard Daniel (their drummer)play and just because they have a catchy hook does not mean its pop. This album just pushes forward from the beginning to the end and is just a big sounding album and i agree with Sammy when i say that In Flames early albums like jester race and lunar strain have a weak production even know the songs are bad ass.

By: NuMallCore Pwns YoMama

NuMallCore Pwns YoMama — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:13:02 +0000

I gots me no Rachel Ray ringtones on my monitor.

By: NuMallCore Pwns YoMama

NuMallCore Pwns YoMama — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:11:14 +0000

Like all the others posting, I’m a big IF fan, but this album left a sour note. It’s good to hear something from the band, but it literally lasted a week in my CD player and I haven’t reached for it since. I was really hoping for something along the lines of Come Clarity. I thought that was the perfect (new style) IF album. I give Sense of Purpose 3/5.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:08:28 +0000

Explain to me how a review of In Flames can bring up a Google advert for Rachel Ray ring tones. And exactly what would a Rachel Ray ringtone sound like? A squealy laugh while screaming “EVOO”?

And before anyone starts “flaming” me as being, well, a flamer, yeah I watch the Food Network. So fuck you and your families too.

By: al

al — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:45:25 +0000

I see your point, but I agree with Kye, I’m a Huge IN FLAMES fan, but the first time I Heard the album, was kinda dissapointing.. but the more I listen to it, the more I liked… I think you should do it too, hear the album a couple more times and look back at your review… MORE IN FLAMES COULDN’T HURT ANYBODY, does it???

By: Sammy

Sammy — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:19:13 +0000

I’ve thought previous In Flames albums had weak production, thin guitars, “cheap” sounding, etc.. It’s one thing that’s kept me from really getting into them.

By: Kye

Kye — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:17:22 +0000

That review sounds about the way I would’ve described it the first time I heard it. However, the more I’ve listened to it, the more I’ve come to enjoy. I will agree tho, that I think the production is a rather week point of the record.

But overall, this is one of 4 of their cds that I find I can listen to all the way through and enjoy it everytime.

By: TJ

TJ — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:59:31 +0000

Hey man, I agree pretty much spot on with your review. Nothing too special about the album at all.

That said, your line about “Ultimately if In Flames end up having a long, prolific career”, kind of confused me.
A band that has been together since 1990 and released nine albums doesn’t have a long and prolific career?

Granted, they aren’t the Rolling Stones.
But in today’s music scene, where a ton of bands break up after releasing 1 or 2 albums, In Flames has already become legendary.