Review Summary: In Flames fully embrace their pop influences and bring out their best.
Over the last decade, In Flames have been finding increased influence from more mainstream sources. While the results of this experiment as a whole could be called into question, especially when looking solely at the Nu-chug of
Soundtrack To Your Escape or the overbearing attempts at relevancy of
The Mirror's Truth, In Flames' gravitation towards accessibility birthed their opus, 2000's
Clayman. With
Clayman, the Swedish metallers fully embraced the poppier side of their songwriting, creating an instantly accessible gem of an album that is brimming with infectious melodies and sugary hooks.
The lifeblood of In Flames, as with most Gothenburgh bands, is their two guitarists, Jesper Stromblad and Bjorn Gelotte. Every song on
Clayman is one guitar hook after another, example being the hyper-melodic "Suburban Me", where everything, from the subdued verses to the simple yet affecting chorus leads, bleeds a unique personality that permanently etches itself into your memory. Even the solo is rediculously catchy, all fitting together perfectly, manifesting in the perfect union of heavy and pop. There isn't a single moment where the guitar duo falls short. Even at their most reserved, on "Satellites and Astronauts", the leads are perfectly executed, keeping in tune with the soul of the album and it's addictive nature.
Clayman marks vocalist Anders Friden at his peak. His screams are sharp, piercing, and forceful in a way that has rarely been seen since. Throughout
Clayman, Anders uses his vocals, not only to get across his stories of struggle and the metaphysical, but in patterns that help accentuate the pop sensibilities of the songs. "Only for the Weak" finds Anders breaking out in cleans that resemble more of a spoken word take than actual singing, and in the process adds the crucial melody that pairs perfectly with the power chord chug of the verse. On "Swim" his screams cut their own hook to compete with the swirling leads of the chorus, making it one of the vocal stand outs of his career.
Clayman is a seminal moment for In Flames. It's flirting with pop friendly structures within In Flames already strong core of melody brought out the best in the already well established sound of the band. Unfortunately this slight shift in direction would eventually take them into unfriendly territory, making
Clayman a bookend for the first stage of In Flames career, while at the same time making it the starting point for their current sound.
