Review Summary: If you disconnect this from their old, you may have some fun with it.
While it’s true that In Flames’ heyday of creativity is behind them, and the metaphorical flame that aided masterpieces like
The Jester Race, Colony, and
Whoracle has long since burned out, the remains of their former identity aren’t entirely worthless.
Battles, unsurprisingly, is the result of a then 14-year transformation of the In Flames identity, starting with 2002’s
Reroute to Remain which implemented more electronics and alternative metal elements. Aside from the slight detour that was 2006’s
Come Clarity, they have stuck on that path, naturally progressing away from their melodic death metal roots. Knowing the route they’ve taken over the past decade and a half, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this album sounds the way it does. It does suck seeing an innovator of melodic death metal detour from their roots like this, but separating the legacy from the album may allow you to find some merit here.
The music presented on
Battles is nearly identical stylistically to its predecessor,
Siren Charms; inoffensive, by-the numbers alternative metal. What this album does better mostly lies in cutting some of the filler that marred its predecessor; there are no “Dead Eyes” or “Everything’s Gone” tier blunders to be found. The catchy enough hooks like in “Like Sand”, “Drained”, or “The Truth” and atmospheric elements in “Wallflower” save it from being at the same level of inconsistency. Nothing amazing by any means, and as far of a cry from the next coming of
The Jester Race as they’ve gotten, but it’s at least good enough to not warrant a skip any time one of it’s tracks pops up on Spotify radio. Lead guitarist Björn Gelotte’s work here supplements the album’s simpler writing fairly well, just as it supplemented works that Jesper Strömblad performed on before his departure in 2008. Current rhythm guitarist Niclas Engelin is certainly no substitute for Strömblad, but he does justice enough for the style on display.
As polarizing as it has proven to be, lead singer Anders Fridén is the centerpiece for the record, with his emotive clean vocals being upfront in the mix. Because of the decline in instrumental complexity, the listener has to rely on the singer to find merit. Lyrically, there’s is some variation, but the majority of it is very personal; “Like Sand” is about insecurity, “Drained” is another relatable breakup song, “The End” and “The Truth" pose questions about one’s status in life and existence itself, “Wallflower” details his midlife crisis, and “Here Until Forever” comes off a fairly self-explanatory love song. The lyricism itself is direct, yet is still a step up from some older releases; Anders’ delivery does justice enough to the concepts expressed on the album. While some will obviously abhor his vocals, as it’s not for everyone, it’s hard to call a singer with as much emotion as is on display that still manages to hit the right notes really
bad in my eyes. While some tracks like “Save Me” and “Underneath My Skin” are fairly insubstantial, they’re far from awful.
Battles is among their weaker works; only
Siren Charms sits below it in quality. However, when disconnected entirely from In Flames’ legacy, their latest studio album still holds enough merit to pass as a decent alternative metal album. I have no doubt that if this were released by a new band, it would not have received the level of vitriol it gets; such is the same for many other decent enough works. Anders Fridén’s performance won’t please everyone, and it sure hasn’t done so, but as far as I’m concerned, he does a satisfactory job of bringing up what was otherwise average musicianship; it’s centered around Anders anyway, so it was up to him to hold it up or tear it down.
