Review by Andy Valentine
I’m going to have to disagree with the rest of the world on this one. A Sense of Purpose isn’t as bad as everyone seems to think. Reviews for this puppy call it In Flames’ worst work to date. They call it a pop-infused sell-out album. Like, In Flames’ attempt to move over into the radio-friendly mainstream.
And, don’t get me wrong, I fucking hated Soundtrack to Your Escape (2004) and Come Clarity (2006), In Flames’ previous two studio efforts. For me, basically anything after Reroute to Remain (2002) has been trash. So, instinctively, going into A Sense of Purpose, I really wasn’t expecting too much. I thought it would be the same droll reworked and re-hashed bullshit with Anders Friden working his whiny-assed “help-me” vibe that he’s rocked the last four years. (Is it me, or has Anders Friden been trying to emulate KoRn’s Jonathan Davis ever since Reroute to Remain (2002)? – You’d think he could aspire to imitate, oh I dunno, someone better…)
Anyways.
Yeah, Anders Friden is still singing like a whiny little girl with a skinned knee – but for once, it works. A Sense of Purpose is solid. Sure, it’s not the second coming of Clayman (2000), but In Flames is finally sounding like they’re in their groove again. It’s certainly not the *same* groove that we all loved from the first half of their career – but it’s a powerful groove nonetheless.
Listening to the chorus of “Disconnected,” you can’t deny it. It’s In Flames back in powerful form, just not in any way that you’re used to. I’ve got a c-note that says In Flames was listening to Boysetsfire’s new shit The Plague Years while cutting this track. It’s a sound I’ve never heard come out of In Flames before, and it’s refreshing to get some new flavor out of a band I was convinced had run out of ideas. Same goes for the track “Sleepless Again,” which is haunted by an odd 80’s new wave synth vibe that both doesn’t belong, but works terribly well.
With A Sense of Purpose, In Flames has put out a record that for all intents and purposes should suck. Emo influence? Pop? Shit, 80’s new wave? No fucking way this album should be any good.
But it is.
Hell, on the first listen, the fourth track “Alias” is instantly groovy. The song’s chorus, “…don’t tell me, tell my ghost - ‘cause I blame him for all I don’t want to know…” fucking kills. You’ll be singing along to this little ditty the first time you hear it, guaranteed. This song is classic In Flames. It’s got the same vibe and energy of their classic tracks “Cloud Connected” and “System.”
Track 7, “Move through Me” is similarly good. It’s classic riffage intertwined (again) with an oddly upbeat and out of place keyboard line that would have fit better in a Eurythmics song. But goddamn if it doesn’t sound great.
I think I finally get what In Flames has been trying to do the last four years. Being pioneers of the Scandinavian Death Metal scene, they didn’t want the sound to get stale. For once they got it right. It’s still the Scandinavian sound, just not like you’ve ever heard it before.
Let yourself in, and you just might like it a little.