 
Now this release is something I’ve been
having mixed feelings about for a while now. When
reading comments from the band about the album
I’ve seen such quotes as “reduced
screaming and growling” and “some
songs pretty much go against the hard rock formula”
which give me a really bad feeling in my stomach.
Also it’s the first album since the departure
of their founding member Jesper Strömblad;
so far not really adding up to be their best release.
After the first track the outlook isn’t
any brighter either; I mean it’s not a terrible
track but everything I’ve been thinking
is true, there is a lot less screaming, barely
any and the music itself just isn’t heavy
enough to be branded as In Flames. To be fair
as the album goes on the music picks up a bit
and in fact “The Puzzle” is something
In Flames fans may be more familiar with as there
is actual screaming and heavy music to back it.
I’ll be fair, it really does give singer
Anders Friden’s voice justice as he uses
this album to really show off his capabilities
and range but that’s not really what In
Flames are about seeing as when they first started
they were a death metal band then they progressed
into a melodic death metal band. They aren’t
meant to be “going against the formula”
or “reducing the screaming” because
they are elements of the genre.
Not all hope is lost because we’ve already
had “The Puzzle” on the right track
and then comes “Darker Times”, “Enter
Tragedy” and “Fear is the Weakness”;
a glimmer of light as the flame just manages to
keep itself burning even if ever so slightly.
When “A Sense of Purpose” was released
I foresaw this happening so I’m not really
too surprised by it, it’s just a shame.
The tracks I haven’t mentioned are all in
the same vein as one another; no screaming, lighter
music and slower pace that you’d expect
for an oldschool In Flames song. I hope for their
next album they realise that they need to keep
the heavier side of them as their main focus because
that was what they did extremely well which is
proven by how much of a disappointment this release
has been.
3/5
Review by James Webb
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