IN FLAMES — Siren Charms (review)

IN FLAMES — Siren Charms album cover Album · 2014 · Alternative Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Siren Charms" is the 11th full-length studio album by Swedish metal act In Flames and the successor to "Sounds of a Playground Fading" from 2011. The album was released through Sony/Epic Music in September 2014. Since the last album, which was recorded as a four-piece, new guitarist Niclas Engelin has been added to the lineup.

Melody was always a key element of In Flames sound, and even when they changed their style with "Reroute to Remain: Fourteen Songs of Conscious Insanity (2002)", the melodic element was intact. On "Siren Charms" they add an element of commercial accessibility, which they have hinted at several times since 2002, but never fully realized. "Siren Charms" is simply an instantly catchy and memorable album.

The 11 tracks on the 44:30 minutes long album all feature simple vers/chorus structures. Typically with huge anthemic choruses, and more anonymous verses. It´s not always a tried and true formula like that works, but it works well here, and even though I occasionally can´t help think that it´s all a bit generic and I would love to have heard a surprise moment just a couple of times during the playing time, In Flames manages to pull it off in great style and as a listener I´m entertained all the way through the album.

The musicianship is on a high level on all positions. Anders Fridén´s Marilyn Manson meets Jonathan Davis type vocals are a bit of an aquired taste, but I think he´s getting better on each album since he changed his vocal style, and on "Siren Charms" his performance is often on a very high level (both his clean vocals and his more raw vocals). The band is overall a very tight unit, and although the riffs aren´t always that interesting or memorable (the band obviously focus more on overall composition, than on writing killer riffs), the band always manage to elevate them to a higher level. The same can be said about the rhythm section. They play rhythmic material we´ve heard played in a similar style time and time again, but manage to pull it off in a convincing manner.

So upon conclusion "Siren Charms" isn´t the most innovative release by In Flames, but it´s damn catchy, very well produced, and very well played. At this point I don´t know if the longivity of the album will suffer because of the relavitely simple/generic song structures, but right now it´s an instantly enjoyable listen, that doesn´t require too much attention from the listener (not because it´s not interesting, but because it´s not that complex), and sometimes that´s what I need, a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
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