The Swedish metallers explore a fresh sound on their 10th album.
There’s no way of writing about In Flames’ 10th album without mentioning the departure of founding member and lead guitarist, Jesper Strömblad. It’s understandable if your first instinct is to dismiss the efforts of a band shorn of one its most influential members; but the fact of the matter is that Sounds of a Playground Fading sounds more like a band that’s been freed of their shackles than anything else.
You’ll find very, very little in the way of melodic death coming from the Gothenburg quintet on this set. Instead this comes on as a mix of alternative and melodic rock-oriented approaches which are, of course, continually peppered by Anders Fridén’s gruff, melancholic snarls.
Lees de rest van deze review op BBC CD recensies (Engels)
Bron: BBC Music