*** Soundtrack to Your Escape by In Flames - Thrashin’ Death N’ Roll

I like to refer to this genre as death n’ roll.  I didn’t invent the term.  I would say the first death n’ roll I ever heard was Carcass.  Basically, death n’ roll takes the catchiness of pop punk  and combines it with death metal or black metal.  This style may be more commonly known as thrash, though I have never heard In Flames billed as a thrash band.  This music isn’t fast enough to call speed metal, and it isn’t technical enough to call progressive metal, and it isn’t heavy enough to call death metal, and personally I never figured out what black metal is.

This is an excellent album, and definitely one of In Flames best efforts.  There are lots of catchy pop like hooks, but with a darker sound.  One of the problems with this album is that it all sounds the same.  For example, you could cut and paste just about any part of one song in this album and put it in a different place, and essentially, it would be the same album as before.

There isn’t much melancholy on this cd.  Though the guitars are very distorted.  The vocals are about as raspy as can be.  However, despite these descriptions which often make for negativity, there is an underlying sound of positivity and fun.  No, it’s not intellectual.  No, it’s not sophisticated.  No, it’s not weak.