Whoracle-In Flames

So I stayed up last night. So what better way to wake up is there than listening to In Flames? Their 1997 album Whoracle is the day's first review and it is awesome. The guitars are solid and riffing abominations that create an enormous wall of sound. Then there is the pretty much imaginary bass (it's imaginary because you never hear it.) The drums are powerful and loud and provide a really nice feel to the music. In short the instruments make me smile on the inside. Then there are the vocals of Fridén which are beautifully brutal. Finally the lyrics turn this album into an epic concept album, but more on that later. As for now let's discuss that killer guitar sound.

The dual guitars of Stromblad (coolest name ever by the way) and Ljungstrom are excellent. The lead guitar of Stromblad is incredibly melodic and has some absolutely mind shattering fills. In truth the face melting brutality of Stromblad and his Flying V. If HammerFall had kept Stromblad as a guitarist and not a drummer then HammerFall would be even more brain leaking than usual. Ljungstrom on the other hand is just an average guitarist however his chunky riffs are definitely worth listening too. The bass is completely inaudible and not even worth talking about. The drums are extremely solid though and have a lot of cool fills there that help make the band sound brutal. Overall the instrumentalists on this album are pretty good and they help to create a pretty awesome sound.

The vocals on this album are pretty much the spirit of melodeath itself. The growls of Fridén help to make this album sound so awesome. His amazingly powerful growls help to make this album one of the best in the In Flames catalog. Overall the vocals are some of the best I have ever heard from the melodeath genre. The only way for them to really improve would be to make them a bit deeper. If the vocals were made even more brutal I would be oh so happy. The lyrics on this album are epic. They tell the tale of an apocalyptic story that tells about the rise of a utopian society and then the story of what happens as it goes down in flames.

All in all this is an epic album with an incredibly powerful sound. This is an album that shaped melodeath and that made it as awesome as it is today. The guitar sound is loud and brutal and highly enjoyable. The dual guitars balance in their roles nearly perfectly. The bassist is imaginary so I will not comment on him. The drums are extremely well done and they are fairly original. The vocals are fairly brutal but could be a bit deeper. Still they are overall excellent. Then there are the lyrics which detail an epic story. Overall this is a pretty awesome album that could do with more bass and slightly more brutal growls.

OVERALL 9.5/10