Yep, this is quite enjoyable...on its own merits, really. Meaning, it doesn't sound to me it's so much of a return to their early roots (except perhaps a few more aggressive and faster-paced songs), rather a return to form, where the songs are just better to my ears. More interesting and dynamic, overall.
Although, to be fair, I didn't follow much of they've been doing since, um, A Sense of Purpose, I think.
To me the Subterranean/The Jester Race combo is truly iconic, just all-around unbelievably good stuff that brings back great memories. Whoracle, in an "objective" sense, is a record that's very much in line with the style on The Jester Race and it's fantastic, although it's not quite as iconic in my book. Then Colony was excellent too, just a tad less inspired (imo). Same with Clayman - I actually appreciated how they were starting to expand their sound palette a bit.
Reroute to Remain is an interesting case - I LOVED it when it came out. The attempts to "modernize" the songwriting (and the sound) were obvious, but I really enjoyed it. However, with more recent revisits, I felt it didn't age super-well. Or maybe it's me that aged
I still like it, but not as much. Soundtrack to my Escape, on the other hand, truly disappointed me at the time. Largely fell flat. As for Come Clarity...I know it's pretty widely appreciated (here on the DTF too, I think), and was welcomed as a return to form upon release...but while I think it's a good record, I never really connected with it. In fact, like I said before, it sort of coincided with the time when I stopped closely following the band's music.
Most of the stuff I came across from the records following CC didn't interest me enough to explore more...I'm pretty sure I've listened to the albums here and there, but not more than that.
Glad that Foregone reignited some of that interest
Topic: In Flames (Read 76022 times)
