‘COME CLARITY’ – IN FLAMES

During their performance at the Download festival 2005, In Flames screamer Anders………….informed the crowd that their new album would most certainly NOT be another ‘Reroute To Remain’. In that he was not wrong. Where their previous smash masterpiece possessed an almost laid back air, ‘Come Clarity’ is a far more intense, urgent record. The shrieks and searing guitars of ‘Take This Life’, ‘Scream’ and ‘Crawling Through Knives’ exude a vehemence that verges on agony. Meanwhile the title track is as close to a lighters-aloft ballad as In Flames are every likely to get, and ‘Vanishing Light’ promises to be an infectious mosh-pit classic.
If you are new to In Flames you could certainly do worse than ‘Come Clarity’. As it stands alone this album is pretty rock solid. If you are an established fan however, you will have likely realised that there is a formula to In Flames and regardless of the album content everything they do still somehow manages sounds the same. This album is no different. If you like In Flames or have never heard them before you will love it. If you don’t you may get a bit bored.

5/7

'THE POISON’ - BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

This time last year Bullet won Best British Newcomer at the Kerrang! Awards. After listening to this, their debut album, it is still not clear why. Playing live, Bullet are very very good. They are raw and furious, you can see the sweat and spit flying, and they manage to engage every single person in the audience. They are bona fide born rockstars. But with the polish of production much of this is lost, and this saps the music of its energy and vitality. The music is still often high quality in technical terms, but that by itself does not make a good album.

Unfortunately ‘The Poison’ also suffers from its lack of originality. Nothing here is new.
The chilling tones of opener ‘Intro’ are undeniably beautiful, and this is enhanced by the sudden (if slightly clumsy) explosion into ‘Her Voice Resides’. The result of this may be impressive but any fan of Cradle of Filth, Atreyu or Trivium will have seen this gentle/violent thing before, and to a much greater effect.

The rest of the album, too, is only average. Proficient in musicianship but average in delivery. Bullet For My Valentine are by no means a crap band. The shame is that this album does not do them justice.

4/7