In Flames - Sounds of a Playground Fading

Pioneers of the Gothenburg Death Metal scene In Flames have done it again with their 10th studio effort. Aside from the slightly creepy album name, this is an effort that stands right up there with their widely considered masterpiece "Come Clarity". This is also the first album the band has released without any of the founding members as Jesper Strombald left in February 2010.

Even without Jesper, the band has proved that they can still write some brilliant Melodic death Metal and the band aren’t resting on their well-earned laurels, with them still experimenting and trying to push themselves further with some electronic sections with tracks such as The Jester’s Door and the opening of Deliver Us.

There are some tracks that are slightly different from what fans are originally used to, such as the mid-paced "All For Me" and the after-mentioned "Jester’s Door", but overall the band retain their early sound which has made them this popular.

James Merrett

Read full review here.