Reroute To Remain (Nuclear Blast~2002)
"A spineless attempt, have we lost it completely? - Praised like a king, every day in every way, weīre getting weaker". Those lyrics, from the song "Egonomic", pretty much sum up how I feel about this album. To be honest, itīs not bad. But "not bad" isnīt nearly good enough for this band. There are glimpses of brilliance among the 14 tracks, but all they do is add to the frustration. Imagine being given a taste of an awesome drink, but then before you can enjoy the rest of the bottle, a bunch of water is added to it. Thatīs what itīs like to hear an awesome riff and an intense chorus followed by a crappy, poppy sounding chorus. Iīd much rather have 10 solid tracks instead of 14 watered-down songs any day. And for goodness sake, why the hell didnīt somebody keep these guys from including a pseudo-country song like "Metaphor"? This latest In Flames offering has its moments, but in the end Iīm left shaking my head, wondering, "what the hell?"