In Flames: Clayman (2000)

I needed something that rocked. Riffs that cut, melodies wrapping you in drama leading to anthemic choruses and killer solos. Normally I’d go with some tried and true 80s thrash, but ever since really falling for their 2023 album Foregone In Flames has entered into the riff rotation. Clayman sits squarely in the overlapping boundaries of the Swedish institution’s two distinct phases: on the one hand are the pocket of albums that helped define the New Wave of Swedish Death Metal sound; on the other is the more processed, streamlined metal the band would continue to refine and tweak for the next quarter of a century. As such, it gets the best of both worlds, and has been a favorite of mine since discovering its sound back in my college days.

ChrisAugust 27, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Fires in the Distance: Air Not Meant For Us (2023)

I’m waiting for a record to arrive before I start my next series, so in the meantime I’m going to hit a couple one-offs that fall under the general category of “impulse buys” – those albums that, whether drunk or excited or something else caused me to hit the buy button before really thinking. Sometimes it pays off, as is the case with Air Not Meant For Us, the second album from Connecticut’s Fires in the Distance. Taking cues from melodic, progressive death metal and injecting a healthy dose of gloom and doom make for a dynamic and exciting album, one that crept back into my ears on a playlist as I was drifting off the sleep, forcing me to take attention and buy a copy before the inevitable slide back into the black.

ChrisMay 7, 2024May 6, 2024Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: melodic death metal

In Flames: Clayman (2000)

Fires in the Distance: Air Not Meant For Us (2023)