# The Halo Effect (a bunch of ex-In Flames, including Mikael Stanne and Jesper Strömblad)



## Xaios (Oct 29, 2021)

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/former-in-flames-members-launch-the-halo-effect/

(For those who don't know, Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquillity fame was the vocalist on Lunar Strain.)

God, I hope this is good. Jesper always seemed like the beating heart of In Flames when they were at their peak. Discuss.

Is this the melodeath analogue for a Ship of Theseus?


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## Blytheryn (Oct 29, 2021)

With that much old In Flames blood it’s almost impossible that what will come out of it will be wack. I mean with Daniel, Jesper and Peter? That’s basically all the best parts right there.


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## Mathemagician (Oct 29, 2021)

Cautious optimism. Like for a video game. Preorder nothing until it comes out/let me hear clips.


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## DiezelMonster (Oct 29, 2021)

just give me another Jester Race...


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## wheresthefbomb (Oct 29, 2021)

"The Halo Effect" has me mentally preparing for the musical equivalent of a 13 year old sticking a plasma grenade to my face, insulting my mother and/or penile endowment, and teabagging my corpse. 






.....but djent is already a thing so I'm on the edge of my seat here.


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## NoodleFace (Oct 29, 2021)

If it's djent I'm going to walk off a bridge


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## GenghisCoyne (Oct 29, 2021)

a promotional picture of them playing les pauls is the only thing that will make me optimistic for this


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## Xaios (Oct 29, 2021)

GenghisCoyne said:


> a promotional picture of them playing les pauls is the only thing that will make me optimistic for this


Wasn't Jesper more of an Explorer guy?


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 29, 2021)

Xaios said:


> Wasn't Jesper more of an Explorer guy?



According to Euge (his Cyhra bandmate), he records with Les Pauls. Explorers and Vs are the stage guitars.

Also with Stanne on board I can see this getting pretty brutal.


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## GenghisCoyne (Oct 30, 2021)

jesus christ, playing gibsons** sorry


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## Adieu (Oct 30, 2021)

Coming soon: Microsoft-branded signature guitars.

With bluetooth. That doesn't effing work.


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## USMarine75 (Oct 30, 2021)

Adieu said:


> Coming soon: Microsoft-branded signature guitars.
> 
> With bluetooth. That doesn't effing work.



Meta Guitars. 

“So good they make you hate yourself and foment insurrection.” ©


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## KailM (Oct 30, 2021)

Let’s hope they’ve been watching what At The Gates have been doing.


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## Lorcan Ward (Oct 30, 2021)

I really enjoyed his Cyhra project. It was closer to in flames in many areas than a lot of their recent releases. Jesper was always a good songwriter in In flames and he has a lot out songwriting credits for Hammerfall which I always found odd when he didn’t play on their albums. He was also wrote a lot of material with Alexi for Sinergy and had a bunch of other side projects.

I’m expecting great things from this lineup.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 30, 2021)

Lorcan Ward said:


> I really enjoyed his Cyhra project. It was closer to in flames in many areas than a lot of their recent releases. Jesper was always a good songwriter in In flames and he has a lot out songwriting credits for Hammerfall which I always found odd when he didn’t play on their albums. He was also wrote a lot of material with Alexi for Sinergy and had a bunch of other side projects.
> 
> I’m expecting great things from this lineup.



It also helps that their other guitarist Euge has a better grasp of In Flames than Bjorn seems to have these days.


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## works0fheart (Oct 30, 2021)

This is such good news. All of these people were in In Flames at one point during arguably some of their most popular eras. I'm super hype. As I saw members of In Flames quitting left and right over the last few I had hope something like this would happen. I'm beyond happy for Jesper most of all. Dude is so talented and such a good songwriter. Glad to see he's back with some of his peers.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 31, 2021)

https://twitter.com/MiklStne/status/1454802638894141440?s=20

November 9th. One hell of a day early birthday gift for me.


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## Lorcan Ward (Oct 31, 2021)

The video clip is such a tease


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## LostTheTone (Oct 31, 2021)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> It also helps that their other guitarist Euge has a better grasp of In Flames than Bjorn seems to have these days.



Its relatively common though. The really long term members of a band kinda lose their mojo because they've been doing the same stuff for so long. The more recent arrivals come in and have a bit more energy and want to do something that sounds like an old In Flames album, and they just kinda get it more.


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## Metal Mortician (Nov 1, 2021)

I'm genuinely excited about this! Interesting that Jesper would be in a group with Niclas, who was his replacement, but I would assume that they all run in the same circles. 

There will be some ear-candy melodies, to be sure, but Mikael's vocals will ensure no more whiney choruses. 

Here's to a return to form for all involved!

Now COVID needs to crap-out over the world, and this band needs to get a slot on a new Gigantour. (Ok, I need to go to bed)


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## Boris_VTR (Nov 1, 2021)

Very exited about this news. I wish they kinda take it slow with tours and ensure that they actually stay as band. I really put high hopes on Jasper but he has a tendancy to quit bands early.


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## Lorcan Ward (Nov 1, 2021)

He had to quit touring with Cyhra so I wouldn’t hold much hope with him touring this band. It’s probably just a studio project.


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## Lorcan Ward (Nov 1, 2021)

And they just announced a tour supporting machine head and Amon Amarth next year.


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## Boris_VTR (Nov 1, 2021)

Lorcan Ward said:


> And they just announced a tour supporting machine head and Amon Amarth next year.


Haha, was just about to write something about this 
Maybe he can manage it this time


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## Blytheryn (Nov 1, 2021)

Lorcan Ward said:


> The video clip is such a tease



The city in that video is Gothenburg… good sign.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 1, 2021)

Lorcan Ward said:


> He had to quit touring with Cyhra so I wouldn’t hold much hope with him touring this band. It’s probably just a studio project.





Lorcan Ward said:


> And they just announced a tour supporting machine head and Amon Amarth next year.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 1, 2021)

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/t...s-record-label-home-and-first-tour-announced/

The article where they announced the new tour. Also gonna be with Nuclear Blast. Also this interesting tidbit:

"The initial thought behind *THE HALO EFFECT* was to go back to the roots and explore the classic Gothenburg Sound. The band delivers the goods in a brutally efficient display of heart pounding beats, melodic mayhem and furious growling at its best and the result is an exceptional sound to fans of melodeath, where the echoes of the Gothenburg Sound are evident."

This makes me very optimistic.


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## works0fheart (Nov 1, 2021)

Metal Mortician said:


> I'm genuinely excited about this! Interesting that Jesper would be in a group with Niclas, who was his replacement, but I would assume that they all run in the same circles.
> 
> There will be some ear-candy melodies, to be sure, but Mikael's vocals will ensure no more whiney choruses.
> 
> ...



I think this dude was playing live for them here and there for a while right? I feel like he's been in and out of the band for a while, but I can't keep up at this point.

And I agree about the vocals whole-heartedly. It's funny going back and listening to the early recordings because both of them sounded like angry house cats, but Mikael has actually grown to be one of the most talented vocalists in metal, whereas Anders has just... got progressively worse over the years lol. 

I'll be very curious to see where this goes. I love both In Flames and Dark Tranquility quite a bit. I think DT was much better at creating atmosphere and setting a mood with their songs where the highlight of In Flames to me used to be their riffs and melodies. I have to wonder if they're going to have a keyboard player though since both bands are known for having that as part of their sound (IF refused to hire one, DT had one though I think).

I'm glad I don't have to wait long to hear some music from them. This is the most interested I've been in a melodeath release since Bodom After Midnight


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Nov 1, 2021)

works0fheart said:


> I think this dude was playing live for them here and there for a while right? I feel like he's been in and out of the band for a while, but I can't keep up at this point.
> 
> And I agree about the vocals whole-heartedly. It's funny going back and listening to the early recordings because both of them sounded like angry house cats, but Mikael has actually grown to be one of the most talented vocalists in metal, whereas Anders has just... got progressively worse over the years lol.
> 
> ...



Yeah Niclas has been in and out. Hell he just had another departure from the band and they currently got Chris Broaderick sitting in, but I'm wondering if this recent sitout from IF was due to frustration given he's gonna be touring with this band?

And I'm guessing Jesper is gonna record keyboard/synth parts and do playback like IF usually does. 

Also I got curious and saw that IF DID actually hire a touring keyboard player back in 2017.


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## Emperoff (Nov 1, 2021)

Definetely not djent (0:39):


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## works0fheart (Nov 1, 2021)

Doesn't sound bad, but that clip isn't really grabbing my attention. Still very interested though


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## soul_lip_mike (Nov 1, 2021)

Jesper had a bad alcoholism problem right? Is that why he can’t tour?


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## Boris_VTR (Nov 2, 2021)

soul_lip_mike said:


> Jesper had a bad alcoholism problem right? Is that why he can’t tour?


Yes, that is what he says. If that is 100% true its hard to tell. I still think he is not out of it since he again is on the side bench with Cyhra.


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## Xaios (Nov 9, 2021)

Funny that, considering the unanimous affiliation to In Flames between all the members, it really does sound more like Dark Tranquillity, particularly Damage Done, even if you ignore the vocals. Not that that's a bad thing.


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## RevelGTR (Nov 9, 2021)

Xaios said:


> Funny that, considering the unanimous affiliation to In Flames between all the members, it really does sound more like Dark Tranquillity, particularly Damage Done, even if you ignore the vocals. Not that that's a bad thing.



Sounded great! I mean I already can’t remember a single part of it, but it did sound good.


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## Boris_VTR (Nov 9, 2021)

I like it. Basic, simple, catchy, what is not to like  I do believe that there are probably some songs with more old in flames twin guitars (fingers cross ).


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## KailM (Nov 9, 2021)

Eh…didn’t do much for me. I hope there’s more riffs in the other songs. Some of the synth just sounds dated to me.


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## NoodleFace (Nov 9, 2021)

I get serious DT vibes from it. I think it's a safe song, if that makes sense.


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## Lorcan Ward (Nov 9, 2021)

It's good but after a few listens I've had enough. It sits somewhere between melodic death metal and the growing "female fronted" metal band sound so it feels like I've heard all these melodies before. Not that I was expecting anything ground breaking and was hoping for early In Flames with Dark tranquility vocals. 

Mikael's vocals sound heavier than they usually do which is cool.


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## Ataraxia2320 (Nov 9, 2021)

After a few listens it doesn't really do much for me. Still hopeful for the album.


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## DeathByButterslax (Nov 9, 2021)

Sounds good, I think going with a simpler tune for their first single is the way to go anyways


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## gunshow86de (Nov 9, 2021)

Official video for those that need to see them pantomime playing in front of a green screen.


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## ArtDecade (Nov 9, 2021)

gunshow86de said:


> Official video for those that need to see them pantomime playing in front of a green screen.




I knew I shouldn't have pushed pause on Bill Frisell's _Valentine_ album to listen to that, but I did it anyway. Oh well. I never learn.


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## VGK17 (Nov 9, 2021)

I like it a lot. Now bring on the album. And a US tour.


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## works0fheart (Nov 9, 2021)

I'm a bit underwhelmed, but hopefully the rest of the album will be more interesting. This isn't bad but it's not anything more than mediocre to me.


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## Emperoff (Nov 9, 2021)

Hmmm... not bad. As a lot of people are pointing out on the Youtube comments, it sounds like a blend of IF and DT. 

9 out of 10 metal band's singles suck, so let's give the album a chance!


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## makesexnotwar (Nov 11, 2021)

It's not something groundbreaking but I really dig the song. Looking forward to hear full album.


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## GenghisCoyne (Nov 15, 2021)

I'm not overly encouraged or discouraged by this


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## p0ke (Nov 15, 2021)

Nothing particularly wrong with that tune, but I just wish they'd put out something more energetic. I'm not worried though, surely the album will have heavier and faster stuff too.


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## USMarine75 (Nov 15, 2021)

Unpopular opinion here I guess...

I absolutely love it. Catchy rhythms and vocals. Killer chorus that is required in Swedish Metal. Perfect for me.

And the kids love it as well. First play through had my 6 month old rocking back and forth so hard I could barely hold on. The 3 year old boy was dancing and singing (growling! ) and my 6 year old daughter was dancing.

Yeah that's how I judge my songs lol.


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## Lozek (Nov 16, 2021)

I've never 'got' In Flames but I know the pedigree of everyone involved here, thought the song was really forgettable.

I'll just leave the best thing that Jesper has done here


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## KailM (Nov 16, 2021)

I was hoping for something more like this:


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## Xaios (Nov 16, 2021)

Lozek said:


> I've never 'got' In Flames but I know the pedigree of everyone involved here, thought the song was really forgettable.
> 
> I'll just leave the best thing that Jesper has done here



That song seemed like it ended halfway through what it should have been.


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## gnoll (Nov 17, 2021)

Even though I like some of the music these people have made in the past I don't see what's so interesting about the idea of a new band from them. They haven't made any music I've been interested in for a long time. And after listening to the song, lo and behold, the music isn't for me. But that's fine, I can listen to The Gallery or Subterranean whenever I want, or any other music I feel like hearing. I mean, these guys aren't the only people who can make melodic metal.


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## USMarine75 (Nov 17, 2021)

gnoll said:


> Even though I like some of the music these people have made in the past I don't see what's so interesting about the idea of a new band from them. They haven't made any music I've been interested in for a long time. And after listening to the song, lo and behold, the music isn't for me. But that's fine, I can listen to The Gallery or Subterranean whenever I want, or any other music I feel like hearing. I mean, these guys aren't the only people who can make melodic metal.



I'm still waiting for a new album from these guys 10 years later.




And there's always Swedish Metal from Spain:


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## gunshow86de (Jan 21, 2022)

Second single;


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## Adieu (Jan 21, 2022)

gunshow86de said:


> Second single;




Hmmm... kinda generic AF.

Seems like a dollar store version In Flames.

Or maybe they're all actually dead and this was written and recorded by machine learning AI.


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## Alex79 (Jan 21, 2022)

USMarine75 said:


> Unpopular opinion here I guess...
> 
> I absolutely love it. Catchy rhythms and vocals. Killer chorus that is required in Swedish Metal. Perfect for me.
> 
> ...



If I did that I’d listen to Lady Gaga, Disney songs and Gangnam style all day.


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## ArtDecade (Jan 21, 2022)

Alex79 said:


> If I did that I’d listen to Lady Gaga, Disney songs and Gangnam style all day.



Gangnam is good, but Daddy is the best.


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## mastapimp (Jan 21, 2022)

gunshow86de said:


> Second single;



Liked this one a lot better than the first single. It's very much like an older In Flames B-side/Bonus Track which is miles away of anything I'll listen to from today's incarnation of the band. Pretty catchy...will definitely check this one out when the album drops.


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## USMarine75 (Jan 21, 2022)

New one is kid approved.


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## SD83 (Jan 21, 2022)

I liked the first single more... this feels like it should be 10% or 15% faster, like someone wrote the song and then they realised at least one of them couldn't play it at that tempo (which they probably can, it just feels like the wrong tempo to me)


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 21, 2022)

I like it more than the other song, catchier riffs and leads. It has lots of things I love about melodeath but the songwriting isn’t refined enough to pull me back in for repeat listens which is odd considering the back catalogue all these musicians have. 

Still looking my forward to the album though!


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 21, 2022)

I like the songs and I think they're better than current In Flames
Still, they don't even hold a beer to the band than Svensson played in before In Flames (mentioning Sacrilege because it's the way lesser know band of the bunch these musicians have played with)


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## USMarine75 (Jan 21, 2022)

USMarine75 said:


> New one is kid approved.




https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZAr7QYOe3k/?utm_medium=share_sheet


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 21, 2022)

It's weird hearing this in D when most of the melodeath I listen to is either in C# tuning or below.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Jan 21, 2022)

It's good. It's not old IF good. It's not DT good. It's not Insomnium or Be'lakor or Omnium Gatherum or any other modern melodeath band good.  Where's the memorable hooky riffs? Where's the driving but melodic rhythms? It just feels like it's missing everything that makes melodeath my favorite genre of metal.


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## Mboogie7 (Jan 21, 2022)

Metaldestroyerdennis said:


> It's good. It's not old IF good. It's not DT good. It's not Insomnium or Be'lakor or Omnium Gatherum or any other modern melodeath band good.  Where's the memorable hooky riffs? Where's the driving but melodic rhythms? It just feels like it's missing everything that makes melodeath my favorite genre of metal.



for some reason when reading this, December Flower came to mind. Fuck, that song was an anthem.


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## NoodleFace (Jan 21, 2022)

Not really a fan of anything I'm hearing. It feels very "metal by the numbers"


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## Kyle Jordan (Jan 21, 2022)

USMarine75 said:


> https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZAr7QYOe3k/?utm_medium=share_sheet



Quality content. Followed. 

I’m liking both songs, but they are a bit generic. Comparing this to the Cyhra stuff I just recently found, these two are just not as memorable and catchy. Still, very much worth keeping an eye out for when the album drops.


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## Mathemagician (Jan 22, 2022)

Well I’m off to look up Cyhra and Sacrilege.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jan 22, 2022)

Cyhra are great!


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## Kyle Jordan (Jan 22, 2022)

^And I’ll add this as it’s my favorite tune of theirs so far:


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## JimF (Jan 24, 2022)

gnoll said:


> Even though I like some of the music these people have made in the past I don't see what's so interesting about the idea of a new band from them. They haven't made any music I've been interested in for a long time.



I think the mentality behind this is the fact we're all hoping that our favourite musicians still have it in them to make the music we loved from them in the first place, and it was other band members/label pressure etc making them write the recent rubbish. As opposed to the fact that the probably just got bored/ran out of riffs.


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## Crungy (Jan 24, 2022)

I dig it, it works for me if I want to listen to something IF flavored.


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## USMarine75 (Jan 24, 2022)

Lorcan Ward said:


> Cyhra are great!




Ooh I love new IF/Soilwork style music. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!

I’m still waiting for new Cipher System 10 years later lol. 

Meanwhile, Rise to Fall and Disarmonia Mundi (and Cipher Systems first two albums) are still in regular rotation for me.


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## JimF (Jan 24, 2022)

Disarmonia Mundi!!!!
<goes off to listen to Fragments of D-Generation>


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## Xaios (Jan 25, 2022)

Yeah, the new one didn't do much for me. Sounded like a Reroute To Remain b-side.


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## KailM (Jan 25, 2022)

Better than the first single, but still very generic, vanilla, and formulaic. Disappointing.


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## p0ke (Jan 26, 2022)

Yup, definitely better than the first track. This is basically what I expected them to sound like, even though it is generic. Not bad, but probably won't end up in rotation.


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## GÜMERSINDO (Jan 26, 2022)

I wasn´t too naive to expect something like old In Flames or Dark Tranquillity but this thing is so generic and as trendy as the latest In Flames but avoiding the lame Pop vocals. Dissapointed. I miss the good old days.


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## OmegaSlayer (Jan 26, 2022)

It's incredible how those bands crippled themselves
When they released The Gallery and The Jester's Race in late '95 and mid '96 respectively, they created an earthquake, at least here in Europe...but then they rejected their roots
Removing acoustic guitars and the folk-ish mood was the first step to lose their true essence


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## Grindspine (Jan 26, 2022)

NoodleFace said:


> If it's djent I'm going to walk off a bridge



What if it is dubstep instead?


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## gunshow86de (Apr 13, 2022)

Now this sounds like classic In Flames. Reminds me a bit of Trigger.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Apr 13, 2022)

That solo break was straight out of classic In Flames circa Jester Race and Whoracle. I dig it. Hope the rest of the album is closer to these 2 more recent songs.


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## Xaios (Apr 13, 2022)

That was a fun little diddy.


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## SD83 (Apr 13, 2022)

Almost didn't make it through the song. I'm really not sure what to expect of the album by now... I still like Shadowminds, but this one is even more boring than the previous single.


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## soul_lip_mike (Apr 13, 2022)

This album isn't coming out until August 12th. WTF man!


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## Lorcan Ward (Apr 13, 2022)

That lead is pure Jesper but the rest of the song lost me. I was really looking forward to this project but i haven’t gone back and listened to the songs again. They are getting a lot of reach and overwhelming positive response which is good to see.


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## BusinessMan (Apr 13, 2022)

gunshow86de said:


> Now this sounds like classic In Flames. Reminds me a bit of Trigger.



Dang that was pretty good!


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## Boris_VTR (Apr 14, 2022)

I really like the song and video. Nice melody 

Nice amps also especially ENGL but I have a feeling it's collateral damage as Jasper probably didn't want to expose his 5150 to rain  I doubt he would suddenly use ENGL after all those years or using 5150


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Apr 14, 2022)

This one gets a thumbs up from me


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## gunshow86de (Jun 3, 2022)

New single is pretty good, the chorus sounds kind of folk-metalish. I know they aren't shredders, but they definitely could have done something more interesting the instrumental break.


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## Ikaruga (Jun 3, 2022)

gunshow86de said:


> New single is pretty good, the chorus sounds kind of folk-metalish. I know they aren't shredders, but they definitely could have done something more interesting the instrumental break.



I like it, the simple middle has this kinda sadish nostalgic vibe which i enjoy


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 3, 2022)

Every new single has been getting better IMO.


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## soul_lip_mike (Jun 3, 2022)

What's up with jesper and band hopping? Wasn't he a member of Cyrha?


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## Boris_VTR (Jun 3, 2022)

soul_lip_mike said:


> What's up with jesper and band hopping? Wasn't he a member of Cyrha?


He's spirit is still in Cyrha but looks like that is it  He wont even be on the new album.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Jun 3, 2022)

Now this is the harmonic content I signed up for


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 11, 2022)

So the full album is out in some places, anyone gave it a listen? Haven't gotten a chance yet.


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## Mprinsje (Aug 12, 2022)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> So the full album is out in some places, anyone gave it a listen? Haven't gotten a chance yet.


I like it quite a bit, but it mainly just makes me want to listen to whoracle/colony.

I will say though, his voice is pretty one dimensional and gets kinda boring after a while.

Also, for the people who are complaining about clean vocals on recent in flames records: there's cleans on this too. Not a whole lot but they are there.


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## adriangrizzly (Aug 12, 2022)

Conditional gave me goosebumps. Did not see that riff coming.

Only halfway through but the record is pretty good so far.


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## Mprinsje (Aug 12, 2022)

adriangrizzly said:


> Conditional gave me goosebumps. Did not see that riff coming.
> 
> Only halfway through but the record is pretty good so far.


Yeah conditional is probably my favourite of the record. My least favourite is the one after that lol.


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## p0ke (Aug 12, 2022)

Gave the album a spin, and so far not very excited unfortunately. There are good parts in there for sure, but the big picture is just too generic. I like the new In Flames songs more than this. But I'll give it another chance, maybe a few extra spins will change my opinion.


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## Dr. Caligari (Aug 12, 2022)

Not my thing. There's not much in these songs that catches my attention. It's music alright but it just moves along without making me feel anything. It's too bland. And the production doesn't help. That too is too bland.


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## gunshow86de (Aug 12, 2022)

Sidenote: Is anybody else get triggered when bands have two different brands of the same style of guitar? Like here we have the ESP Vulture with a Gibson V. I've seen some bands have a Jackson RR and an ESP Arrow or SV. I've seen a Les Paul and an Eclipse. Very upsetting.


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## Metaldestroyerdennis (Aug 12, 2022)

The newest video looks like a bunch of dads cosplaying as In Flames


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## makesexnotwar (Aug 13, 2022)

I think it's an album of the year for me. When I listened it I heard exactly what I expected to hear and I like it a lot!


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## TheShreddinHand (Aug 13, 2022)

Second listen it clicked for me, really digging!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 13, 2022)

Metaldestroyerdennis said:


> The newest video looks like a bunch of dads cosplaying as In Flames


...I mean its a bunch of near-50 year olds that were in In Flames?  

Anyways yeah, album as a whole sounds great so far. Got 5 tracks in so far.


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## CanserDYI (Aug 13, 2022)

Man that's a shitty band name not gonna lie.


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## SeventyFour (Aug 15, 2022)

I have followed along with the single releases and enjoyed a lot more than anything else in the genre recently. The full album holds true on the whole in my opinion


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## BrutalRob (Aug 17, 2022)

stopped listening half way through.that stuff now is sure better than anything in flames or dark tranquility released in the last years. but this cannot touch those bands´older stuff. it just sounds like it has all been there already, but done better in the past


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## works0fheart (Aug 17, 2022)

Was listening to this a moment ago and I actually was enjoying it, but it just feels like something is missing. It's definitely better than a lot of people are saying but it's also not as good as the sum of its parts (the members past projects). I'm going to give it more listens though since I think it does have some cool stuff going on with it. 

Really it made me want to listen to Projector by Dark Tranquility or old In Flames instead lol. It's a little hard for these guys to top songs like Freecard, Jotun, Artifacts of the Black Rain, or anything off of Damage Done or Character. 

The thing is that I'm trying to keep in mind is all of these guys wrote their best material nearly 20 years ago. For them to put out something like The Halo Effect now is more than I could have asked for and it's definitely better than anything else they've been on in recent years.


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## eaeolian (Aug 17, 2022)

I'm really enjoying this. It scratches that _Colony_ itch.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 18, 2022)

Finally got to listen to it. Pretty much old In Flames but with a more metalcore sound to it. Not like 2000s/2010s in flames, definitely sounds way better than that


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 18, 2022)

eaeolian said:


> I'm really enjoying this. It scratches that _Colony_ itch.


Yeah that's where I'm at. Reminds me of Colony or Whoracle but with some mid-late 2000s metalcore influence


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## KailM (Aug 18, 2022)

I haven’t listened to any of these songs more than once. It’s just generic and doesn’t even approach old IF or DT.


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## NoodleFace (Aug 20, 2022)

So far doesnt do much for me. If it were released 20 years ago it would sound generic and like they were ripping off IF. 

I have never liked DTs vocalist. I think someone else nailed why... Very one dimensional and my ears get tired


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## Dr. Caligari (Aug 21, 2022)

NoodleFace said:


> I have never liked DTs vocalist. I think someone else nailed why... Very one dimensional and my ears get tired



I actually think he is a great singer but it just feels like he is a bit too much on autopilot these days. Like he doesn't work as much with finding interesting phrasings and dynamics. On The Gallery he would really emphasize certain lines with real intensity. Now everything sounds more like a straight line. Although to be fair he had very interesting and dynamic songs to work with on that album.


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## CLONE (Aug 22, 2022)

Getting Prisoners In Paradise by Europe vibes from the riff 2:30 in The Most Alone


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## narad (Aug 22, 2022)

"Days of the Lost" is really giving me classic In Flames vibes. Caveat: I like "A Sense of Purpose"


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## Lorcan Ward (Aug 22, 2022)

narad said:


> "Days of the Lost" is really giving me classic In Flames vibes. Caveat: I like "A Sense of Purpose"



I was thinking the other day what is classic In Flames. The first four albums Lunar Strain to Colony have a distinct sound, you could mix and match songs across them and they'd mostly fit. Colony had elements that would lead to Clayman but was much closer to the earlier albums. Clayman had a new sound, bigger mix, new lyric concepts, Anders new vocal style, tempo dialled back, much more emphasis on vocals and less guitar leads. Then just two years later they drop Reroute to Remain which a big change in style, more riff orientated but less riffs and more synth, the "In Flames" sound absent for most of the album. Then Soundtrack which was another change in style, the In Flames sound was gone from a lot of songs, guitars heavily neutered, lots of synths, different vocal concepts and Anders changing completely to his new style. 

Then comes Come Clarity and the band have kept that sound for 6 albums. So we have early In Flames which is classic, experimental In Flames and then modern In Flames which more of their music is that what they always wanted to sound like? It's a bit like Children of Bodom where Are You dead yet became Bodom's sound for the rest of their career. Both bands are loved for their early sound but when they adopted their new sound they stuck with it.


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## p0ke (Aug 22, 2022)

Lorcan Ward said:


> I was thinking the other day what is classic In Flames. The first four albums Lunar Strain to Colony have a distinct sound, you could mix and match songs across them and they'd mostly fit. Colony had elements that would lead to Clayman but was much closer to the earlier albums. Clayman had a new sound, bigger mix, new lyric concepts, Anders new vocal style, tempo dialled back, much more emphasis on vocals and less guitar leads. Then just two years later they drop Reroute to Remain which a big change in style, more riff orientated but less riffs and more synth, the "In Flames" sound absent for most of the album. Then Soundtrack which was another change in style, the In Flames sound was gone from a lot of songs, guitars heavily neutered, lots of synths, different vocal concepts and Anders changing completely to his new style.
> 
> Then comes Come Clarity and the band have kept that sound for 6 albums. So we have early In Flames which is classic, experimental In Flames and then modern In Flames which more of their music is that what they always wanted to sound like? It's a bit like Children of Bodom where Are You dead yet became Bodom's sound for the rest of their career. Both bands are loved for their early sound but when they adopted their new sound they stuck with it.



Classic In Flames to me means Clayman and everything before that. Reroute to Remain is special because it came out when I was just getting into death metal, but I don't consider it classic and I probably wouldn't like it as much if I had gotten into the older material first. 

Either way, to me these new In Flames songs are way more exciting than The Halo Effect album. I just get bored with it after a couple of songs, whereas I can easily loop these IF songs multiple times, no problem.


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## MFB (Aug 22, 2022)

p0ke said:


> Classic In Flames to me means Clayman and everything before that. Reroute to Remain is special because it came out when I was just getting into death metal, but I don't consider it classic and I probably wouldn't like it as much if I had gotten into the older material first.
> 
> Either way, to me these new In Flames songs are way more exciting than The Halo Effect album. I just get bored with it after a couple of songs, whereas I can easily loop these IF songs multiple times, no problem.



Same here, like _I_ consider "Reroute to Remain" a classic IF record because it's the one that got me into them, but sound-wise, it's a turning point for them and sort of a line in the sand for old fans; I love both sounds honestly, and I've said it before and I'll die on the hill, everything up through _Sounds of a Playground Fading_ is a solid album, they've just run out of steam since then.


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## p0ke (Aug 22, 2022)

MFB said:


> Same here, like _I_ consider "Reroute to Remain" a classic IF record because it's the one that got me into them, but sound-wise, it's a turning point for them and sort of a line in the sand for old fans; I love both sounds honestly, and I've said it before and I'll die on the hill, everything up through _Sounds of a Playground Fading_ is a solid album, they've just run out of steam since then.


Yeah, I'm not gonna argue about that. I never got into their new sound and I especially disliked the fact that the songs became so synth-based even though they don't have a keyboard player (I guess they do these days, at least a live session guy), but I can't deny that there's good stuff on all those albums. 

The 2-3 latest ones are pretty weak though, I couldn't even get through them once while working...


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 22, 2022)

Reroute is the transitional album. It's still got some classic IF, but you can hear the nu/alt metal influences creeping in. Soundtrack is the defacto beginning of that "new" IF sound.


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## soul_lip_mike (Aug 22, 2022)

Colony is where they changed. Go listen to Whoracle and Colony back to back and tell me the style change isn't jarring. They're both great albums but they are soooo different.


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## soul_lip_mike (Sep 10, 2022)

I wonder what Jesper’s deal is - I saw a halo effect video pop up on YouTube at Wacken and he wasn’t there. He also doesn’t play with Cyhra any more. I know he had an alcoholism problem before….


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 10, 2022)

soul_lip_mike said:


> I wonder what Jesper’s deal is - I saw a halo effect video pop up on YouTube at Wacken and he wasn’t there. He also doesn’t play with Cyhra any more. I know he had an alcoholism problem before….


He's in rehab atm IIRC


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