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In FlamesI, The Mask

✦✦✦✧ Don’t be fooled by the album’s decidedly weak first minute: In Flames shred all over the place on this one. The band are no fools when it comes to delivering what their fans want, and “I, The Mask” is another in the unbroken line of the metal primacy of Gothenburg, may it never fade.

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Knotfest Japan Full Report

Live Report :
Knotfest Japan 2014
Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan
November 15-16, 2014

November 15

Completely sold out, Knotfest Japan launched in the crisp, cold morning with two opening bands, including the Japanese hardcore band Crystal Lake. Their brief set got the crowd warmed up, with hardcore fans “picking up change” in the pit and the rest of us head-banging.

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In FlamesSiren Charms

★★☆☆ After a promising and surprisingly meaty opening track, this album quickly reveals an unevenness to its songs. A lot of the latter songs feature riffs and sections seemingly lifted from other European metal bands (I can hear Soilwork and Meshuggah in “Rusted Nail,” as just one example). In Flames occasionally succeed in their attempts here to expand their repertoire, with almost enough hits to justify the misses.