ALBUM REVIEW: I, The Mask – In Flames

The dichotomy of modern-day IN FLAMES ranges from some of the most entertaining melodic metal to some of the most misjudged. Unfortunately, I, The Mask lands within the bog of the middle ground, where the majority amount of IN FLAMES material has sat since 2011. After many line-up changes and fans coming to terms with the fact that the melodic death metal innovators won’t be returning to the heaviness of albums like The Jester Race, the band have worked on expanding their sound with varying degrees of success; 2016’s Battles polarised audiences with its use of synths and child choirs but still delivered some huge choruses and entertaining moments. Whilst I, The Mask sheds some of the weaker elements and delivers some of the Swedes’ best tracks within this decade, it also brings us some of the most forgettable.

I, The Mask isn’t so much a mixed bag but more of a precise cocktail, giving us equal amounts of good, bad, and boring. Tracks like the opener Voices, the title track and Burn are great, with a signature balance of melodic riffing and hardcore chugging and Anders Fridén showcasing his range of screams and anthemic singing. The standout track comes with video single I Am Above – an absolute belter with its frantic guitar work sounding like it’s straight out of an early ’00s metalcore record, and Fridén channelling his inner Come Clarity with the mix of spoken and sung vocals on the chorus. Despite the deflating production making it feel like IN FLAMES are trying to punch through quicksand, the blows on these tracks land well enough and no doubt they will happily sit in any casual fan’s playlist.

Had IN FLAMES kept up the quality of those tracks then I, The Mask would be in the upper echelon of their discography, but alas this album also offers us uninteresting and forgettable slogs like All The Pain, In This Life and the acoustic closer Stay With Me, which can put you to sleep faster than a whole bottle of Ambien. Not even new ideas like the Middle Eastern-inspired guitars and synths on Deep Inside or the power metal chorus of We Will Remember make them remain in the consciousness for more than five minutes after a listen.

If it weren’t for the flaccid production watering everything down then the songs may be salvageable but instead, everything just feels so condensed and flat. For example, the rhythm section seems non-existent on this whole record, not even pushed to the back of the mix but more drowning in the background, whilst the vocals and guitars get their hands to the surface. However bad production doesn’t excuse baffling decisions like bringing back the cringe-inducing child choir for the album’s low point This Is Our House, teamed with cliche pop-rock chorus and dreary verses.

All together I, The Mask delivers a few decent tracks, but the rest is uninteresting filler which feels like it’s had little effort put into it. Not as bad as their worst, but ever so far from their best. It’s a shame to say that this is par for the course for the once great and innovative IN FLAMES.

Rating: 6/10

I, The Mask is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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