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In Flames > The Mirror's Truth > Reviews
In Flames - The Mirror's Truth

Melodic death metal mastery and fillers for collectors - 70%

kluseba, May 19th, 2021
Written based on this version: 2008, CD, Nuclear Blast

This extended play's title track is the song that made me appreciate In Flames back when I was eighteen years old. I have since attended two concerts of the band and purchased all its studio albums.

In my humble opinion, ''The Mirror's Truth'' represents everything that I like about contemporary in Flames tracks. The production is energetic, loud and vibrant just like a melodic death metal record should sound like. The songwriting is creative and concise as the song might only be three minutes long but offers numerous outstanding ideas. This track is perfectly balanced between the band's rougher side in form of ecstatic vocals in the verses, fast rhythm section and energetic guitar riffs and the group's more harmonious side with melodic vocals in the chorus, catchy guitar melodies you won't be able to get out of your mind upon first hearing them and heartfelt guitar solos going back to traditional heavy metal stylistics. Until today, this song remains one of my very favourite tracks in the band's impressive repertoire and is still an excellent choice to introduce potential new fans to the band. On a side note, I even know people who hate growls and screams in metal who find this song particularly addictive and memorable. This song might even introduce younger metal fans to extreme metal music.

The other three songs can't quite keep this high-quality level to be honest. They are b-sides and didn't make it onto A Sense of Purpose for a reason. That doesn't mean that those songs are dreadful. They are just a little bit exchangeable. The songwriting once again combines aggressive, fast and raw passages with melodic and memorable sections. The riffs and vocal lines in particular sound a little bit rehashed. These songs are missing truly catchy choruses or inspired ideas as they are great to listen to but rush by without leaving any marks.

At the end of the day, occasional fans should simply purchase the excellent studio record A Sense of Purpose. Collectors should only buy this output here if they like the style of said record. This extended play was a great teaser before the studio album was released but isn't too relevant in hindsight. My suggestion would be to grab this extended play at a reduced price or to purchase the remastered version of A Sense of Purpose that includes this extended play's exclusive tunes as bonus tracks.

Surprisingly solid. - 67%

hells_unicorn, February 17th, 2011

In Flames has suffered from a dilemma over the past couple of years, which could be called the “we can’t write a full length album without going all over the place” dilemma. The general trend has been, the longer the band goes on, the further away from being focused they tend to be, ironically so considering the album title “Come Clarity”. But within the EP format, which has agreed quite well with this band in the past, seems to be free from inconsistency, though not necessarily free from being consistently bad depending on the album. “The Mirror’s Truth” falls into the consistently good category, at least when considering the current stylistic paradigm they have.

It is well known that the current sound of the band is a bastardized version of their latter 90s sound with a quirky blend of metalcore and industrial/ambient influences. What is perhaps not well known is that this sound can actually work fairly well in small doses, particularly when the ballad elements are downplayed and the whiny, melodramatic clean vocals are minimized. And this is basically the approach that the bulk of this EP takes, and when those weaker elements do occur, they are mercifully quick and actually somewhat complementary to the song. Keeping things compact and within the 3-4 minute time length is generally the way to go here, and an attention to quality ideas as well as their quantity.

To put it bluntly, the somewhat muddled title song is the weak link in this equation, owing in no small part to the groovy, Trivium-like riff that kicks off the album. When the harmonic lead passages sneak in, things get a bit better, but first impressions are a huge element of a song like this working, and a bad intro can sink an otherwise decent song. “Abnegation” and “Tilt” take a somewhat upper mid-tempo approach and are drenched with layers of lead guitar work, but have that nice blend of catchiness and energy that made many of the slower songs on “Clayman” work well. But the absolute high point of this is “Eraser”, which pummels with the speed of a thrash song, yet is as catchy as your standard German power metal song circa 2001. This is one of very few post-2001 songs by this band that I actually put into my In Flames playlists regularly, despite the divergence in vocal quality, from what little there was to begin with.

Instead of wasting money getting “A Sense Of Purpose” at full or even 75% of the price, the smart money would go with picking up this nice little EP, or getting the Japanese version of their 9th album which contains all of these songs as bonus tracks. If this band ever does decide to revert back to their older sound, this would be the precursor to that happening, though more likely it’s just an aberration amidst a sea of lackluster modern pop/rock infused metal. But regardless, it showcases yet again that, when they want to, this band is capable of getting their act together.

Jesus Christ Bananas! - 5%

GuntherTheUndying, March 27th, 2008

One thing was screaming at me when I saw the artwork for In Flames’ “A Sense of Purpose” and “The Mirror’s Truth” due to the blatant lameness: Pokémon! The awesome RPG focusing on battling and raising little monsters, you know? Well, I find “The Mirror’s Truth” to be much like a battle between a very powerful Pokémon (an intelligent metalhead) facing a weak, pompous Pokémon (In Flames’ disgraceful effort) despite such difference in strength. Whether it’s Japanese video games or history itself, you should never try to play a game you can’t ever win, and In Flames have once again vomited forth another abomination in hopes of pleasing metal fans and their mainstream yuppies, yet not without secretly showing who matters the most. Let the battle begin!

In Flames used Gothenburg Roots!
But it failed…miserably.

Time and time again, In Flames is caught trying to recapture that melodic death remedy once found when the band could peacefully coexist with decency, but as usual, you can just expect failure. Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte often times embrace riffs primarily injected with lethal amounts of melody, yet everything under that particular sun feels completely generic and recycled; you could honestly find better melodic tendencies in a Himsa b-side. Occasionally, there does come something appearing nice at first; however, seductive looks soon turn out disastrous for those striving at an extra view. The soloing show falls into this same category with bland formations and no texture whatsoever, but when riffs fail, leads soon will too. Good? Not in a million years. Agitating? Oh yea. As for Daniel Svensson’s percussion, everyone can safely agree on his performance being this EP’s finest quality, but that still isn’t saying much about the overall aid. Although typically using double bass and consistent patterns, fills tend to be strictly limited by focus placed elsewhere; quite a shame, because he’s the only one doing any right.

In Flames used Awful Vocalist!
Intelligent Metalhead just got REALLY pissed!

And of course, Anders Fridén continues looking worse and worse with each studio effort, and “The Mirror’s Truth” might be his final nail in the vocal coffin. Now since In Flames acquired our squeaky friend, Anders’ voice has lost all forms of aggression due to the occupation of whiny wails mostly found in nu-metal scenarios, which widely contradicts his glory days in Dark Tranquillity; that’s essentially what he does here. His “growls” are faintly portrayed by lightly going low before crying like a confused boy wondering why his Nintendo 64 just crashed. No force, power, or might at all; just feeble pleas throughout. Thanks Anders for your grand display of emotional superiority, but I’d rather have a basketball jammed up my urinary tract than listen to that pestering clash again. Jesus Christ Bananas!

Intelligent Metalhead used Refusal of Purchase!
In Flames fainted…and then exploded.

Well isn’t that a bitch? One hit did them plenty, and In Flames is officially buried in their own failed effort to successfully connect heavy metal and modernized feces. I have no will to fully experience “A Sense of Purpose” after witnessing this atrocity, because I know suicide would be my only way out of its burdens if “The Mirror’s Truth” has any familiar qualities; truly an offending mistake, and In Flames should somehow refund the fifteen minutes of individuals condemned to hear such junk. Words cannot describe how terrible our little EP is, so in the name of the almighty Arceus, pass along without regret.

This review was written for: www.leviatan-magazine.com

What the hell guys, what the hell - 30%

The_Boss, March 7th, 2008

Well what have we here? Did I accidentally download {insert random nu/metalcore band here}’s album?? That was the first thought that popped into my head upon listening to this the first time. In all seriousness, it might not be that bad, but this isn’t good at all. I wasn’t really expecting much in the first place when after In Flames recent releases, but Come Clarity had been a very slight improvement and I was hoping there was some slight chance I could find something similar to Whoracle-era In Flames… even if it was something small or tiny… anything! But alas, this is pretty much like Come Clarity Part II, with Anders Friden still sounding like a nu metal singer or terrible Christian metalcore singer, especially with those faggy clean vocal parts, I mean seriously, what happened to the godly vox I remember singing along to during Artifacts of the Black Rain or Jotun?? Instead it’s back to almost whiny sounding wails.

Moving off that, there are some highlights presented with this album. The guitars are melodic in nature but not presenting any good riffs really, or much to be in awe with lead guitar-wise. The drums are really good, compared to the last several releases with good showing on the title song even having a semi-headbangable riff, but then Anders chimes in – at least on this song the chorus is worthy of singing along to if I had to choose a good part there. The song Eraser has some weird pop-synth thingy going on at the beginning that shouldn’t belong on an In Flames album, or melodeath album; I don’t think even Dark Tranquillity would put that in, but otherwise seems to have a decent attempt at vocals and good drumming. The last two songs are complete and utter boarshit, yes boarshit. It’s sunk that low.

This EP is not a good sign for the upcoming album, I’ve been holding onto the hope that I had that maybe In Flames could pull off a stunning comeback album but if it will ever happen it certainly won’t be with this next release. Honestly I might have to give up on these guys for good, I will check out the new album only to see if there is by chance a complete turn around, then of course I’ll be disappointed as usual but that’s how it works. This deserves some credit with some improvements on drums and guitar melodies but overall this doesn’t cut it.

In Flames - The Mirror's Truth - 80%

TheJester, March 6th, 2008

In Flames is one of the most well-known metal bands out right now, and that is largely in part due to their recent efforts. The newer In Flames albums have tainted their image and made a once-legendary melodic death metal band be labeled as a band that has sold out. One of the biggest gripes about the new sound of In Flames is that the solos and melodies that made them famous have disappeared, and they have been replaced by generic metalcore and nu metal riffs.

Well, I'm happy to say that the melodies and solos are back, for the most part.

There are still some generic riffs to be found in the songs on this EP, but there are also solos that remind you of In Flames' Clayman and Colony days. The solos on this EP are the best solos they have written in almost ten years. The melodies used on this EP are also very good, and they are also the best melodies the band has written in about ten years.

The first song on the EP, The Mirror's Truth, opens up with what is probably the best riff to be found on this four-track CD, and a very, VERY nice solo is found near the beginning. The lyrics are pretty catchy for the most part, but why Anders would write something like "We're not even trying" into the chorus is completely beyond me. Fast double bass is heard throughout the song and it's good for the most part.

The next two songs, Eraser and Tilt, are okay and both feature solos. However, there are some really boring riffs on both of these songs and that's really disappointing. However, the passage in Eraser where Anders uses a death growl during the chorus partly makes up for it.

The last song, Abnegation, was released on Viva La Bands and it was not very good at all. However, this version is much better. Everything about it is improved, and the chorus is changed slightly. I can't stretch how much of an improvement over the original version this track is, you'll just have to hear it yourself.

To summarize,I was pretty pleased with this EP. In Flames is playing real guitar solos again and they sound very good. The riffs could use some work, and some of the lyrics are dumb.

All in all, I'm looking forward to A Sense of Purpose and I hope it's as good as this EP is.

Cheers.

No Dice - 37%

NekkroSmurf, March 5th, 2008

In Flames, the infamous gothenburg band. I started listening to them about 5 years ago at the pinnacle of my angst ridden youth, and unfortunately I have to credit them for introducing me to metal. With that said, let's get to the fucking point here: Their new EP is a long way from melodic death metal and is essentially a hard rock album drenched in Gothenburg soup.

The album sounds like a slightly less technical version of the second half of Come Clarity injected with a shit-ton of melody (yes, even more). There was something about CC that made me cringe while i was listening to it, something about the way the vocals rode the riffs for the longest time possible until you wanted to scrape your fucking ears off because anders wouldn't stop shoving his dick in them. This album still does that, but it's not quite as painful (yet). The version of abnegation on this EP is WAY FUCKING BETTER than the other one, but it still isn't quality metal. We all know In Flames will never be as good as they once were, (which wasn't something to aspire to, but rather something from which they could have built off of) but for some reason i keep coming back to see what they're churning out. However, There is one thing about this EP that does feel right, and that is the flow throughout the songs. There is more consistency vocally because Anders is far more melodic, and the album as a whole seems to grate on your ears less. But let's get down to specifics.

As for Anders Friden, who the fuck is this guy kidding, his vocals are all raspy melody and there are no balls left on this man's body. His harsh vocals are just weak and sound WAY too forced, like he's trying to get people to think he's extreme and badass, yet still appeal to the emo crowd. Lyrically this man just fails. He'll have a catchy sentence here or there but overall the metaphors run into each other and come out all jumbled and fail to accomplish much of anything coherent or meaningful that hasn't been said a thousand times before in a much better way. There are some new elements vocally that make it sound like someone else is doing backing vocals on Abnegation when he says "I clench you" (whatever that means). There is also a similar effect on Tilt. The harsh vocals are just empty of conviction and full of what should be pain, misery, or despair but just sound emo as shit because he trails off each phrase with a half-whine "euhhh" that makes him sound absolutely retarded. When he's not doing his halfscream-halfyell singing he's trying to growl like Bjorn Strid (why anyone would aspire to sound like this i have no fucking clue) and he's failing at that. Overall the vocal experience is sometimes pleasurable as Anders at least manages to make things catchy while being a giant twat and mucking up everything else.

When the turd behind the microphone shuts up this becomes more enjoyable, albeit very immature sounding. Yet ALWAYS the riffs are partially obscured by electronics that add next to nothing and vocals that DETER from the sound. The riffs sound hard-rock inspired all over the place and never really go anywhere brutal or mesmerizing, only performing the most detestable Maiden worship. There are parts of Tilt and Eraser that sound ALMOST like the band that wrote Colony, but they are few and far between and quickly become consumed by whiny Underoath inspired vocals. The quiet part of Abnegation is totally pointless and every little thing they churn out to try to change the pace of their songs just goes nowhere and ends up bringing back the chorus (with more intensity?). The riffing on Eraser is pretty solid i guess for an in flames song, and then at 2 minutes in there is a 25 second solo where ANDERS KEEPS HIS MOUTH SHUT and it is pretty sweet, but also slow, uninspiring, and largely unimpressive by solo standards. From 2:25 to 2:43 on Tilt they do almost the same thing. On this track Anders actually shuts up near the end too, which is nice. The thing about the leads is that they just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, which isn't entirely what i want my metal to do, but it's like kicking a puppy for pissing on your rug (although in this case it's more like a 17 yr old arthritic poodle who should be put down).

There is much less bass in the production than on CC, but I can't really hear it, never really could, and don't really give a shit. In Flames have never been known for their drumming or their bass work. The drums seem to be fairly competent, maybe better than they used to be, but not exactly very beneficial to the music either. The band seems to be content with letting Anders lead the way at the forefront of the production, which is a sad, sad decision as far as I'm concerned.

GOOD METAL THIS IS NOT

Highlights - If i had to pick, I'd go with Eraser

On The Road to an Amazing Album - 95%

Final_Judgement, March 5th, 2008

So, this EP/single comes as a pre-album tease for us diehard In Flames fans, and I think it served it's purpose quite nicely indeed.

Now, the thing about In Flames is that they cannot afford to turn out another album that sounds similar to ANY of their past works if they want to regain the respect of metal fans everywhere. This EP proves that they can live up to these expectations that I (and many others) have for them.

So let's analyze the music on this EP then. The guitar work throughout, I find, sounds like a great mix of In Flames' new and old eras. There's definitely a reason that In Flames is one of the biggest metal bands in the world today, and their masterful creation of melodic riffs is definitely a contender for the reason of said popularity. Looking around, I've seen people comparing the riffs (especially on the track "Tilt") to The Jester Race-era In Flames, which definitely isn't a bad thing at all.

The drumming is absolutely phenomenal and has evolved slightly from their past efforts. It has just the right mix of death metal technicallity and metalcore catchiness. Let's just say that people whose ears gravitate towards the drumming in a song will not be disappointed in the least,

Now, Anders is the only reason I didn't just give the EP 100%, His vocals are as catchy as ever, but his harsh isn't quite harsh anymore, and the constant layering of his pseudo-harsh and clean vocals gets kind of messy at times. Still, it shows that fans of Come Clarity will still be digging the vocals on this album, which is obviously important for mainstream success. The strong clean vocals in both "Tilt" and "Abnegation" are very promising, giving off a very Bjorn Strid (Soilwork) type of vibe. The chorus on "Abnegation" is definitely one of their strongest in a while. Also, I appreciated the lack of the soft, brooding vocals present on past songs like "My Sweet Shadow". I don't know, maybe some people really like that from Anders, but it sounded like a speed-bump to me.

Overall, this EP gives new hope that "A Sense Of Purpose" is going to be absolutely crushing. It seems like In Flames is writing tracks that are appealing to both old and new fans of the band, leading one to believe that "A Sense Of Purpose" will be just the fresh offering that In Flames fans everywhere are craving.

I, for one, can't wait!