Search - In Flames :: Jester Race

In Flames we trust

Chris | Calfornia, USA | 08/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"well, i do. this is an amazing In Flames release, possibly one of their best. unless you've been listening to In Flames newer stuff, you will really appreciate the classic Gothenburg sound. the songs may appear random is style, but regardless it is what metal was supposed to be.



this is a brief overview of the tracklist:

1. moonshield- 1/2 heavy guitar & 1/2 acoustic, a rather calm song. *****

2. the jesters dance- an instrumental, very well done! great sound. ****

3. artifacts of the black rain- the pace is picked up, a much more metal sound. great guitar work. *****

4. graveland- creative intro, not the best song.. but still good. ****

5. lord hypnosis- a good balance of guitar riffs & steady metal. *****

6. dead eternity- heres where the heavy stuff comes out, guitars sound great towards the end. ****

7. the jester race- the best song, nothing more to it. *****

8. december flower- dont let the title deceive you, a very good song with an excellent guitar solo. *****

9. wayfaerer- another well-done instrumental, this sounds like something Queen should of played (in a good way). *****

10. dead god in me- probably the next best track, very heavy & melodic. the lady sceaming towards the end gives it a good kick. *****



go buy this album, or die (and pick up Colony too)"

One of the best albums from these revolutionary Swedes.

Ben Stubbs | Australia | 05/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit to jumping on the In Flames bandwagon a little later than most of the metal community. While always a fan of other Swedish melodic death metal bands such as Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates, I seemed to overlook In Flames, feeling they were maybe not as heavy, maybe even a little bit more sugary than the aforementioned bands. I guess the reason for that was that I had only ever really heard the first few songs off The Jester Race. Looking back, I don't think my metal maturity had progressed much passed the "this album kicks my butt" stage, so the Iron Maiden-like leads and concentrated melody just didn't do it for my Morbid Angel-obsessed teenage angst. A decade on and I can't help but regret my narrow-mindedness as not only is this really very classy and pioneering, it's actually pretty heavy. The Jester Race sees vocalist Anders Friden enter the line-up and while he does his thing quite well here, I think his vocals would improve on later outings. Musicianship is once again top notch and there's certainly nothing wrong with the production. But it's the song writing that makes this album a step up from everything In Flames released before it. Good variety and a lot of obvious effort makes for an absorbing listen all the way through.



The Jester Race is commonly seen as In Flames' finest moment. Although I may not agree with this statement, it is certainly a fine album and one that captures the Swedes sound perfectly. It's not as regularly aggressive as the preceding Subterranean, nor as streamlined as the proceeding Whoracle. It lies somewhere in between, mixing up the acoustic, riffs and melodies with unadulterated metal. It's actually a fairly restrained album, rarely hitting top gear, which is maybe why I find it so thoroughly comforting, even relaxing, while still feeling the need to raise the devil's horns in recognition of all things metal. An album for everyone into melodic death metal, not only due to its classic status, but due to its upmarket entertainment value."