Wasn't impressed by the few mp3s I heard by this band, mostly because the wild, snarly vocals clashed horribly with the music, which is mostly melodic thrash. It takes a while to grow on you, but once it does...oh MAN...

"Lunar Strain/Subterranean"

1. "Behind Space" (4:54)
2. "Lunar Strain" (4:05)
3. "Starforsaken" (3:09)
4. "Dreamscape"--instrumental (3:45)
5. "Everlost (Part I)" (4:16)
6. "Everlost (Part II)" (2:57)
7. "Hårgalåten"--instrumental (2:26)
8. "In Flames" (5:33)
9. "Upon an Oaken Throne" (2:49)
10. "Clad in Shadows" (2:53)
11. "Stand Ablaze" (4:34)
12. "Everdying" (4:23)
13. "Subterranean" (5:46)
14. "Timeless"--instrumental (1:46)
15. "Biosphere" (5:10)
16. "Dead Eternity" (5:02)
17. "The Inborn Lifeless" (3:22)

The band's first CD + 5-track "Subterranean" EP features a mishmash of generic thrash-death metal, ranging from fast-paced to mid-tempo, with a few slower, doomy tracks for good measure (i.e. "Everlost") The vocals feature an annoyingly screechy lead singer who thankfully left to join Dark Tranquility after this album (ha! No wonder that band sucks...)

For a long time, this album was only available as a super-expensive Jap import, with a cover version of Metallica's "Eye of the Beholder" as track 16, but the U.S. reissue dumps that song in favor of two pointless bonus tracks (which, until now, were added to the import version of The Jester Race). Oh, while I'm not sure how "remastered" this is, whoever did the mix needs to be shot -- the acoustic parts, plus the fiddle intros to "Starforsaken" and "Hargalaten", are about TWICE AS LOUD as the rest of the music!!! Sucky packaging, too.

"Whoracle"

1. "Jotun" (3:53)
2. "Food for the Gods" (4:21)
3. "Gyroscope" (3:26)
4. "Dialogue with the Stars"--instrumental (3:00)
5. "The Hive" (4:03)
6. "Jester Script Transfigured" (5:46)
7. "Morphing into Primal" (3:05)
8. "Worlds Within the Margin" (5:06)
9. "Episode 666" (3:45)
10. "Everything Counts" (3:17)
11. "Whoracle"--instrumental (2:43)

Definitely a synergistic album, meaning the individual songs I heard on mp3 were okay, but nothing essential, and in fact I only got it for the cover of Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts". Well... "Jotun" starts out strong, sounding TONS better than the crappy 20kbps/22khz mp3 I'd been listening to. Next few tracks are also pretty strong, but once you get to "The Hive" then it REALLY kicks in. "Morphing Into Primal" is a WILD song, and fits the vocals perfectly; "Worlds Within" contains some epic keyboards mixed in flawlessly; "Everything Counts", to my amazement, is an AWESOME cover tune (it's rare that Depeche Mode gets covered this well!) and flows effortlessly into the final instrumental. I'd been wracking my brains trying to think of the best album that came out in 1997, but I do believe I've found it now!

"Reroute to Remain: Fourteen Songs of Conscious Insanity"

1. "Reroute to Remain" (3:53)
2. "System" (3:39)
3. "Drifter" (3:10)
4. "Trigger" (4:58)
5. "Cloud Connected" (3:40)
6. "Transparent" (4:03)
7. "Dawn of a New Day" (3:40)
8. "Egonomic" (2:36)
9. "Minus" (3:45)
10. "Dismiss the Cynics" (3:38)
11. "Free Fall" (3:58)
12. "Dark Signs" (3:20)
13. "Metaphor" (3:39)
14. "Black & White" (3:33)

In Flames goes nu-metal! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! Actually, that's only partially true -- while the nu-metal vibe is present in just about every song, the best tracks ("Cloud Connected", "Free Fall" and "Black & White") have a more progressive, avant-garde and industrial feel, kind of like late Snake-era Voi Vod, and rank among the best work this band has ever done. The few pure nu-metal songs, like "System" and "Egonomic", do get rather annoying, because while this music is certainly on the high end of the talent spectrum, let's face it...nu-metal is an inherently annoying musical form. Still, it's at least a change of pace from their traditional NWOSDM style (and yeah, the lead vocalist actually sings on a few tracks, or at least he tries to) and if it earns the band more commercial success, more power to 'em. God knows the world could use it...

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