Eighteen years and nine albums into bandhood, In Flames show zero sign of age. While the fierce Swedish band occasionally stops to breathe, as with the baroque folk break midway through ?Alias,? the metal assault on A Sense of Purpose is mostly relentless. That?s not to say the 2008 follow-up to the massively successful Come Clarity (and first album for Koch) lacks melody, but that the hook-laden riffs pile on top of one another for a complex yet captivating wall of sound. It?s a fire that can consume, as on the taut ?Move Through Me,? or smolder somberly as on ?The Chosen Pessimist.? With veteran producer Daniel Bergstrand behind the boards, A Sense of Purpose is a downright elegant metal album that wears its title well. ~ Jason Thurston € 15.99
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