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Clayman (Dlx)

Clayman (Dlx)

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Customer Reviews

4.5 stars - the beginning of the new In Flames sound

Rating: 4/5

2000's Clayman followed on the heels of a series of absolutely perfect melodic death metal albums by In Flames: Colony, Whoracle, and The Jester Race. While Clayman was very much a Swedish melodic death metal album, it was obvious the band had updated the sound a bit to include some more modern elements. It wasn't a radical departure from their signature sound (like later releases Reroute to Remain or Soundtrack to Your Escape), but you can see that In Flames was moving beyond the established formula.

The band definitely shook things up with this album, and I happen to think it paid off. They managed to revitalize their sound to avoid becoming stagnant. Of course, it helps that Clayman is still very melodic and no less heavy than previous In Flames albums. There are some nu-metal elements creeping in, and this is where Anders Friden started to change his vocal style. That could turn off fans of the older In Flames sound, but I had no problem with it because the songs are so freaking good.

Looking back, Clayman is clearly the bridge between the classic and modern In Flames sounds (honestly, they seem like two entirely different bands). It's still a great album, and one of my favorites from the band.

This ain't my metal

Rating: 1/5

This band sucks. I picked up this album to try it out when I saw "Nuclear Blast" as the label and the cd ended up under my wheels about three songs in. The word metal is getting thrown around alot here in the reviews this band. This band is not any type of metal I enjoy as a metal fan and doesen't deserve to have the tag "metal". If anything this band is pop metal. Dragonforce is more hardcore than In Flames. What a waste of 13 dollars. People who think this is metal go listen to some Slayer, Megadeth or some Cannibal Corpse and enjoy flushing this pop metal down the toilet. \m/

What a way to enter the new millenium

Rating: 5/5

In 2000, In Flames released an album with the perfect blend of Melodic Death Metal from there old material, and a newer, more mainstream sound to attract new fans. Though this is considered by many In Flames fans to be their last good attempt at Melodic Death Metal, there truly is more to it than that.

The album starts off with Bullet Ride, with *gasp* clean vocals! That's not to say they never experienced with clean vocals before, but in Claymans's case, it seemed more appropriate than ever. Don't worry though, there is plenty of screaming in this album. This album provides raw emotion, like lots of In Flames' material. Going from the way the vocals sound, lets talk about the lyrics. It seemed at this point, there lyrics were about mankind, the future, and concepts. This album's main focus was personal issues that are easier to relate to, such as the highly acclaimed Pinball Map.

Like with Colony, Clayman's guitars shifted from a more melodic base to a more chords, focusing more on vocals than ever. But do not fear Melo-Death fans, Jesper and Bjorn still crank out some of the most original, amazing guitar licks ever, just listen to Swim for the combination of both.

Summing up this short review of mine, Clayman is quite possibly the last truly great In Flames album. That's not to take away from any of there stuff after, but people who wish to be true In Flames fans should listen to Clayman before anything near A Sense of Purpose. Clayman is an album that is enjoyable for new fans, and old, and though it does not have such an impact as The Jester Race did, Clayman should truly be regarded as In Flames greatest attempt, and there most OVERALL, best album.

In Flames We Trust!

Classic, this one got me started on melodic metal 5 years ago

Rating: 5/5

In Flames were some of the truly original pioneers of melodic metal, or melo-death metal, which ever you prefer. In my case as well as many other people, they are what got a lot of us started in this style and quality of music: fast paced metal, amazing guitar solos and duets, and technical drumming and double bass, with keyboards also in many cases. Clayman, in my opinion is about where In Flames peaked, with their newer albums kind of diminishing their ability somewhat (I think they're just gettin too old for it lol). Nevertheless, they put out the most monumental albums of any band I can think of in this genre. Give it a try if you're new to this type of music. Also definitely listen to their older albums including: The Jester Race/Black Ash Inheritance, Whoracle, and Colony. Can't go wrong with any of them. Also for modern-day bands keeping melodic metal alive and in good spirits, check out Kalmah, Wintersun, and As I Lay Dying.

Part of the Lutheran Metal Scene

Rating: 3/5

The best song for me is square nothing, again the vocals can be barely understood, the music gets annoying after a while because of the lutheran tendency. I gave it average score, cause vocals are barely audible and the music tends to repeat itself. The group could have easily combined many albums together.