Flo from Toxic Waltz wrote about Soundtrack to Your Escape for us a few weeks ago and specifically called out "The Quiet Place," and I couldn't agree more. The song kicked me in the teeth all those years ago on the first listen, and remains not only a standout from this particular album, but amidst the group's entire discography, as far as I'm concerned.
That main melody at 0:28 (and during the chorus, of course) is easily one of In Flames' all-time catchiest riffs. And the way the chorus explodes forth with hammering percussion and sporadically scathing snarls? Hot damn! I don't know how any fan of the band's peak era during the late-'90s could argue against this track.
It's funny, this album often seems to catch a lot of shit—the notoriously hypercritical Encyclopaedia Metallum reviews have granted it an average score of just 40%—which is crazy to me, 'cause I'd say it's the last very good (if not great) In Flames album. They've done decent work since, sure, but Soundtrack to Your Escape is indeed the last of their releases that I'll take off the shelf for a spin with some regularity.
Comments
Complete agreement - the song itself, where the album stands in relation to the band’s discography, everything. I’ll even go a step further and shout out the production on the record. It’s not perfect, but very unique and one of the albums where Daniel Bergstrand nails it. The guitars and subtle keyboard accents are dovetailed so deftly they’re almost imperceptibly fused (along with backup vocals, etc). This results in the melodies being stronger without that overly sugary sweet, invasive feeling from synthy/keyboard touches, they sit just below the surface.
1.14.2015 | By Stacy
Well said! Thanks for the comment!
1.14.2015 | By Andrew Aversionline
I’d have to voice dissent on this one, although it is an interesting blast from the past. The radness of the main melody almost makes me think twice about my decision to disregard all post-Clayman In Flames material. But in the end the verses just ruin it for me, and call to mind exactly why I can’t get into any of the records that followed Clayman. In my book, Dark Tranquillity aged infinitely better than In Flames (having a far more gifted vocalist helped immeasurably) and now ATG have a great new record, as well… In Flames don’t make the cut.
1.29.2015 | By Marcus
Agree to disagree, I guess, heh. I actually think ‘Reroute to Remain’ and ‘Soundtrack to Your Escape’ are both much better than ‘Clayman’, and I almost never listen to anything Dark Tranquillity did past ‘The Mind’s I’ anymore.
1.29.2015 | By Andrew Aversionline
Haha pretty much mirror opposites huh? I wouldn’t have guessed that.
1.29.2015 | By Marcus