Customer Reviews

Subterranean

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Swedes clearly figured out what worked well on their first album and decided to work with their strengths. Gone are all the little transitional instrumentation (violin, cello, female vocals) and overkill of experimentation. What we're left with is melodic death metal, filled with hooks and leads along with a more fine tuned aggression. They still run with acoustic interludes and an almost folk influence on occasions, yet the transitions are far better than on their debut album.

The band hadn't yet settled on a line-up, with vocalist Anders Friden yet to join the fray. In fact, only Jesper Stromblad is still with the band today (2006) and he didn't play on the debut. So it's not completely surprising that Subterranean period In Flames is nothing like the albums released since the year 2000. Vocalist Henrik is great (also in Dawn) and Daniel's drumming is awesome, but it's once again the dual guitars of Jesper and Glenn that make this EP so good. Check out "Stand Ablaze" or "Subterranean" for exhibitions of brilliant melodic musicianship.

In Flames are reaching their peak with Subterranean, both as musicians and as songwriters. With only 5 tracks and a running time of just over 20 minutes, it was an excellent teaser for the bands next couple of full length albums that would be the pinnacle of their career. Regain's re-mastered edition of this album released in 2004 has a far superior sound and is well worth purchasing, even for the fans that own the Wrong Again Records CD from the mid nineties, particularly for the bonus tracks and covers that come included.

Overall, a step up in class for In Flames and a fine example of the Gothenburg sound that has been completely bombarded with clones for years since its release.

This is one of In Flames best albums right up there with The Jester Race and Whoracle. Its a different singer but its still great. If you like In Flames and haven't listened to Subterranean you need to check it out.

very good music from the masters of swedish death metal, excellent disk.
the only negative thing is that the booklet has no lyrics.

The Swedes clearly figured out what worked well on their first album and decided to work with their strengths. Gone are all the little transitional instrumentation (violin, cello, female vocals) and overkill of experimentation. What we're left with is melodic death metal, filled with hooks and leads along with a more fine tuned aggression. They still run with acoustic interludes and an almost folk influence on occasions, yet the transitions are far better than on their debut album.

The band hadn't yet settled on a line-up, with vocalist Anders Friden yet to join the fray. In fact, only Jesper Stromblad is still with the band today (2006) and he didn't play on the debut. So it's not completely surprising that Subterranean period In Flames is nothing like the albums released since the year 2000. Vocalist Henrik is great (also in Dawn) and Daniel's drumming is awesome, but it's once again the dual guitars of Jesper and Glenn that make this EP so good. Check out "Stand Ablaze" or "Subterranean" for exhibitions of brilliant melodic musicianship.

In Flames are reaching their peak with Subterranean, both as musicians and as songwriters. With only 5 tracks and a running time of just over 20 minutes, it was an excellent teaser for the bands next couple of full length albums that would be the pinnacle of their career. Regain's re-mastered edition of this album released in 2004 has a far superior sound and is well worth purchasing, even for the fans that own the Wrong Again Records CD from the mid nineties, particularly for the bonus tracks and covers that come included.

Overall, a step up in class for In Flames and a fine example of the Gothenburg sound that has been completely bombarded with clones for years since its release.

1995's Subterranean was the second release by Swedish melodic death metal legends In Flames. The band had just released their debut album (1994's Lunar Strain (Dig)) and was still going through lineup changes. They didn't even have a full-time vocalist. They used Dawn frontman Henke Forss for this EP. You can hear flashes of the future In Flames sound, especially on songs like "Biosphere" and the title track, but for the most part Subterranean still closely resembles the thrashier, darker At the Gates sound.

Subterranean isn't as essential as In Flames' later albums, but it is still well worth hearing if you're a fan of the band or melodic death metal in general. Those who think In Flames got too accessible with The Jester Race and Whoracle: Reloaded will no doubt prefer the Lunar Strain/Subterranean sound.

Edition Notes: Candlelight reissued Subterranean (and, separately, Lunar Strain) in 2005. The album has been digitally remastered (a real plus) and there are four bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are a pair of later In Flames songs sung by Jocke Gothborg (Dimension Zero) plus covers of Metallica's "Eye of the Beholder" and Iron Maiden's "Murders in the Rue Morgue." The Gothborg tracks are interesting enough, though not really necessary. The Metallica cover is pretty terrible, but the Iron Maiden cover absolutely kills. The liner notes are the most disappointing element of this reissue. There are no lyrics, nothing from the band on what was going on at the time, not even any songwriting credits.

Edition Notes 2: Subterranean was reissued yet again in 2009, this time by Regain. It's the same reissue as Candlelight's, only now it comes in a digipack.