Whoracle

In Flames | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B000000H2I
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,172 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

A master of progressive death metal or the 'Gothenberg sound' practiced by many a Swedish band, In Flames delivers one of its best efforts with 1997's Whoracle. 11 tracks. Nuclear Blast.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Godly Food, November 5, 2003

By 

child_of_the_jester_race "child_of_the_jester... (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whoracle (Audio CD)

In Flames never ceases to amaze me. When I first heard "The Jester Race" (The album before Whoracle)I was so impressed that I had to get all their albums. However, I was always asking myself HOW ARE THEY EVER GOING TO RELEASE ANYTHING THAT COMES CLOSE TO THE JESTER RACE. Well... they must have used some kind of magic because when I listen to Whoracle I am subjected to spells beyond comprehension. Whoracle is an amazing record.
At times (because I am also a musician) I think to myself that it is unfair that a band can release gem after gem of albums. In Flames seems to do it with ease.

It seems like In Flames accomplishes defining their style with this album. Their first 2 albums "Lunar Strain" and "The Jester race" make the band seem like having a keen interest in atracting a black metal crowd, the latter not as much as the former. Of course their roots have always been in bands like "At The Gates", which are tremendously close to black metal. With Whoracle, In Flames seem to focus more on the melody of the songs. With more emphasis on melody In Flames are now put in a category of their own. A unique and original sound that no band can immitate.

The album starts of with "Jotun". Again putting one of the strongest tracks ever written first in this unbelievable sequence. When I listen to it I feel this energy entering my body and quickly enchants my soul. This feeling carries on throughout the songs "Food For The Gods" and "Gyroscope" only to be briefly slowed by the beautiful instrumental "Dialogue With The Stars". This instrumental shows how capable In Flames is at writting timeless music.
Other songs worth telling you about are "The Jester Script Transfigured" wich is the longest song in the album close to 6 minutes. I believe that if I were to chose a favourite song in this album, this would be it. It starts with a slower rhythm and acoustic guitars. The singing is perfect. The heavy parts that come in after the clean only make the anger in this song reflect from sadness. A truly beautiful song. "Episode 666" is a crowd pleaser and one of those songs that gets the moshpit going crazy. Another solid track from In Flames while "Everything Counts" (another favourite of mine), is a track that stands out from the rest of this album, partly because of the chorus where clean vocals are used simultaneouly with screams. A combination that is very affective but hard to reproduce live. To end this album In Flames gives us the track "Whoracle". This is a beautiful acoustic instrumental with lots of percussion which gets heavy at the end.

This album is a masterpiece that duplicates the genius from their previous two albums and which is only reproduced by In Flames' next gems. In other words, get yourself all of In Flames' albums right now. No questions, just go.

What are you doing still reading this... GO BUY WHORACLE.
NOOOOOWWWWWWWWW

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Flames best work, October 28, 2001

By 

Emperial Black Wizard (Needham, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whoracle (Audio CD)

This album is In Flames best work. I love every song and have listened to this album so many times that I know almost every riff that is played ahead of time. I really like how they have been able to work an acoustic guitar into their amazing work just like Opeth did with their masterpiece "Orchid." If you are a fan of Opeth's "Orchid" album I would insist you buy this right now or as soon as you get the cash. This album is lighter than the rest of In Flames albums but I feel like it is their strongest album.
You really get a sence of sadness when listening to this album. The music tells a story that makes sence in your mind but its hard to put into words. This album opens up srong with the track "Jotun" and "Food for the Gods" but then sinks down into a softer piece. Then "Dialogue with the Stars" opens up and brings all this life into you and raises your spirit. (dialogue with the stars is also my favorite instrumental track of all time.) Then the amazing "Jester Script Transfigured" showcases the incredible acoustic work the band is capable of. The album then again sinks down into a low state with great music. Then with the last three tracks the album explodes with very emotional music. "Episode 666" is the heaviest track on the album and seems to represent rebellion or an uprising in the story. Then "Everything Counts" (one of my favorite tracks) seems to symbolize an emotinal battle that is being lost by the character in the story. Then the final track, "Whoracle" represents an unjust death to the charcter.
This is the story that I feel that the album tells. All of this might just be something that my imagination created, but I feel strongly that the story is really their. Think about what I have said in my review next time you listen to this album and maybe you too will see the story.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ULTIMATE In Flames Album., September 22, 2005

By 

p_drl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whoracle (Audio CD)

While many of the older fans of In Flames dismiss their newer material, anyone who is looking for one of the biggest cornerstone albums in the melodic death metal field should look no further. "Whoracle" is agreed by many as the band's best output, rivalled only by "Lunar Strain" and "Colony". Anders and co. come into full blossom here, musically and lyrically. Jesper composes some beautiful leads on "Gyroscope", and some invigorating acoustic guitars break through on "Jester Script Transfigured" and the instrumental title track; But songs like "Morphing Into Primal" and the nearly epic "Food for the Gods" show us a good dose of thrashy, old-school, and yet accessible melodic metal.

The musicianship is impeccable here. The guitars cut through with perfect, seething harmonizations, and the solos on "The Hive" and "Episode 666" are more than enough evidence to prove that the fellows of In Flames are probably some of the best metal guitarists out of Sweden. Anders's vocals are more death-oriented here than what they are now, as he uses a mid-pitched growl and gives us one of his best performances on the anthemic opener "Jotun" and the Soilwork-esque "Worlds Within the Margin", which features some haunting synths on the verses. Fitting the music perfectly, the drums share the spotlight with the guitars. Double bass is used wisely, and the fills smoothly lead the the next passage.

By far the most redeeming factor of "Whoracle" is the songwriting. Each track in its own right is amazing and layered, but at the same time, it's straight-forward, simple, and is bound to stick in your head for days. (Especially "Jotun" and "Episode 666".) Though most songs follow a typical verse-chorus structure, everything is kept fresh with solos, the obscure lyrics, and the band members know not to recycle their own riffs and ideas, nor a boring formula. Quite simply, these songs are heavy, but EXTREMELY catchy.

"Whoracle" remains my favorite In Flames album to date, and is highly reccommended to people looking for some varied, fresh, melodic metal that is complex in its own way yet accessible. Quite possibly one of the greatest metal albums to come from Sweden during the 90's.