Customer Reviews

Whoracle

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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

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.

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.

This was the first In Flames album I picked up, when I was just a casual fan. I have to say that this is THE album that got me into melodic death metal.

The first track, Jotun, starts out with an amazing guitar riff, and after reading the lyrics for it, I was blown away. After listening to every track on the CD, my jaw was stuck wide open.

Some of the tracks that stand out are "Jotun," "Dialogue With The Stars," "The Hive," "Episode 666," and "Jester Script Transfigured." But besides that, even every other song is good.

I definitely recommend getting this album, even if you are only a casual fan.

In Flames 1997 melodic death masterpiece, "Whoracle", is widely recognized as one of the band's, and the entire genre's, landmarks. And for good reason: like every early IF album, this CD features complex, swirling guitar melodies, pulse-pounding drums, solid bass lines, thought-provoking lyrics, and on this album, as well as every other pre-"Colony" IF effort, Anders Friden's deeper, more death-metalish growl, before he went to what was more of a raspy-growl, which I believe it better, since no one really else has vocals like that. Anyway, this album features some of the band's most complex songwriting.

The album kicks right into gear with "Jotun", starting right off with the harmonizing guitars you'll be amazed listening to throughout the entire album. "Food For the Gods" is another high-volume fast-paced metal track, followed up by the simply awe-inspiring "Gyroscope". How anyone can not like that song is beyond me. Next is the instrumental "Dialogue With the Stars", and an early In Flames instrumental is always a treat to hear for guitar players. "The Hive", like "Jotun" and "Food for the Gods", is another fast-paced metal tune, with no real standout parts besides the amazing Stromblad solo in the middle of it. "Jester Script Transfigured" is a slower, more ballad-esque song, but it doesn't really get amazing until the heavy guitars kick in. "Morphing Into Primal" is a low point for the album, as it's a good track, but there's really nothing that stands out about it at all. Next we get the apocalyptic sounding "Worlds Within the Margin", my personal favorite, as it's just a crushing and, for the lack of a better word, "evil" track. The track truly overpowers the listeners, especially the first verse, after the long opening, in which it's just the drums, a few violins in the background, and Anders' beautifully emotional yet hauntingly demonic vocals. This is definitely the stand out, at least for me, of the album. The next track is their "big hit" "Episode 666", a song I really didn't care for too much at first, but after a while, it grew on me. Excellent guitar work. I also would like to mention that in my copy of the CD, in the lyrics booklet, that the lyrics to "Episode 666" are not printed, instead, it just says "Episode 666" as the song title but then has the lyrics "Morphing Into Primal" again. Not a big problem, I just thought it was something worth asking. The next track is the band's cover of Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts", and it really is different from anything else on this album, but not out of place. It's catchy, and if you can find the lyrics on the internet, fun to sing along to. I'm glad they put it on here. The album's last track is the too-short instrumental "Whoracle", which I don't really care for, as it's just the same riff repeated over and over again. We all know, just from this particular albums fourth track, that In Flames can do much better instrumentals than this. To me, it just seems like filler. But besides that, and a few other minor low points, this album is killer.

The thing about this album is that it's much more slower-paced and dark than the rest of the band's releases, making it more of an atmospheric listen. In all honesty, this is my least favorite IF release, but it's still amazing, and yes, still worthy of all 5 stars. In Flames truly are amazing musicians, each one of them, truly skilled songwriters. Any musician or metal fan should check out anything by them, but don't start with "Reroute to Remain" or "Soundtrack to Your Escape", because there's not really any amazing music to be found there, just awesome, straight-forward emotional metal songs. My personal favorite IF release is "Colony", followed by "The Jester Race", "Clayman", "Soundtrack to Your Escape", "Reroute to Remain", than this. So I suggest you start with "Colony", as I did this and now IF are my favorite band.

Today, many people consider melodic death dead. Although I disagree with this statement as there are tons of "super underground" bands that very few people have heard of that totally revive the near-dead genre such as Arsis and Vehemence (from America) to Insomnium (from Finland) to Within Y (from Sweden).
Well, you, watching this review - you are experiencing a decision that might as well affect your entire musical taste. This is as good as early melodic death gets. The vocals on Whoracle are totally different from Colony and beyond. But you'll get used to it, I promise. It's more cultural-sounding that may stray away from Americans who like other melodic death bands. However, the aggresiveness and skill on this album is uncomprehensible. Personally, I believe this is In Flame's best album. This is their climax before they decided to switch the sound to faster dual guitars with a voice thats 2x the octaves up.

I don't know why exactly this is my favorite in flames disc. The sound on this disc actually sounds more mature to me than their newer stuff, yet like a step forward from their older stuff.

For those who like the folky, classic-swedish sounding acoustic parts of their older stuff, this is lacking or modified here (as is the more underground death metal style). And for those who, god forbid, prefer their new injection of simpler rythm guitar (what has led some to the cruel allegation of nu metal) that is also lacking.

I put this album, colony and clayman in a group. Basically this album just has a few more favorites for me. It doesn't hurt that the first track is just a perfect In Flames song from the first note. The songwriting is at its best and the style is perfect. They manage to sound like the semi-unheard of band they were, while also sounding like they should be taking over the metal world. I think thats exactly the point they were at.

This disc transcends genre definition as far as I'm concerned. A lot of people are obsessed with defining what genre a band belongs to. Well, if you don't know, let me tell you that almost any comparisons that can be made are the result of later immataters of In flames. These guys found a creative way to pay tribute to their influences. They don't sound LIKE Iron Maiden and Metallica. They sound like they probably like those bands. They sound like In Flames. Its too bad that immitaters have somewhat tarnished the accomplishments of this breakthrough band, and this breakthrough record -released in 1997.

Regular death metal is all right. Melodic death metal is amazing! And this album is no exception. In Flames, who consist of two vocalists, two acoustic guitars, two lead guitars, a rhythm guitar, a bass guitar, two percussionists, and a keyboard, are a paragon of heavy metal talent. Each track, whether a song or instrumental, provides enchanting riffs on top of riffs, mesmerizing atmospherics, and overall brilliant technicality. It's less of a sleepy piledriver than ordinary stuff like Nile and Deicide, with non-stop creativity and extreme passion. Highlights include Jotun, Episode 666, Whoracle, Dialogue with the Stars, and Morphing into Primal, but each and every track is truly magickal. I have yet to see an album, or a band, who come close to the glorious skill of In Flames. Not Rob Zombie. Not Emperor. Not even Iron Maiden. In Flames: Need I say more?

This is my favorite In Flames offering. Anders Friden's vocals are better than on any In Flames records released following this. The guitars simply ooze with melody and emotion on each song. The lyrics are stunning. Here is an example from the song "Jotun".

"Sun-white pulverized desert stone, and serpentine lizard mouths
pales away the Pyramids, re-writing 4,500 years of history, raping the Statue of Liberty, outplays the Acropolis inverting the fjords, invades the New York skyline to dream it's own existence in one single final word, Jotun"

Absolutely mesmerizing.

Quite simply put, this is hands down their best album. That's not to say that some of the others aren't great though, but that's another review altogether. I'd start with this album though & then expand from there. Being a metalhead from way back, i first i discovered this album while looking for a new band that was true & more traditional sounding metal, reminiscent of bands i'd grown up listening to, that had decent guitar work which i was finding ever increasingly hard to find in amongst all the nu-metal crap that was & still is being churned out. When i heard this album i knew i'd found what i was looking for. Plenty of Iron Maiden-esque guitar riffs & old school flavour to satisfy fans of older more traditional metal aswell as a fresh touch to it all.
As sad as it is to say though, don't waste your time with the last 2 albums Reroute to Remain & Soundtrack To Your Escape. They are nothing like the rest of this band's work & if you're like me, you'll be extremely disappointed. I was hoping to be able to stick with this band & follow their body of work for a bit longer, but sadly if their last two albums are any indication of the direction this band is headed in musically, then i'm affraid that will not be happening. The Whoracle is a purely briliant album & a masterpiece & it's a shame they didn't continue putting out material consistant with this & some of their other albums. Get this album, you won't be disappointed. Also check out Iced Earth's Days Of Purgatory if you're looking for a modern metal band with an old school touch.