Clayman

This album seems to be the final bastion of In Flames before the fall off in the eyes of many fans. Personally, I tend to see Clayman as the pivot point in the course of the band's evolution from pure melodic death to their nu-death metal phase which peaked in STYE but now seems to be receding slightly with their newset release. Elements of both these identities are present in Clayman, with a wide range of musical approaches, varied degrees of soloing, and especially in the vocals. It is actually my opinion that, while Jester Race ~ Black Ash Inheritance is the very best of In Flames musically, Anders Friden peaked as a vocalist in Clayman. Here he delivers the deep, throaty growls of Jester Race, the whispers of Whoracle, the wimpers of RTR/STYE, and the shreiks of Come Clarity, all in one album. For power and verstility, this is his best performance.As far as the album itself goes, the only song I don't care too much for is Satellites and Astronauts. It's a bit blah in my opinion, but not annoying or anything. Other than that, it took me a long time of struggling to pick out a few favorites, because the rest of the album is so strong. That said, Bullet Ride is an all-time In Flames classic, Only for the Weak is, while not their best, their most anthemic, ...As the Future Repeats Today is one of my personal favorites, and Swim is possibly the best song on here.In conclusion, if you're an In Flames fan, you already own this, right? If not, I'd start here, as this album has the widest range of their material to be found on a single disc. If possible, pick up the Expanded Version, as both bonus tracks are worth having. One is just a good metal song, and the other is an intersting cover that's definately worth a listen.

Clayman is solid throughout but it's still no Jester Race or Whoracle. Square Nothing, Pinball Map, As the Future Repeats Itself Today and Suburban Me are the stand out tracks and are great songs. The rest is just slightly above average. They started to get less heavy and more melodic and add in synthesizer which isn't a bad thing. However this is when In Flames take a step down in their career. There aren't the unique acoustic guitar solos like their was on Whoracle and The Jester Race or the fast tempo on Colony. They slow their songs down here and become more mainstream. Still Clayman, Reroute To Remain, Soundtrack To Your Escape and Come Clarity are decent albums but far from masterpieces like their mid-late '90s discography.

Possibly my favorite In Flames album. They are ALL so good! Any real In Flames fan should simply have every album. It's easy to make a Best of playlist for these guys, just put all songs in it xD Standouts such as Bullet Ride, Pinball Map, Suburban Me and Square Nothing are thick with the melodicism and the powerful ass kicking that have helped this band rise to the very top of the metal pile. Creative and unique lyricism, visualization instead of story telling... everything! *auralgasm* god I love these guys.... their music fires on all cylinders, definitely a finely tuned machine.

My favorite In Flames album. Definitely worth checking out. My favorite songs from this album are "Only for the Weak" and "Suburban Me". Buy it, listen to it, and enjoy it.

A few months ago I owned 0 In Flames albums. I Am now the proud owner of all of their albums and Clayman is without a doubt my favorite. Clayman is a masterpiece of metal, I cannot recommend this album enough. "Suburban Me" is my favorite song with "Bullet Ride" coming in a close second.

Seriously, being a big fan of In Flames and having this amazing album in my always growing CD collection since my late teens and early twenties, I really wish I would've written a review for this album a long time ago. But now however, after having owning this CD, I have finally decided that now is the time for a good review. After spending the majority of the 90's busting out classic masterpieces such as 1996's "The Jester Race", 1997's "Whoracle", and 1999's "Colony", Sweden's melodic death metal pioneers In Flames enter the 2000's with their pivotal fifth album, 2000's "Clayman" which is an all around incredible album that features a perfect blend of the band's trademark classic melodic death metal sound from their early material, and a newer, more alternative sound in which they would showcase on further releases including 2002's "Reroute to Remain", 2004's "Soundtrack to Your Escape", and 2006's "Come Clarity".Like past In Flames releases before this, "Clayman" does still contain the classic lightning fast paced melodic death metal riffing and amazingly dynamic twin-guitar solos and melodic harmonies which evoke that of Iron Maiden, and intense, technical drumming, as well as some keyboards being thrown in on many cases, and of course a very versatile vocal performance by the amazingly talented Anders Friden who delivers his awesome, throat-shredding screams and growls with sheer intensity, emotion and passion throughout, and yes there's also quite some diversity on Anders' performance on this album as well as he also makes some great usage of clean vocals and mellower, almost spoken and whispering word passages (Listen to the opening track "Bullet Ride" for an example, as well as "Only For the Weak" as well). Backing up Anders, you've got guitarists Jesper Stromblad and Bjorn Gelotte both whom just duel it out, tearing right through a constant succession of fast, razor-sharp riffing and deliciously awesome solos, catchy hard-driving melodies and harmonies, and incredible complex rhythms throughout, and they both make it look oh so easy on here, no doubt about it. These guys can seduce your mind with addicting melodies and harmonies one minute, and then they just go aim right for the gut with a lethal arsenal of heavy riffs the next. This album shows why a band like In Flames know exactly when to take a break from the heaviness and lighten things up a bit before resuming full heavy aggression once again. And of course speaking of melodies, this album here has got some of the best melodies that I've ever heard on any melodic death metal album or any metal album period. Meanwhile, you've also both have Peter Iwers and Daniel Svensson who round out the rest of In Flames' amazing lineup with their amazingly heavy and hard-driving rhythm section, as Iwers pounds out awesome bass lines, and Svensson on the other hand pours out absolutely everything that he's got behind the drum kit with his powerful hard-driving drum work throughout pounding down heavy, beefy and thundering beats, killer double bass kicks, crashing cymbals, and everything else in between with flawless execution.This spectacular thrillride of an album kicks off with a huge bang with "Bullet Ride" (my favorite song on here BTW) as it is bolstered by huge, beefy and crunching, driving heavy riffs and soaring melodies and heavy, beefy, thunderous drum beats, and viciously aggressive screams, and is also highlighted by some more quieter and melodic, spoken and whispering word passages as I mentioned earlier, as well as an amazingly soaring, melodic guitar solo to top it all off. Afterwards, the album's next track "Pinball Map" which is no question another huge standout track is a very fast paced and energetic number that anchors more huge, jagged, gut-crunching, energetic riffing, heavy, storming, foot stomping drums, and fierce, aggressive, screams and growls, and is also further highlighted by a superb, addicting chorus that included some nice chugging guitars to go along with it, plus another amazingly soaring, ripping, melodic solo is also thrown in to boot. Definitely another one of my favorites on here. I love it. Next up, we have track three and another huge standout, "Only for the Weak" which goes into a more mid-tempo direction and is highlighted by great crunching, melodic driven riffs, as well as some flourishes of wonderful melodic keyboards are also being sprinkled on throughout the song, plus another outstandingly catchy chorus, and another brilliantly soaring and majestic, melodic driven guitar solo is also featured here as well, and elsewhere, the fourth track, "...as the Future Repeats Today" is another amazing, driving mid-paced number which boasts heavy, driving, melodic chugging riffs, driving, thumping drums, along with more heavy, throat-tearing screams, and another awesome chorus, and is also highlighted by a sweet, ripping and soaring, melodic drenched solo, plus some more awesome keyboards including right at the end of the song as well. Moving forward, the album's fifth track, "Square Nothing" begins with some beautiful opening acoustic strings and menacing, whispered vocals before being jack-hammered in with a barrage of heavy, crunching, brain-damaging riffing, hefty, storming, driving double bass drumming, and vicious throat-lacerating screaming, and we're also treated to yet more wicked, soaring, melodic soloing and harmonies abound as well.Next up, we have the album's fast-paced title track "Clayman" which is another memorable highlight that just storms right in with an unforgiving onslaught of charging, bone-crunching, high impact riffing, and fast, heart-thumping drum beats, and brutal screams throughout, and the song is also highlighted by an awesomely raging circle pit induced chorus which included some fast, fiery riffing and ripping double bass drums that will just rip your head right clean off, plus a delicious guitar harmony at the 2:10 mark to boot, meanwhile the album's next song, "Satellites and Astronauts" which harkens to a more power ballad-like territory is yet another highlight here as it is highlighted by cool, spacey sounding acoustic passages, along with amazing, melodic riffs and leads, and awesome vocals from Anders throughout ranging from soft whispers to harsh, torturing screams, and also highlighting this amazing song is another powerful and amazing chorus, but for me, the main highlight in this song is the guitar solo which is just absolutely majestic and deliciously soaring. Following the closing acoustics of "Satellites and Astronauts", the album then thrusts into the following track, "Brush the Dust Away" rips into the listener's eardrums with blistering and pounding double bass drumming, and heavy driving, hard crunching riffage, along with more tasty and juicy, wailing, melodic soloing and melodic leads, and larynx-shredding screams from Anders to boot. Next up, we have track nine, "Swim" which is another awesome track that is just drenched with deliciously addicting and catchy melodic harmony leads during the verses, along with hard, crunching, driving rhythms, and more of Anders' brutal, raspy, throat-ripping screams to boot, and meanwhile, the following song "Suburban Me" is yet another killer highlight of a song that is highlighted by more amazing riffs throughout especially an awesome opening riff at the beginning, plus an amazingly winding, wailing, and shredding melodic guitar solo (and the best guitar solo on the whole album IMO as well), along with more of Anders' awesome screaming vocals as well with more spoken whisper passages being included, and then finally, "Clayman" closes things out with the final track, that of course being "Another Day in Quicksand" which is bolstered by mammoth, blistering riffage, as well as pummeling, beefy and clobbering, bone-rattling double bass drumming, and sick, spewing, venomous screams from Anders of course leading the way throughout, plus you also have more amazing melodic leads, and wonderfully winding and soaring, melodic soloing to top it all off as well.All in all, In Flames' "Clayman" is an absolute majestic and powerful melodic death metal masterpiece and is definitely the most diverse and accessible album that In Flames have ever released in their career hands down which makes this album my personal favorite In Flames album. This album as I mentioned earlier is a perfect mixture of the band's classic, blistering, punishing, in-your-face melodic death metal of old and the newer, more alternative/mainstream sound but that doesn't even mean that this stuff is mainstream because it's not. The bottom line is that "Clayman" is no question a highly enjoyable album for any fan of In Flames young or old, and if you are a fan, then by all means, you must add this masterpiece of an album to your metal CD collection at any costs. HORNS UP!!! \m/ \m/Jeremy

Not a big fan of In Flames but this album caught my attention, their good era.I must admit i loved this album and recommend it to others.

Bought for sons Xmas very pleased with it

Very good

More or less the sound is a repetition of some albums of the band.The voice is quite different, the riffing is very similar to Colony.

No soy muy fan del death metal, pero este disco consiguió que le dedicara unas cuantas escuchas gracias al toque melódico que incorpora. Me encantó en su momento y ahora lo vuelvo a disfrutar