Single Slam – (This Is Our) House by In Flames (I, the Mask)

Swedish metal giants, In Flames, released a new single called (This Is Our) House recently. It comes from their new album, I, The Mask which will be released on the 1st of March next year via Nuclear Blast.

To think that In Flames were once a melodic death metal band is astounding now. Hell, they were instrumental in that genre’s development and while they were never the heaviest, they were heavy enough. Over the years they have slowly moved themselves away from that, looking to expand their sound (fanbase) as a cleaner, more genre open metal band. Anyone hoping for a return to a heavier sound on I, The Mask is going to be very disappointed.

In Flames are just 3 core members now with 3 live additions. The core members are frontman Anders Fridén on vocals with Björn Gelotte on guitars. Also on guitars is Niclas Engelin. Live members are, on drums, Tanner Wayne. On bass, Bryce Paul and on keyboards, Niels Nielsen.

(This is Our) House is 4 minutes and 20 seconds long and starts off with gang vocals shouting the title before heading into a catchy enough drum rhythm and riff. Vocals are cleanly delivered throughout but do move through different tones. They aren’t mind-blowingly exciting but do sit nicely on top of the catchy riff and drums. Some lead guitar melody joins in to add an extra layer to the chorus. The song basically moves from the crunchy riff to the more melodic line and back and forward for almost every bar. It is all quite catchy but also very clean and very far away from what anyone would call melodic death metal. There is plenty of melody, just no death. The track returns to gang vocals to shout out through to the end with decent drum beats before closing out. Probably to never be played again.

Polished, clean, radio friendly, commercial – just some of the terms that you could fairly label this song with. It is catchy though and has some great drumming and okay riffing. Vocals are okay but do lack any force and I miss the unclean vocals I expect from my melodeath bands. The song lacks any real chorus though and suffers because of it. It also offers little in the way of excitement or creativity. It is just an average song. Not a bad song. Just one that fails to stand out from any crowd or offer anything new. (This is Our) House is pretty much instantly forgettable.

As always, you should check it out anyway to see what you think. It is out now on all the usual streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. You can preorder/presave a copy of In Flames new album here. Keep up to date with news on the band at their website, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.