A Sense of Purpose
Encyclopedia
A Sense of Purpose is the ninth studio album by Swedish band In Flames
. The album was released in first Japan on March 26, 2008 with 15 tracks and later in Europe on April 4, 2008 through Nuclear Blast
and through Koch Records
in North America
on April 1. This is the band's last album to feature any of the original band members (founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad
quit in early 2010). The album debuted at number 1 on the official Swedish album chart
.
albums, A Sense of Purpose showcased the band's influence to combine many elements such as rich keyboard use and distinct melodies, with thrash and heavy metal sounds. The album also displayed an overall lighter atmosphere than their previous effort, Come Clarity
. A Sense of Purpose contains the band's longest recorded song to date, "The Chosen Pessimist".
In an interview with Björn Gelotte, had this to say about the album:
boxset version of which only 1500 copies were made. This release became available on the same day as the European release. A limited edition Digipak
came with a making-of
DVD. In the documentary, it is stated that they recorded 17 songs and used 12 for the album and another three for the single. This makes two previously unknown songs that have not been released yet.
Before the album's release, In Flames launched a special fansite called the Jesterhead.com which featured exclusive contents about the band.
The album also received a Parental Advisory
label, making the album the only In Flames album to have explicit lyrics since Lunar Strain
except for the song "Watch Them Feed" from their Trigger
EP. The artwork for the album cover was done by Alex Pardee
, who has created all the cover art for The Used
and Aiden
's album Conviction. The album is the first studio album since Clayman
to feature the band's icon, the "Jester Head", on the cover art.
The lead single "The Mirror's Truth
" was officially released on March 7, 2008 and was featured in the video game Madden NFL 09
. In Flames released two other singles from A Sense of Purpose: "Alias" and "Delight and Angers."
On April 10, the album debuted at number 1 on the official Swedish album chart
. It also debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200
albums chart. In 2009 the album went gold in Sweden.
' Adrien Begrand wrote "If there’s one fault that can be found on A Sense of Purpose, it’s that its pace can get redundant upon first listen... plus it lacks the huge arena-appealing hooks that Come Clarity
had in spades..." Begrand concluded: "However, like Reroute to Remain
, the album benefits greatly from patient listening, making it a worthy addition to the catalog and continuing one of the more impressive second-decade rebirths we’ve seen from a metal band."
In a scathing review, Sputnikmusic
's Adam Thomas wrote "...A Sense of Purpose shows getting rid of what was intrinsically In Flames, the harmonies. Now in their place are hackneyed synth passages and down tuned nu-metal style riffing. In an attempt to grab the attention of the fans of nu-metal's corpse, In Flames have stuck it to their old fans, again." Thomas concluded: "I'm sorry to say it, but In Flames are out of any worthwhile ideas. They even admit it in the opening track of the album, 'Without even trying' shrieks Anders
on 'The Mirror's Truth'. At least he's being honest."
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
. The album was released in first Japan on March 26, 2008 with 15 tracks and later in Europe on April 4, 2008 through Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is an independent record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The record label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on to releasing albums by melodic...
and through Koch Records
Koch Records
E1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on April 1. This is the band's last album to feature any of the original band members (founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad
Jesper Strömblad
Clas Håkan Jesper Strömblad is a Swedish musician who is currently the guitarist for the bands Dimension Zero & The Resistance...
quit in early 2010). The album debuted at number 1 on the official Swedish album chart
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
.
Musical style
Similar to previous In FlamesIn Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
albums, A Sense of Purpose showcased the band's influence to combine many elements such as rich keyboard use and distinct melodies, with thrash and heavy metal sounds. The album also displayed an overall lighter atmosphere than their previous effort, Come Clarity
Come Clarity
- In Flames :* Anders Fridén – vocals* Björn Gelotte – guitar * Jesper Strömblad – guitar * Peter Iwers – bass* Daniel Svensson – drums- Guests :* Örjan Örnkloo – keyboards and programming...
. A Sense of Purpose contains the band's longest recorded song to date, "The Chosen Pessimist".
In an interview with Björn Gelotte, had this to say about the album:
Release
The album was released in a limited editionSpecial edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
boxset version of which only 1500 copies were made. This release became available on the same day as the European release. A limited edition Digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
came with a making-of
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
DVD. In the documentary, it is stated that they recorded 17 songs and used 12 for the album and another three for the single. This makes two previously unknown songs that have not been released yet.
Before the album's release, In Flames launched a special fansite called the Jesterhead.com which featured exclusive contents about the band.
The album also received a Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
label, making the album the only In Flames album to have explicit lyrics since Lunar Strain
Lunar Strain
Lunar Strain is the debut album by Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames. In this release, vocals were sung by Mikael Stanne, the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity, who was a session musician for In Flames at the time. The album is known for its "folky elements" with the inclusion of violins and...
except for the song "Watch Them Feed" from their Trigger
Trigger (EP)
-Video:The music video for the single "Trigger" featured In Flames playing a club and being constantly pestered and booed by the members of Soilwork, with interspersed footage of other incidents between the two bands. The Soilwork video for "Rejection Role" showed the situation vice versa, Soilwork...
EP. The artwork for the album cover was done by Alex Pardee
Alex Pardee
Alex Pardee is a freelance artist, apparel designer, and a writer born in Antioch, California, USA who is best known for illustrating The Used's album artwork...
, who has created all the cover art for The Used
The Used
The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah. The band was founded in 2001 and signed to Reprise Records the same year. They rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their self-titled debut album. They followed up with their second album, In Love and Death, in September 2004 and their third...
and Aiden
Aiden
Aiden is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. The members are WiL Francis , Nick Wiggins , and Angel Ibarra . wiL originally played bass but took over lead vocals when the original singer left...
's album Conviction. The album is the first studio album since Clayman
Clayman
Clayman is the fifth album by Swedish melodic death metal band, In Flames. The album was released by Nuclear Blast in 2000. Most of the lyrics deal with depression and internal struggles...
to feature the band's icon, the "Jester Head", on the cover art.
The lead single "The Mirror's Truth
The Mirror's Truth
"The Mirror's Truth" is the first single released by In Flames from their ninth album A Sense of Purpose. The disc contains the single and three songs, out of which two are previously unreleased, that didn't appear on the album. This single is available to Europe, Hot Topic, and the American iTunes...
" was officially released on March 7, 2008 and was featured in the video game Madden NFL 09
Madden NFL 09
Madden NFL 09 is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 20th annual installment in the Madden NFL video game franchise. This game is known for its realistic graphics and big hits...
. In Flames released two other singles from A Sense of Purpose: "Alias" and "Delight and Angers."
On April 10, the album debuted at number 1 on the official Swedish album chart
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
. It also debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart. In 2009 the album went gold in Sweden.
Reception
A Sense of Purpose has received generally positive reviews. Jason MacNeil of Allmusic gave the album a score of 4 stars out of 5, writing "In Flames continue to make their mark by being rooted in a strong metal or hard rock foundation but being musically and creatively inquisitive enough to seek out something more." PopmattersPopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
' Adrien Begrand wrote "If there’s one fault that can be found on A Sense of Purpose, it’s that its pace can get redundant upon first listen... plus it lacks the huge arena-appealing hooks that Come Clarity
Come Clarity
- In Flames :* Anders Fridén – vocals* Björn Gelotte – guitar * Jesper Strömblad – guitar * Peter Iwers – bass* Daniel Svensson – drums- Guests :* Örjan Örnkloo – keyboards and programming...
had in spades..." Begrand concluded: "However, like Reroute to Remain
Reroute to Remain
-Personnel:In Flames*Anders Fridén – vocals & mixing*Jesper Strömblad – guitar*Björn Gelotte – guitar*Peter Iwers – bass guitar*Daniel Svensson – drumsOther Personnel*Maria Gauffin - co-vocals on "Metaphor"*Örjan Örnkloo – keyboards, programming...
, the album benefits greatly from patient listening, making it a worthy addition to the catalog and continuing one of the more impressive second-decade rebirths we’ve seen from a metal band."
In a scathing review, Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
's Adam Thomas wrote "...A Sense of Purpose shows getting rid of what was intrinsically In Flames, the harmonies. Now in their place are hackneyed synth passages and down tuned nu-metal style riffing. In an attempt to grab the attention of the fans of nu-metal's corpse, In Flames have stuck it to their old fans, again." Thomas concluded: "I'm sorry to say it, but In Flames are out of any worthwhile ideas. They even admit it in the opening track of the album, 'Without even trying' shrieks Anders
Anders Fridén
Anders Fridén is the vocalist/lyricist of the Swedish band In Flames-Early career:Fridén was originally the vocalist for Dark Tranquillity. He performed on their debut album, Skydancer, but left the band soon after. Two years later he joined In Flames...
on 'The Mirror's Truth'. At least he's being honest."
Track listing
In Flames
- Anders FridénAnders FridénAnders Fridén is the vocalist/lyricist of the Swedish band In Flames-Early career:Fridén was originally the vocalist for Dark Tranquillity. He performed on their debut album, Skydancer, but left the band soon after. Two years later he joined In Flames...
– vocals - Jesper StrömbladJesper StrömbladClas Håkan Jesper Strömblad is a Swedish musician who is currently the guitarist for the bands Dimension Zero & The Resistance...
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Björn GelotteBjörn GelotteBjörn Gelotte is a songwriter and guitarist for the Swedish band, In Flames. He joined the band as the drummer in 1995, and continued his position as drummer during The Jester Race and Whoracle . Gelotte switched to his current position on guitars after Niklas Engelin left the band, sharing...
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Peter IwersPeter IwersPeter Iwers is the current bass player of the Swedish band In Flames. He has played in In Flames along with Daniel Svensson since their 1999 album Colony, replacing Johan Larsson....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Daniel SvenssonDaniel SvenssonDaniel Svensson is the current drummer and youngest member of the Swedish band In Flames, and drummer / vocalist for the band Sacrilege GBG. He was also in Diabolique before he joined In Flames in 1998 to fill the position created when Björn Gelotte moved from drums to guitars...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional personnel
- Recorded at IF Studios, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Produced by In Flames, Roberto Laghi and Daniel Bergstrand
- Mixed by Toby Wright
- Assisted by James Musshorn at Skip Saylor Recordings, Los Angeles, California
- Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering Studios, Hollywood, California
- Drum Recording – Roberto Laghi
- Vocal Recording – Daniel Bergstrand and Anders Fridén
- Bass Recording – Roberto Laghi
- Guitar Recording – Roberto Laghi, Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad
- Additional drum editing – Arnold Linberg
- Keys and programming – Örjan Örnkloo at Wasteland Studios
- Written by Anders Fridén, Björn Gelotte, Jesper Strömblad
- Arranged by In Flames
- All songs published by Kobalt Music
- Illustrations, art direction and design by Alex Pardee
Album
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| The Billboard 200 | 28 |
| UK Top 75 UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
54 |
| Sweden Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
1 |
| Finland | 3 |
| Canada Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
7 |
| Japan Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
14 |
| Germany Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
6 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE |
AUT |
FIN |
GER |
|||
| 2008 | "The Mirror's Truth The Mirror's Truth "The Mirror's Truth" is the first single released by In Flames from their ninth album A Sense of Purpose. The disc contains the single and three songs, out of which two are previously unreleased, that didn't appear on the album. This single is available to Europe, Hot Topic, and the American iTunes... " |
14 | 51 | 5 | 72 | |
| 2008 | "Alias" | — | — | — | — | |
| 2009 | "Delight and Angers" | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. | ||||||