Well, I have been a Tool fan for a couple years, and when this album came out thought it would be just another interesting Tool album. In all honesty I say this is their best album. Othersbeg to differ, but that's mostly because people always tend to like a bands earlier works than anything else (look at Metallica, Slipknot, System of a Down, almost every band...).

The album opens with the most up front song on the album, Vicarious. This song sets an energetic mood for the beginning of the album as well as the song it leads into; Jambi. Vicarious and Jambi together are great displays of Tool's ability to play as well as Keenen Maynard's greating lyrical writing, which is best expressed later in the album. After these two energetic songs the album basically comes to a standstill for Wings For Marie pt. 1. Now, for those who DON'T know, Wings for Marie 1+2 are intended to be back to back and listened to thouroughly. It is a song written by Maynard for his Mother, who died while they were recording the album. The song is about how he views his mother as an angelsaint and one whom above all else deserves a passage into Heaven. Wings for Marie pt.2 or 10,000 Days, is to date my favorite Tool song. I personally find it amazing. It is the most climactic song in their inventory, and deserves a seat amongst the greatest songs of all time. If you read through the lyrics of 10,000 Days you'll realize how religious a majority of the songs are, but most Tool fans knew that anyways (see A Perfect Circle). Anyways after Wings for Marie pt.2, it speeds back up into The Pot. A song, which with a visable lack of purpose is about Marijuana. Not gonna get real into this song because although it is a good song; it is not to my liking strictly because of its theme. Then we see Lipan Conjuring, which to be honest is a confusing interlude-type track, not sure what it stands for but it does set an eerie mood. This song leads into Lost Keys (Blame Hoffmann), which is an introduction for the next song (Rosetta Stoned) and takes place in a hospital where a confused and unknown man is found. This leads into Rosetta Stoned which is a slightly confusing tale about Aliens and a higher meaning. Of course, don't let this defer you, the song is amazingly well put together. After the rather lengthy and energetic Rosetta Stoned, the transition to Intension is very slow, which about a minute of nearly inaudible noise before the instruments and vocals pick up. After the very vague and eerie Instensions the song Right In Two comes up. The song is heavily reliant on instrumentals, but is none the less a very good track. Personally I am not a huge fan of the last 3 tracks, but of the 3 this is my favorite. It stays progressive which is Tool's signature style, and is quite an experiance to listen to. The album ends with Viginti Tres, which is an entire track made of sound alterations. Basically it is just 4 minutes of odd sounds that remind me of the mystic sounding noises you see in movies where they enter something like a canyon or an indian village. None the less it is somewhat of a let down after a great album, in my opinion this is one of the 2 tracks that keeps this album from getting a 9.7-9.9 .

All in all i would say this album is Tool's most underappreciated album, because everyone is throwing it aside without thuroughly listening to it. It definetly has a deeper and harder to grasp meaning than the rest of Tool's albums; but is the most interesting to listen to.

This album, i honestly had my doubts about, as of lately In Flames has released some questionable content, but i still have faith in them. The album opens with perhaps their most abbrasive song yet, "Take This Life", which, if you havn't seen the Music Video or thought about it, is about Suicide, but we won't let that bring it down. The soung is highly fighting for an openning song, and sets the beat for the entire album. The songs i most reccomend listening to on this album are; Take This Life, Dead End, Vaccum, Come Clarity, and Reflect the Storm. Come Clarity is the song that sticks in my mind as the most exciting, it is a more dramatic song than I am used to hearing from them, and is somewhat inspirational. All in all i call it a Comeback CD because in a lot of fans minds, In Flames was in a slump, but this is a more Nu-Metal Death Metal album for those who thought they were going soft.

In Flames has been around for 14 Years now, they are very well respected in the European Metal Scene. I have personally seen them live once, and they remain my favorite band. The person prior to my review said "the lead singer could not hold a note", which i completely disagree with, it is possible when he saw them they were not in top shape, but they are still an amazing band. Also, he has a Slayer icon, which simply stats he prefers bands that're somewhat old school.

In Flames does what not many Metal bands dare to do, they mix several elements into their music, making it what some might call and Audio Overkill, which is only applied to a handful of bands. The only band i can think of that projects as much sound is probably Slipknot, but they also have nearly twice as many performers as In Flames does. If you are a fan of Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Death Metal, and/or just plain Rock, you can find at least 1 In Flames song you are in love with. In Flames offers more to their listeners than just the same old thing, they have released several albums as of lately that old fans enjoy and are attracting new fans because of the difference in music. Soundtrack to Your Escape is a mix of Death Metal, Hardcore, and Heavy Metal, and is without a doubt one of their most Abbrasive albums yet (I would say followed only by Come Clarity), Reroute to Remain is their most experimental albums, mixing elements of Hard Rock, Pop Rock, Nu-Metal, Heavy Metal, Hardcore, and several other genres into one. If you are not into more Modern sounds, In Flames' older albums (Colony, Clayman, Whoracle, Jester Race, and Lunar StrainSubterranean) offer a very large amount of varying songs that more Death Metal fans can enjoy.

All around In Flames is one of the most modernized Metal Bands i have ever encountered. They offer a bit of everything for everyone, and have kept their old sound while twisting it into new sensations.