In Flames’ A Sense Of Purpose is an interesting release. It’s catchy enough that you keep playing it over and over, merely because it gets stuck in one’s head. There’s nice guitar work and some interesting breaks between tracks; however it’s not full of ‘breaks’ in the metalcore sense, so people who aren’t fans of that subgenre will likely find A Sense of Purpose more accessible than a lot of metal that is popular at the moment. There’s enough variety to keep most metal fans interested, but I think that fans of Children of Bodom and Nightwish will get the most out of it. Indeed, there is some classic-sounding material here; some that almost feels that it’s derived from folk roots.

One of the problems with this release is that the vocal style hardly varies. This is not always a problem, but with this album it causes it to feel as though it’s full of the same track over and over. This was also the case with a particular riff that recurred throughout, which resulted in the same effect. Contrarily, however, that repetition was curiously useful for unity in some bizarre way that I cannot work out. Clearly, In Flames has something going here, and a skill in songwriting that is not accidental.

One of the other problems that I personally found with this (not everyone will find this) was that some of the lyrics made me cringe: they were a bit emo, all self-reflective and crappy. Still, it’s a fairly minor point when considered in the overall picture of the album as a whole. Perhaps one of the key things about A Sense of Purpose is that the harmonies are reminiscent of those albums you hear at key parts of your life that stay with you forever. I suggest that if you are at a turning point in your life: Year 12, or end of a relationship, this album will hold a particular nostalgia for you that you’ll carry throughout the rest of your years.

Although it’s not really a genre that gets me, I found myself listening to this release a lot when I first got it, and as a result I have really come to like it. There will be a lot of people out there who will get into this release, so I recommend that if you’re not sure, then you should get out there and get it. There are a lot worse releases you will come across that are far less worthy of your hard-earned cash.

A Sense of Purpose by In Flames is out now on Nuclear Blast/Riot.