Review of In Flames - The Tokyo Showdown

Being a longtime fan of In Flames, I was pleased to find out that a live release was in the works. Having had the privilege of attending a couple of their shows. One could only expect that a live recording would be nothing less of crushing. In most respects The Tokyo Showdown does deliver exactly that. Now due the absolute juggernaut of a live release via the power metal giants Iced Earth. I have no choice but to use Alive in Athens as my personal standard for any live releases thereafter. The most notable standard I stand by would have to be production value. A live album with shit sound is the worst and basically useless. The energy levels of live performances are generally heightened, therefore delivering new elements to the songs. With a shitty production those elements are completely lost in the mud. Luckily that is not the case with The Tokyo Showdown. The overall production comparison of The Tokyo Showdown vs. Alive in Athens still leaves the power metal messiahs in the forefront though. In my opinion it will be a long time before a band will take home a live recording as soulfully sound as the Athens recordings. The choices of songs on Showdown seem to have been well thought out. Basically touching on the entire In Flames collection. A few personal favorites would have to be Food for the Gods, Episode 666, Ordinary Story, and Colony. Let it be known that In Flames are absolutely explosive live. They perform flawlessly on stage only enforcing their rule as the Gothenburg giants. I know that The Haunted have coined the phrase "Swedish as Fuck" but In Flames are truly the more deserving of the two to wield such a label. Upon no control of my own The Showdown will always be played from beginning to end each time it graces the player. If you know someone that actually has let In Flames slip pass their ears. I recommend suggesting they get their ass out immediately and pick up The Tokyo Showdown for it will not disappoint! So in conclusion: The production of The Tokyo Showdown is not quite a six, but let that in no means distract from the fact that In Flames will always deliver Millennium Metal! Bottom line: What the fuck are you waiting for?

If you've read my bio in the "prophets" section of this website, you know my favorite live album of all time is Live After Death by the one and only Iron Maiden. Because it's my favorite doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the production (not that it's bad by any means), but it does have everything to do with the sensational songs and performances within. That's where I'll begin my surgical examination of the new In Flames disc which, judging from the title, is obviously live. The sound quality on The Tokyo Showdown is not all that poor, but it's not nearly comparable to the expertise displayed on two more of my favorites, Iced Earth's Alive In Athens and Obituary's Dead. With all the technology in the studios today, live or not, the sound on this album should be first-rate. However, with that being said, the live playing performance by this quintet from Sweden is remarkably impeccable. Not only that, this package has damn near all of my favorite songs. I had the chance to see them live twice in 2000 and I was bereaved both times of hearing my favorite song, which by the way happens to be Jotun. It was a nice surprise to be able to throw it into my CD player and hear them execute it with such perfection. When it came down to dissecting the lyrics for my review I was forced to dig through my collection, going from disc to disc reading along with each track. It may sound like a lot of work, but the time spent was thoroughly enjoyable. With their melodic brand of death metal being as impressive as it is, the lyrics only add to the overall affect this band has on me. It is because of their music/lyric combination that In Flames is my favorite band considered to be part of the Gothenburg scene. If you have most or all of their discs in your collection already, then I see no reason for you not to add this release to your assortment of metal. If you have not had the privilege to get your hands on any their music, I sternly suggest you pick up their masterpiece entitled Whoracle. I promise you that owning that one as well as The Tokyo Showdown will be money well spent. Favorite Track: Jotun

Release Details

In Flames

The Tokyo Showdown

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