In Flames — Whoracle (Reloaded)

Gothenburg, Sweden's In Flames helped forge one of the most influential sub-genres of recent years. They mixed melodic guitar lines with cookie monster vocals and gave non-fans an entry point into the world of death metal.

Whoracle was the last LP In Flames recorded with original bass player Johan Larsson and guitarist Glenn Ljungstrom. It's a concept album about post-apocalyptic Earth (is there any other kind?) that manages to successfully work a cover of Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts" into the narrative.

Metalcore (as their sound came to be known) proved so influential that the only real knock against their third record is that it sounds like a gaggle of other bands. This reissue is rather slim on extras compared to the multiple discs being tacked on to many records these days. A single bonus track, "Clad In Shadows '99," a video for "Jotun" and a bunch of screen savers, wallpapers and Winamp skins hardly give anyone a reason to repurchase an album they already have. But this is essential listening for the uninitiated.

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