Jester Race

Jester Race

Track Listings

1. Moonshield

2. Jester's Dance

3. Artifacts of the Black Rain

4. Graveland

5. Lord Hypnos

6. Dead Eternity

7. Jester Race

8. December Flower

9. Wayfaerer

10. Dead God in Me

Tracks:

Moonshield
The Jester's Dance
Artifacts Of The Black Rain
Graveland
Lord Hypnos
Dead Eternity
The Jester Race
December Flower
Wayfaerer
Dead God In Me
Goliaths Disarm Their Davids
Gyroscope
Acoustic Medley
Behind Space - Live

Album Description

Remastered reissue of their 1995 album along with bonus 'Black Ash Inheritance' EP. Bonus tracks, 'Goliathas Disarm Their Davids', 'Gyroscope', 'Acoustic Medley' & 'Behind Space'(Live). Digipak. Nuclear Blast America. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

Instant Euphoria..........2007-05-18

Not only is this In Flames greatest achievement - this is one of the greatest metal albums ever written! Quality metal that is so simultaneously fast and melodic is indeed hard to come by. This album even surpasses such metal classics as 'Master of Puppets', 'Piece of Mind', and 'Rust in Peace'. Whether you like throat vocals or not (and these vocals are a unique brand of throat vocals) the songs will send you into immediate euphoric metal bliss - and the instrumental pieces are brilliant! Combine the best thrash, melodic, and death metal you can think of into one album and you have 'Jester Race: Black Ash Inheritance'. The first moment I heard this masterpiece I was hooked - if you have any love for metal then your collection is incomplete without this album.

RECOMMENDATION: Other great Swedish metal bands to check out include At the Gates, Dark Tranquility, Opeth, Soilwork, and many others. Start with this album and let your journey into metal euphoria continue...

Classic!!!!.......2007-02-21

...and that should have constituted my entire review. If ever there was an album as perfect and engaging as Metallica's "Master..." or Megadeth's "Rust..." it is this one! (yes, I am aware of Dark Tranquility, but they have yet to release ANYTHING bad, so I skip them here)! The music is so good here that no wonder ANYTHING after would necessarily have to be a dissapointment from In Flames! Yes, "Whoracle" was great,ditto for "Colony" and "Clayman", but THIS is In Flames' greatest achievement, all else in their discography is mere shadows of this masterpiece (the same can be said of Metallica and their third album). Nothing they have ever done after and before will ever top that, period.The problem is: THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE MATURED SO FAST.Really, if you can only own 1 album of In Flames, this will suffice entirely. There is absolutely no confusion what kind of music is played here: Gothenburg death metal. No core, no thrash, just death! And a melodic grim reaper at that! The knack for melody combined with the sheer power and brilliance of execution could potentially start a third World War if used in a sinister manner. Perhaps that is where my favorite heavy metal bands Dark Tranquility and Opeth take roots. In any case, if you like your metal raw but melodic, this is one of these rare perfect albums you can't afford not to own! BUY NOW!!!!

"You'll forever be stuck here in eternity.....".......2007-02-08

I remember when I first purchased this album, I thought, "Meh, this is pretty good. It'll grow on me eventually." Yeah, well, it did, and I revised that statement into, "Damn, this is awesome!" I currently own 4 In Flames albums (this, Colony, Clayman, and Lunar Strain), and while the other 3 are great, The Jester Race (accompanied by the Black Ash Inheritance EP, at least this version) is probably my favorite IF album thus far.

The music is heavy and bone-crushing, but there's enough melody and beauty (and I don't mean that in a fruity way) to make it appeal to the masses. Anders Friden is honestly one of the best metal vocalists I've EVER heard. Glenn Ljungstrom (guitar),Jesper Stromblad (guitar), Johan Larsson (bass), and Bjorn Gelotte (drums) are also great musicians, and provide the awesome melodies that In Flames can create (even though I think the bass is a lot better on Colony and Clayman than on this album). Moonshield is, simply put, stunning, as it opens up with soothing acoustic guitars and transforms into an epic-driven melodic metal masterpiece. Other great tracks are Lord Hypnos, Dead Eternity, December Flower, Wayfaerer, and Goliaths Disarm Their Davids. Of course, all of the songs are incredible.

The Jester Race is a concept album about the corruption of humankind (referred to as, well, the jester race), and how they have destroyed and ruined the earth (if you analyze the lyrics, you'll see what I mean). I believe I have the just of it, but we're talking about poetic lyrics here, not completely flat, predictable ones. The album also has some throwbacks in, such as the title track, which is reminescent of The Jester's Dance (the first instrumental). My favorite instrumental track on the album is probably Wayfaerer. It sounds a lot different from the rest of the album (and I don't mean that in a bad way). The guitar solos don't sound as bleak as they do on the other songs. Some people don't seem to like this instrumental, but I sure do. On the 4 bonus tracks (which is the Black Ash Inheritance EP that was released a year later), there's a track called Acoustic Medely, which is the title track of the album but in acoustic form. In my opinion, this is brilliantly done, and it might be my favorite bonus track. Goliaths Disarm Their Davids is another one of my favorites, very dark, yet very confident sounding, if that makes sense. There's also a live version of Behind Space from their debut (which would later be redone on Colony). This is one of my favorite IF songs to date, and the live version is done perfectly.

If there is any weak track on the album, I would have to give the nod to Gyroscope. It just doesn't seem to stand out as much as the other tracks, and it loses my attention after a while. Nonetheless, that song is still eons better than pretty much everything being released today. And it's not even that terrible of a song. The lyrics are still great, but the overall feel doesn't demand your attention as much as the other 13 songs.

So is this the best album of 1995's Holy Trinity? Well, I can't say for sure, since I also thoroughly enjoyed Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery and I have yet to hear At The Gates' Slaughter of the Soul. However, this is an amazing album to say the least. The lyrics really make you think about the world around you, and makes you question the desires of, say, eternal life (like in the track Dead Eternity, which is about living forever, never to die and be with the people you love; you're just stuck in eternity). The Jester Race is about a minority group preparing for war against a far superior and more sophisticated force (perhaps in the album's story, it's about a group of people rising up to fight the jesters who have ruined the earth). But whatever this album is about, I love it.

It's funny thinking about all of the line-up changes In Flames have gone through over the years. But no matter how many times their lineup changes, this will always remain where their lineup was strongest. So buy this album, and experience some truly unique metal.

In Flames perhaps at their best.......2006-12-04

This may be the best album In Flames ever released it is most certainly a classic along with Whoracle, Colony and Clayman. The album is itself very well done with excellent melody and rythm, awsome guitar work and very good vocals. The tracks are all memorable and this is trully a showcasing of In Flames and their work. Excellent album and deff a good place for a new In Flames fan to start off. Im not sure ive gone a week without listening to this album after picking it up which must have been back in 94 I think.

THIS IS THE BAND'S MASTERPIECE.......2006-09-19

Like drinking fine and complex wine, you will want to listen to this album over and over and over. With each sip from the goblet, a new fabric of reality is experienced and savored. Yup, it's your typical "A-class album" in your collection.

In Flames truly earns your hard-earned dollars here. The layers of harmonius diligent guitar work will leave you in awe. Wondering if you should buy this album? Have no doubts. This album has everything. Galloping thrash, multiple riffs in each track, power vocals, furious drum work, and most of all, truly unique and emotional lead guitar. WE ARE TALKING SKILLED SOPHISTICATED HARMONIES AND THOUGHTFUL COMPOSITIONS!

I can't name too many albums in my collection that feature melodious lead guitar musicianship quality in almost EACH track. Have no fears however: The melodies do not betray the utter power and aggression in this one. In Flames has a cool doomsday vision and spite for the human race that only makes their aggression all the more sincere. Audio steroids.

It is tough to say which tracks are my favorite. They each tell a "needed story" towards understanding the fate of our Jester Race!...

Track 2 The Jester's Dance and track 13 Acoustic Medley are beautiful instrumental pieces that appropriately flaunt the musical influences behind the band which are impressive to say the least. Living up in northern Europe with nothing to do but milk cows all day and listen to every metal album under the sun will do that!

Track 3 Artifacts of the Black Rain; track 5 Lord Hypnos; and track 9 Wayfaerer all have unique sounding lead guitar work that will transport your heart and soul to another time and place...

Track 6 Dead Eternity has a specific lead guitar composition that creates an emotion unlike any other in the freaking genre! It is an ominous emotion you will have to experience for yourself. It is a turning point in the album and will haunt you (in a good way).

Track 8 December Flower is pure foot tapper. Even the lyrics are geniusly positioned to compliment the rhythm chorus in this one. And just when you might think the track is too much of a contrite foot-tapper, In Flames drops a cinderblock on your head with mind-spitting speed-thrash solos.

Track 11 Goliaths Disarm their Davids is a climactic build-up of energy. The lead guitar work is inspired by the unseen gods and the vocals will leave your ears bleeding for more.

If you appreciate musicianship and thrash metal with a death metal vocalist, then you will wear out your CD like I do mine. 5 of 5 stars.

Average customer rating:

One of the best albums from these revolutionary Swedes.
In Flames we trust
Old Gothenburg sound
In Flames Best album
Melodic Death at its best

Jester Race
In Flames
Manufacturer: Nuclear Blast Americ
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Whoracle

ASIN: B000000H1K
Release Date: 1997-02-11

Tracks:

Moonshield
The Jester's Dance
Artifacts Of The Black Rain
Graveland
Lord Hypnos
Dead Eternity
The Jester Race
December Flower
Wayfaerer
Dead God In Me

Customer Reviews:

One of the best albums from these revolutionary Swedes........2006-05-21

I must admit to jumping on the In Flames bandwagon a little later than most of the metal community. While always a fan of other Swedish melodic death metal bands such as Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates, I seemed to overlook In Flames, feeling they were maybe not as heavy, maybe even a little bit more sugary than the aforementioned bands. I guess the reason for that was that I had only ever really heard the first few songs off The Jester Race. Looking back, I don't think my metal maturity had progressed much passed the "this album kicks my butt" stage, so the Iron Maiden-like leads and concentrated melody just didn't do it for my Morbid Angel-obsessed teenage angst. A decade on and I can't help but regret my narrow-mindedness as not only is this really very classy and pioneering, it's actually pretty heavy. The Jester Race sees vocalist Anders Friden enter the line-up and while he does his thing quite well here, I think his vocals would improve on later outings. Musicianship is once again top notch and there's certainly nothing wrong with the production. But it's the song writing that makes this album a step up from everything In Flames released before it. Good variety and a lot of obvious effort makes for an absorbing listen all the way through.

The Jester Race is commonly seen as In Flames' finest moment. Although I may not agree with this statement, it is certainly a fine album and one that captures the Swedes sound perfectly. It's not as regularly aggressive as the preceding Subterranean, nor as streamlined as the proceeding Whoracle. It lies somewhere in between, mixing up the acoustic, riffs and melodies with unadulterated metal. It's actually a fairly restrained album, rarely hitting top gear, which is maybe why I find it so thoroughly comforting, even relaxing, while still feeling the need to raise the devil's horns in recognition of all things metal. An album for everyone into melodic death metal, not only due to its classic status, but due to its upmarket entertainment value.

In Flames we trust.......2005-08-21

well, i do. this is an amazing In Flames release, possibly one of their best. unless you've been listening to In Flames newer stuff, you will really appreciate the classic Gothenburg sound. the songs may appear random is style, but regardless it is what metal was supposed to be.

this is a brief overview of the tracklist:
1. moonshield- 1/2 heavy guitar & 1/2 acoustic, a rather calm song. *****
2. the jesters dance- an instrumental, very well done! great sound. ****
3. artifacts of the black rain- the pace is picked up, a much more metal sound. great guitar work. *****
4. graveland- creative intro, not the best song.. but still good. ****
5. lord hypnosis- a good balance of guitar riffs & steady metal. *****
6. dead eternity- heres where the heavy stuff comes out, guitars sound great towards the end. ****
7. the jester race- the best song, nothing more to it. *****
8. december flower- dont let the title deceive you, a very good song with an excellent guitar solo. *****
9. wayfaerer- another well-done instrumental, this sounds like something Queen should of played (in a good way). *****
10. dead god in me- probably the next best track, very heavy & melodic. the lady sceaming towards the end gives it a good kick. *****

go buy this album, or die (and pick up Colony too)

Old Gothenburg sound.......2005-04-28

Now, one thing I absolutely hate is how people compare this album to In Flames' later work. All of you who say STYE sucks, should really get a life. Ok, onto the album. This album is absolutely amazing. The guitar solo on December Flower just blew me away. The only thing is I just couldn't understand Anders sometimes, which is why i like In Flames' later work lyrically. If you like old gothenburg sound, get this album. If you're into as people would say "numetal" in which STYE really is NOT, then get STYE.

In Flames Best album.......2004-11-25

Excellent album, The first song I ever heard was from this album (The Jester Race)I downloaded it off Napster. This was years ago. This was the beginning of my exploration with this band. So as to say I purchased several other albums and really enjoyed them. I just recently purchased "The Jester Race", because I was unable to find it locally. I rate this album as number 1. I currently I own 5 of their records. Anyone who enjoys fast hard metal, with a melodic content this is your album/band! you won't be disappointed I assure you!

Melodic Death at its best.......2004-07-28

This album is the defining sound for the 'Gothenburg' Melodic Death genre. All the way through the album there are great melodies and guitar riffs that keep every song interesting and a little catchy. I never grow tired of this classic album. Anders' vocals fit the music perfectly, the drumming is superb, the keyboards are excellent... I could go on and on, so I will sum it up quickly: As far as a Melodic Death album goes, it's nearly perfect and not too many MD albums compare to it. But I stopped being interested with In Flames after the 'Clayman' album, and really hate their new sound. Of course, that's just my opinion. I'm not one of those people that says just because a band changes their sound, they sold out. But... gone are the great melodies,the deep growls... Instead, their newer sound ventures into Nu Metal. NO!... Oh well, at least we have albums like The Jester Race and Whoracle to remember the infamous In Flames by.

Average customer rating:

Great Package
In Flames' best album.
The "Awesome" Jester Race
get it or die!

Jester Race

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Fiction

ASIN: B0000084W2
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Tracks:

Dead Eternity
The Jester Race
Graveland
Moonshield
The Jesters Dance
December Flower
Artifacts Of The Black Rain
Dead God In Me
Wayfaerer
Lord Hypnos
Dead Eternity (Demo)
The Inborn Lifeless (Demo)

Album Description

Japanese edition of the Swedish metal act's 1995 album includes two bonus tracks, demo versions of 'Dead Eternity' & 'The Inborn Lifeless'.

Customer Reviews:

Great Package.......2006-07-14

This is the Japanese version of Jester Race, and it's got some great features. The album cover is an alternate, apparently it's used now for the Japanese release of the Lunar Strain/Subterranean package. The track list appears to be out of order, probably to separate the album tracks from the bonus tracks. If it was in order, you'd hear Dead Eternity, three songs, and Dead God in Me, then you'd hear Dead Eternity again in demo form, then you'd hear the Inborn Lifeless, which is the demo of Dead God in Me. The way this one is laid out, it makes a little better sense.

As I mentioned, there's the two demos. These were recorded around the time of Subterranean before Michael Stanne went back to Dark Tranquillity, and Anders Fridén left D.T. to join In Flames. Aside from the lyrics and vocals, the tuning is about a step and a half higher than on the final versions (Beginning with Jester Race, In Flames tune to C natural rather than E or E flat).

The Jester Race is a great album as-is. With the two extra tracks it's even greater. In the states you can get these tracks on the remastered "Subterranean," and you can get The Jester Race packaged with the Black Ash Inheritance e.p. This is just an alternate way of listening to things.

In Flames' best album........2001-04-08

I haven't listened to "Subterranean" or "Lunar Strain", but I did listened to all the rest, and let me tell you that "The Jester Race" is In Flames best album. Fast songs, great solos combining electric and acoustic guitar, great intros and also great instrumentals. This elements combined (part of the excellent songwriting) made of this album the perfect example of "melodic death metal", turning the fastest and most aggressive into melodic sweetness and happiness. It`s hard to explain, but it seems that the atmosphere of the album is different than the rest (maybe the songwriting is related to that). The album doesn't like the last efforts but it sounds good. Any In Flames album is OK to start, but have in mind that "The Jester Race" is the reason why they are the best nowadays.

The "Awesome" Jester Race.......2000-05-31

This is the first In Flames album I've bought. When I listened to it, I asked myself if there could be a better death metal album. (Unfortunately) I think the answer is "no". Although other albums of the band are quite good ( a lot of people say that Whoracle and Colony are their best ), I don't agree that those albums have the same music quality and standards. There are super hits such as Lunar Strain, Stand Ablaze, The Hive, Colony, however they are not as good as Artifacts of the Black Rain, The Jester Dance, December Flower or Dead Eternity. So, if you have buying an In Flames album in your mind, get The Jester Race.

get it or die!.......1999-11-11

That's the best melodic death metal album ever recorded! Great sound mixing Iron Maiden with death metal. If Iron Maiden had decided to make a death metal album, it would have sounded like that. Don't wait a minute! Run to the nearest music store and get it! You won't regret it.

Average customer rating:

Voice of Harmony

ProductGroup: Classical
Binding: Audio CD

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000M0UADK

Product Description

1995, Wrong Again Records Sweden. Out of print since 1995, when this once prestigious small Swedish label went under, after having signed many of whom would eventually become some of the biggest names in metal years later (In Flames, Arch Enemy, etc). Catalog: WAR 007.