Music
Album Review: In Flames ‘Sounds Of Playground Fading’
With a history as long and celebrated as In Flames, each new album is met by fans with great expectations and high hopes. “Will it be as good as The Jester Race or Clayman?” “Will it be something weird and a total deviation from what I’m used to?” Well, considering the fact that In Flames have been releasing studio albums since 1993, it’s impossible to ask them to stay with one sound. First of all, it gets boring for the listener and, second, musicians can’t be pigeonholed like that. Progression and expansion are a natural part of life as well as music. So it is with In Flames 10th studio release, Sounds of a Playground Fading. But does this expansion and progression work? Check after the jump.
The album kicks off with the title track, ‘Sounds of a Playground Fading’. What’s immediately apparent is how good the production sounds. Although it starts with only a clean guitar, you can hear the roundness, clarity and depth of the low-tuned strings. Then the second guitar comes in and we have the beautiful guitar harmonization that In Flames is so renowned for. When the distortion kicks in and the drums and bass enter, it is with such power and immediacy, that I couldn’t help but feel goosebumps raise on my arms. Once the song kicks in and Anders starts his trademark screaming growl, I knew I was set for a full on In Flames experience, one that I’ve been needing without realizing.
The production of this album is spot on with each instrument sounding crisp, full and clear. I could go into details but suffice it to say that while I was listening with my Grado’s, it felt like I was immersed in the music rather than it hitting me head on.
While I found myself loving the whole album, songs like ‘Fear Is The Weakness’, ‘Enter Tragedy’ and ‘A New Dawn’ that showcase the epic grandeur and astonishing melody and beauty that can inhabit metal.
The Final Word: Sounds of a Playground Fading is not just a masterful addition to the In Flames catalogue, it is a triumphant crowning achievement. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical officially kicked off on Broadway last month, and Deadline now reports that the show’s Broadway run has been extended into next year.
The show was originally set to run through November, but Deadline reports that The Lost Boys: A New Musical “has released a block of tickets through Sunday, March 7, 2027.”
The news comes in the wake of The Lost Boys: A New Musical becoming the most Tony-nominated musical of the season with twelve nominations including Best Musical.
Additionally, “The Lost Boys will launch a North American National Tour in Spring 2028, at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Additional cities and tour dates will be announced later.”
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is of course an adaptation of the 1987 horror classic from director Joel Schumacher, with the cast including Ali Louis Bourzgui as lead vampire David (originally played by Kiefer Sutherland), Maria Wirries as Star (originally played by Jami Gertz), and LJ Benet as the soon-to-be-turned Michael (originally played by Jason Patric).
The horror musical’s cast also includes Shoshana Bean as Lucy Emerson, Benjamin Pajak as Sam Emerson, Paul Alexander Nolan as Max, Jennifer Duka as Alan Frog, Miguel Gil as Edgar Frog, Brian Flores as Marko, Sean Grandillo as Dwayne, and Dean Maupin as Paul.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is Directed by Michael Arden, featuring Music and Lyrics by The Rescues, Book by David Hornsby & Chris Hoch, Story by James Jeremias & Janice Fischer, and Produced by James Carpinello, Marcus Chait & Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.
When a mother and her two teenage sons move to Santa Carla in desperate need of a fresh start, they soon uncover the darker side of this sunny coastal community. While Lucy tries to piece her family’s life back together, Michael keeps pulling away in search of belonging.
As he finds connection with a local rock band and its charismatic leader, his younger brother Sam comes face-to-face with a terrifying reality: When night falls, Michael’s new friends are even more dangerous than they first appeared.
Joel Schumacher directed the original The Lost Boys vampire movie in 1987, wherein two brothers move to a new town and discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
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