In Flames - Lunar Strain

An incredibly effective, experimental offering from one of the best bands in metal today. On their first album, In Flames blend Iron Maiden, traditional folk and metal to create an aural tapestry woven of the finest cloth (can't let all the reviews sound the same, can I). Seriously, Lunar Strain shows a young band willing to experiment, with the technical expertise to pull it off. Lunar Strain is pretty unpolished in parts, and they have quite a few guest guitarists in to fill in leads, but it is also unlike anything else out there. The first two tracks are real burners, with some traditional breaks thrown in. Everlost Part 2 features classical guitar with overlying female vocals. H?rgal?ten is a folky piece with strings. Yeah, you can sorta tell that this isn't for all tastes, especially Mikael Stanne's screechy vocals (even more intense here than on any Dark Tranquillity album), but it is well done, and if you can get into the experimental side of this disc, than go for it. Personally, I think it's great.