^ Good for you man! Their last record was straight up garbage in comparison to their older stuff. And if I, a casual listener of their output, didn't like it, you can guess how the majority of In Flames fans feel.
And now, ladies and gents...on to the top five!
5. TesseracT - Altered State
Genre: Djent, Atmospheric Metal, Alternative Rock
Sounds Like: Coheed & Cambria, Meshuggah, Periphery, Textures
"Djent" metal headliners TesseracT are one of those bands that seemingly explode into prominence overnight but can't manage to keep a lineup together for more than one LP's worth. They've gone through three vocalists in three years, built up a considerable amount of hype due to the strength of 2011's One and prior EPs, plus carry the baggage of being one of the first bands to establish the whole "djent" scene and its characteristics. So the question going into 2013 was: this band is working on a second album...will it suck or soar?
The answer that sophomore record Altered State seems to supply the listener is "send you floating to the moon and back". Stripping away the harsh/clean dynamic of the previous record and bringing in Ashe O'Hara as vocalist numero tres were inspired choices. In the case of the latter change, the 3rd time around really is the charm as far as singers go I suppose, since this guy has the voice of an angel and sounds like he was born to enchant audiences like a Pied Piper over chugga-chuggah polyrhythmic groovage. His tone and range are so immersive you don't even miss the more overt metal elements from the first album, and that's no mean feat!
The album is divided into four "suites" over its 50 minute run, which totals out to ten separate tracks. There are some killer highlights to be had (like the catchy-as-fuck 'Nocturne' and the disquieting beauty of 'Retrospect') but this is really one of those releases which is meant to be listened to as a complete package from beginning to end in order to get the most mileage. As the genre tag "atmospheric metal" implies, letting the otherworldly mood of Altered State sink in is all part of the fun. Give it an inch and it'll give you a league my friends...