Review of the Mini Album "Black Ash Inheritance" by Swedish Melodic Death Metal Band In Flames

This article will now only discuss the mini album Black Ash Inheritance

Early in 2018, I had written why Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames has made the European heavy metal scene so much better. But for now, instead of discussing why In Flames is such a great band, the focus will now be shifted to a review and analysis of their mini album called Black Ash Inheritance.

It would be very much incomplete if we did not discuss the four song mini album called Black Ash Inheritance which was released in 1997. One aspect of this band’s greatness is that they are able to make my day better (at least that’s what works for me). This also marks another milestone as it is article #1,100! How sweet it is that this article is about a band that many in the United States still may not know of. Well, now you will know even more about Sweden’s In Flames! No strategy is 100% effective in helping you raise your vibration but music helps you do it in some cases.

As for the mini album Black Ash Inheritance, these four songs are on the Japanese version of the album Whoracle. Who knows what the future may bring but as of July 31, 2019 and going forward, In Flames will continue to be the solid band that they are and much gratitude must be bestowed upon them for how they have continued as a band even after the departure of Jesper Stromblad, founder of this band and one of their major creative influences. I got into this band around 1997 and 1998 and I have not looked back as the band has shown me that even when they change their style they can still be good.

I would even make the case that In Flames is a better band than Metallica. By their 5^th studio album, in Flames as a band was still in the awesome category while Metallica was in the middle of experimenting and trying to get mainstream which isn’t a bad thing but they were getting lighter and more trendy some would say. Even as this band entered the decade of the 2010’s, I’m sure some of the band’s fans were skeptical but me being the open-minded listener I was, I knew these guys would still deliver the goods. The classification of In Flames being this sort of alternative metal band is inaccurate because these guys are not like The Gathering. The song called Goliaths Disarm Their Davids is a heavy song that describes how human nature has become flawed as interpretations of the Bible have been misconstrued. This mini album also has the song Gyroscope from the album Whoracle as well as a LIVE version of the song called Behind Space. Whether it is the older classic melodic death metal songs or the more modern stuff, In Flames shows me why they are such a great band and even better than any American band that has ever come into existence.

Black Ash Inheritance is another release in the long history of the band In Flames. Even though it has only four songs and is under 15 minutes, it is still an album, a mini album if we want to get simplistic about the terminology. Even though some people may object to there being a LIVE version of the song Behind Space, it does not diminish the greatness of the band In Flames. If it was not official before, it is official now that the band In Flames along with Dark Tranquillity are the two best melodic death metal bands to ever come out of the country of Sweden!

Usually it is very difficult to provide a complex review of a four song mini album because of the limited amount of songs. The start to this mini album is similar to what would come that same year of 1997 with the release of Whoracle. For those fans that crave the melody of the band's older material Black Ash Inheritance is your cup of tea for sure! The mini album continues the kind of songwriting excellence that In Flames would have going into the 2000s.