Atmospheric Depth over Quirky Changes - A Review of If Anything, Suspicious' Offair: Lullabies for the Damned

In Flames singer Anders Fridén has always been willing to experiment with unusual sounds in his dynamic career. The Swedish teenager started his career as singer in death metal band Septic Broiler. He was then originally the drummer for melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity but became the group's singer for its influential debut record Skydancer. Anders Fridén then moved to In Flames, a band that would become the most creative, influential and successful melodic death metal band in the world throughout the nineties and the early years of the new millennium. Later on, the band would shift its sound towards melodic groove metal, alternative rock and even electronic rock elements, alienating many fans of old date but impressing quite a few new listeners at the same time. Anders Fridén has also collaborated with many unusual artists and participated in intriguing projects. He was one of the singers of Nuclear Blast's Allstars for instance and performed guest vocals for Dutch symphonic metal veterans Within Temptation. While other former members of his main band In Flames have founded new projects that opted for contemporary melodic death metal sounds that lazily copied the original band, Anders Fridén's new solo side project If Anything, Suspicious walks off the beaten path and comes as a huge surprise.

This project is entirely instrumental and focuses on smooth, mellow and atmospheric ambient sounds that work splendidly when doing some intellectual work or just relaxing on a calm autumn or winter day. The pace of the different tunes is slow and focuses exclusively on simple keyboard patterns and a few sound collages for atmospheric depth. Offair: Lullabies for the Damned features seventeen songs varying between lengths of three minutes to eleven and a half minutes for a generous total running time of seventy-seven minutes. Released by Offair Records, a new label focusing on artists experimenting outside their usual genres, this album transmits a feeling of timelessness, rebirth and peace. As Anders Fridéns puts it himself, he wants listeners to go on a journey without borders or restrictions which fits exactly with what he has been doing throughout his career for thirty-two years and counting.

If you're wondering what this type of music exactly sounds like, think of the excellent closer of In Flames' Come Clarity, entitled ''Your Bedtime Story Is Scaring Everyone'' that opens with mysterious ambient sounds before erupting into a short liberating death metal conclusion. If Anything, Suspicious' Offair: Lullabies for the Damned explores these very same ambient sounds in an approach that values atmospheric depth over clever changes. This album needs a few times to grow with its at times repetitive patterns, slow-paced rhythms and minimal variations but offers much replay value due to its unexpected, timeless and moody soul.

It's obvious that this calm, introspective and timid type of electronic ambient music isn't something you might want to experience every single day. However, this album unfolds a comforting, hypnotizing and numbing magic when you are in the mood to dream yourself far away. It's remarkable that Anders Fridén continues to push boundaries and restrictions so late in his career without ever repeating himself or boring his audience. If you are willing to witness completely new soundscapes, then you should give this album a fair chance as well. Fans who keep complaining that In Flames has been sounding dreadful for two decades and counting however should stay as far away from this release as possible.

Final rating: 75%