Clayman
Clayman is the fifth studio album by Swedish metal band In Flames, released via Nuclear Blast on 25 July 2000. It has a dark theme, with most of the lyrics dealing with depression and internal struggles. Clayman is the final In Flames album to feature their original melodic death metal sound. The band would later start to experiment with other styles on their next release, Reroute to Remain, gradually progressing these more experimental elements across their future releases later into the 2000s.
| Clayman | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 25, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 31 January-? 2000[1] | |||
| Studio | Studio Fredman, Gothenburg | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal[2] | |||
| Length | 43:44 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer |
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| In Flames chronology | ||||
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The album's cover art is based on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man drawing. The Jester Head appears in the background, both on the cover, and in the album booklet itself. Music videos were produced for the songs "Pinball Map" (directed by Tamara Jordan) and "Only for the Weak".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Rock Hard | 9.5/10[4] |
In 2005, Clayman was ranked No. 448 in Rock Hard magazine's book "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time".[5]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Anders Fridén; all music is composed by Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bullet Ride" | 4:42 |
| 2. | "Pinball Map" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Only for the Weak" | 4:55 |
| 4. | "...As the Future Repeats Today" | 3:27 |
| 5. | "Square Nothing" | 3:57 |
| 6. | "Clay Man" | 3:28 |
| 7. | "Satellites and Astronauts" | 5:00 |
| 8. | "Brush the Dust Away" | 3:17 |
| 9. | "Swim" | 3:14 |
| 10. | "Suburban Me" (featuring Christopher Amott) | 3:35 |
| 11. | "Another Day in Quicksand" | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 43:44 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Strong and Smart" (No Fun at All cover) | 2:22 |
| Total length: | 46:06 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Strong and Smart" (No Fun at All cover) | 2:22 |
| 13. | "World of Promises" (Treat cover) | 3:49 |
| Total length: | 49:55 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Only for the Weak" (Live version) | 4:51 |
| 13. | "Pinball Map" (Live version) | 4:30 |
| 14. | "Strong and Smart" (No Fun at All cover) | 2:22 |
| Total length: | 55:27 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Themes and Variations in D-Minor" (instrumental) | |
| 13. | "Only for the Weak" (Re-recorded) | |
| 14. | "Bullet Ride" (Re-recorded) | |
| 15. | "Pinball Map" (Re-recorded) | |
| 16. | "Clayman" (Re-recorded) |
Personnel
In Flames
- Anders Fridén – vocals
- Jesper Strömblad – guitar
- Björn Gelotte – guitar
- Peter Iwers – bass
- Daniel Svensson – drums
Additional personnel
- Charlie Storm – programming, synthesizer
- Christopher Amott (formerly of Arch Enemy) – guitar solo on "Suburban Me"
- Fredrik Nordström – additional programming, synthesizer, recording, production
- In Flames – recording, production
- Axel Hermann – artwork, layout
- Tobias Lundgren – photography
References
- https://web.archive.org/web/20001206220200/http://inflames.com/mainpage.html
- Palmerston, Sean. "In Flames - Clayman". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- "Clayman - In Flames". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
- Albrecht, Frank. "RockHard: Review anzeigen" (in German) (158). Rock Hard. Retrieved May 22, 2013. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - Rensen, Michael; Kühnemund, Götz (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 30. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.