Whoracle

Whoracle
Studio album by In Flames
Released	15 October 1997 (JP) 27 October 1997 (DE) 18 November 1997
Recorded	Spring 1997 (Studio Fredman)
Genre	Melodic death metal
Length	42:29
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Fredrik Nordström In Flames
In Flames chronology
The Jester Race (1996) Whoracle (1997) Colony (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Whoracle is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames. The album was released through Nuclear Blast on 27 October 1997. Apart from "Everything Counts", which is a cover of a Depeche Mode song, all songs were composed and arranged by In Flames. The lyrics were translated by Dark Tranquillity guitarist Niklas Sundin, after Anders Fridén had written them in Swedish. Whoracle is the final album to have Johan Larsson & Glenn Ljungström.

The album was recorded during the spring of 1997, and the title is a portmanteau of the English words "whore" and "oracle". Fredrik Nordström noted that this album was not easy to record at times, relating that the band members usually preferred drinking beer and playing Tekken 3 to recording the album.^[2]

This is the last In Flames release with Björn Gelotte playing drums, as he permanently switched to lead guitar in future releases.

Concept

Whoracle is a concept album which describes the past, present, and a hypothetical future of the planet Earth. "Jotun" is a foreshadowing of the main concepts where a society is crushed and broken after an apocalyptic event. "Episode 666" seems to be the narration of this apocalyptic event which is, perversely, televised. The songs leading up to this tell a story of the rise and fall of a global society. "The Hive" and "Jester Script Transfigured" describe this technologically advanced society and a utopian world which is demolished by human nature in the next two songs. The inclusion of the Depeche Mode cover, "Everything Counts", is a poignant way to imply that the people who built then destroyed their society realized their folly after it was too late.

Track listing

Personnel

In Flames

• Anders Fridén - vocals, additional percussion
• Jesper Strömblad - lead guitar, keyboards, additional percussion
• Glenn Ljungström - rhythm guitar
• Johan Larsson - bass
• Björn Gelotte - drums, percussion & additional lead guitar

Other personnel

• Ulrika Netterdahl - female vocals on "Whoracle"
• The Whoracle concept conjured and verbalized by Niklas Sundin and Anders Fridén.
• Lyrics written by Niklas Sundin following original synopsis by Anders Fridén.
• All music composed and arranged by In Flames except "Everything Counts" by Martin Lee Gore.
• Recorded and produced by Fredrik Nordström with assistance from In Flames.
• Engineered by Anders Fridén and Fredrik Nordström.
• Mixed by Fredrik Nordström and Anders Fridén.
• Mastered by Goran Finnberg and Fredrik Nordstrom at the Mastering Room Gbg.
• Cover artwork by Andreas Marschall.
• Photos by Kenneth Johansson.
• All songs published by Prophecies Publishing Hamburg except "Everything Counts".
• "Everything Counts" published by Grabbing Hands Music Ltd, sub-published by EMI Music Germany.
• All the song lyrics were written in, except "Episode 666" in which the lyrics for "Morphing Into Primal" were listed again under that title.

References

1. ↑ Allmusic review
2. ↑ At The Gates Flames of the End DVD Fredrik Nordstörm interview