Clayman

Clayman is the fifth studio album by Swedish metal band In Flames, released via Nuclear Blast on 3 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
In Flames
ReleasedJuly 25, 2000 (2000-07-25)
Recorded31 January–? 2000[1]
StudioStudio Fredman, Gothenburg
GenreMelodic death metal[2]
Length43:44
LabelNuclear Blast
Producer
In Flames chronology
Colony
(1999)		 Clayman
(2000)		 Reroute to Remain
(2002)

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
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Rock Hard9.5/10[4]

In 2005, Clayman was ranked No. 448 in Rock Hard magazine's book "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time".[5]

In 2020, "Bullet Ride", "Pinball Map", "Only for the Weak", and the title track were re-recorded for a 20th-anniversary edition of the album. Fan responses to the re-recordings have been mixed.[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Anders Fridén; all music is composed by Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte.

No.TitleLength
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
2000 Japanese pressing
No.TitleLength
12."Strong and Smart" (No Fun at All cover)2:22
Total length:46:06
2005 Deluxe edition and 2008 Reloaded edition
No.TitleLength
12."Strong and Smart" (No Fun at All cover)2:22
13."World of Promises" (Treat cover)3:49
Total length:49:55
2010 re-release
No.TitleLength
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

Apart from remastered versions of the original songs, the 20th Anniversary Edition features the following tracks:

2020 20th Anniversary Edition
No.TitleLength
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

Additional personnel

Charts
Chart performance for Clayman
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 16
Scottish Albums (OCC)[9] 69
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 26

References
  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20001206220200/http://inflames.com/mainpage.html
  2. Palmerston, Sean. "In Flames - Clayman". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  3. "Clayman - In Flames". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  4. Albrecht, Frank. "RockHard: Review anzeigen" (in German) (158). Rock Hard. Retrieved 22 May 2013. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Rensen, Michael; Kühnemund, Götz (2005). Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Rock Hard. p. 30. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  6. https://www.metalsucks.net/2020/06/08/in-flames-re-recorded-clayman-and-the-internet-loves-it/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Austriancharts.at – In Flames – Clayman" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  8. "Offiziellecharts.de – In Flames – Clayman" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  9. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  10. "Swisscharts.com – In Flames – Clayman". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
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