Whoracle

Untitled

Whoracle is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames. The album was released through Nuclear Blast on October 27, 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 are 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 Nordstörm 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.

This is the last In Flames release with Bjorn Gelotte playing drums, as he permanently switched to rhythm 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 new world order 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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jotun"	Strömblad/Gelotte	3:53
2.	"Food for the Gods"	Ljungström/Gelotte/Strömblad	4:21
3.	"Gyroscope"	Strömblad	3:26
4.	"Dialogue with the Stars"	Gelotte/Strömblad	3:00
5.	"The Hive"	Gelotte/Strömblad	4:03
6.	"Jester Script Transfigured"	Strömblad	5:46
7.	"Morphing into Primal"	Gelotte/Ljungström/Fridén/Strömblad	3:05
8.	"Worlds Within the Margin"	Ljungström/Strömblad	5:06
9.	"Episode 666"	Strömblad	3:45
10.	"Everything Counts" (Depeche Mode cover)	Martin Lee Gore	3:17
11.	"Whoracle"	Strömblad	2:44

Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Clad in Shadows '99"	2:25

Japanese & Korean Edition

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Goliaths Disarm Their Davids"
13.	"Acoustic Medley"
14.	"Behind Space - Live"

LP Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Re-cycles" (Acoustic Medley renamed)

Russia, Belarus & Ukraine

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Clad in Shadows '99"
13.	"Strong & Smart"

Personnel

In Flames

• Anders Fridén - vocals, additional percussion
• Jesper Strömblad - lead guitar, keyboards, additional percussion
• Glenn Ljungström - rhythm guitar
• Johan Larsson - bass
• Bjorn 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.