In Flames seem to be hitting a wall. While A Sense of Purpose is formidable in its crisp overdrive and hooky choruses, there is little here that expands on what they’ve done in the past. For argument’s sake, the album is comparable to anything Slayer has released in the past decade: great because the band creating it is great, but not exactly their strongest work. Call it the dichotomy of a creative downward slope with a continual climb in popularity. That said, there are standout moments, like “Disconnected,” a tune culled from the same emotional turmoil and harmonic values that made Reroute to Remain so stellar. Otherwise, while “Move Through Me,” “Condemned” and “Sleepless Again” have their moments of inspiration, the typical sterile Swedish metal attack and gravelly verse, croony-chorus structure feels like a comfortable, well-worn rut.