In Flames
- GENRE: alternative metal, melodic death metal
- COUNTRY: Sweden
One of the bravest and most popular metal bands from Sweden. In Flames always have played to their own tune, never buttering up to the audience’s expectations. When they grew tired of melodic death metal, i.e. the aesthetic that brought them fame and favour, they went down the path of alt-metal sounds. And then rock and even dubstep. They march to the beat of their own drum, and they have yet to regret it.
History:
In Flames began in 1990 as a side project of Jesper Strömblad, who at the time was holding the guitarist post in the death metal band Ceremonial Oath. After three years, two band members were recruited, Glenn Ljungström and Johan Larsson, and with this lineup, the band created its first demo. Then, with some further additions to the line-up and with Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquility stepping in as a session singer, the band recorded their debut album, Lunar Strain. Thereafter, the band found its proper vocalist, aka Anders Friden. From then on, things really gained momentum.
In 1996 In Flames released The Jester Race, an album that was virtually immediately proclaimed a classic of melodic death metal and whet the public’s appetite for more. The albums they released at the end of the 20th century, Whoracle, Colony, and Clayman, further boosted the Swedes’ ratings. The band entered the new millennium as fully-fledged representatives of the metal mainstream. Their subsequent material, starting with Reroute to Remain, showed a pronounced stylistic shift. From alt-metal to dubstep. Despite this, In Flames continues to grow and today they are among the biggest Swedish metal bands. They have only returned to their roots once – with their latest recorded, Foregone, released in 2023.
Discography:
Full albums:
Lunar Strain, 1994
The Jester Race, 1996
Whoracle, 1997
Colony, 1999
Clayman, 2000
Reroute to Remain, 2002
Soundtrack to Your Escape, 2004
Come Clarity, 2006
A Sense of Purpose, 2008
Sounds of a Playground Fading, 2011
Siren Charms, 2014
Battles, 2016
I, the Mask, 2019
Foregone, 2023
EPs:
Subterranean, 1995
Black-Ash Inheritance, 1997
Trigger, 2003
Come Clarity – EP, 2006
The Mirror’s Truth, 2008
Down, Wicked & No Good, 2017
Clayman 2020, 2020
Hell Is Overcrowded and Heaven’s Full of Sinners, 2023
Demos:
Demo ‘93, 1993
Singles:
Bullet Ride, 2000
Cloud Connected, 2002
The Quiet Place, 2004
Alias, 2008
Delight and Angers, 2009
Deliver Us, 2011
Where the Dead Ships Dwell, 2011
Through Oblivion, 2014
Rusted Nail, 2014
Everything’s Gone, 2014
Paralyzed, 2015
The End, 2016
The Truth, 2016
The End / The Truth, 2016
(This Is Our) House, 2018
I Am Above, 2018
Clayman, 2020
State of Slow Decay, 2022
The Great Deceiver, 2022
Foregone Pt. 1, 2022
Meet Your Maker, 2023
Splits:
My Kantele / Black-Ash Inheritance, 1997 (z Amorphis)
Nothing / Reroute to Remain, 2002 (z Meshuggah)
Figure Number Five, 2003 (z Soilwork, Meshuggah i Raunchy)
Soundtrack to Your Escape, 2004 (z Raunchy, Ektomorf i Mnemic)
Sounds of the Underground Tour 2006: Live & Rare, 2006 (z Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Through the Eyes of the Dead, As I Lay Dying i Terror)
Valentine’s Day Massacre, 2006 (z Bleeding Through, Demiricous, Bullet for My Valentine, Aiden, Waterdown)
Maximum Metal vol. 258, 2020 (z Manticora, Poltergeist, Blues Pills, Massive Wagons, OST+Front)
Live albums:
The Tokyo Showdown – Live in Japan 2000, 2001
Sounds from the Heart of Gothenburg, 2016
Compilations:
Whoracle / The Jester Race, 1997
8 Songs, 2011