It’s better to burn
In Flames rises above angry fans to push the boundaries of death metal
Mike Wärkentin



I was in the can at the Slayer concert when the dude beside me started ripping into In Flames.

“What’s with the fuckin’ clean vocals?” he said before breaking into an exaggerated operatic wail.

“I totally can’t pee when I do that,” he added. “But seriously, that band was so much better before.”

It’s an old complaint, and it’s getting older by the minute.

Yes, In Flames has changed from the melodic Swedish death metal band that made seminal early ’90s albums such as Lunar Strain and The Jester Race and created what’s now known as the ‘Gothenburg Sound.’

In Flames’ newer work, such as 2002’s Reroute to Remain, 2004’s Soundtrack to Your Escape and 2006’s Come Clarity, is indeed different and — sweet evil Satan! — actually incorporates clean melodic vocals.

And that’s why the banger at the urinal was calling the band — guitarists Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad, bassist Peter Iwers, drummer Daniel Svensson, and singer Anders Fridén — a bunch of sellouts.

“I know that when we released Soundtrack to Your Escape we got a little bit of crap because people told us we were stepping out from the genre that we were creating, but we never thought like that,” Strömblad says from a Sounds of the Underground tour stop in Toronto.

Still, it must feel strange for a band to have more of its strongest supporters cut it down with every new album.

“It doesn’t bother me because it’s just a natural progression and people really don’t understand how this business works. They think, ‘Oh my God, I hate In Flames because they decided to write this album and then they are a huge band and have millions in the bank.’

“That’s not how it works. You have to sacrifice everything — family, friends, everything — and be on the road for almost the whole year to make it work. And if people say that you should go back and do another Jester Race, that’s when I think we’re selling out. It has to do with what’s right in our hearts.”

He adds: “I can understand if Iron Maiden goes and makes a totally different album, or ,for example, Running Wild or Judas Priest or AC/DC. They’re supposed to sound a special way, but we were always open to changes. I don’t see the big change, actually.”

Strömblad doesn’t, but many fans do — and the hardcore bangers who discovered the Swedish quintet in the early ’90s are severely pissed that mainstream success is slowly coming for In Flames, perhaps on the strength of a more melodic approach that incorporates classical delicacy and punishing but intricate guitar work.

But it still has to be asked — what’s with the fuckin’ clean vocals?

“We had it for the first time on Colony (1999), and that’s where Anders as a vocalist wants to develop his instrument as much as we all want to develop our skills and how to play,” Strömblad explains. “And we saw that there was much more potential for the songs and how to write, for example, a chorus and let the vocals carry it, and that’s why we did it, and it just came naturally.”

And really, it isn’t as though the new music sucks.

Come Clarity might be In Flames’ most complete work to date — even if it doesn’t have the same calculated brutality of The Jester Race. Opening track Take This Life is a brilliant metal attack, and Reflect This Storm is a layered guitar duel worthy of an Iron Maiden alb. And — get ready for this — Dead End even includes the pristine voice of Swedish singer Lisa Miskovsky.

“When I listened to Soundtrack and it was time to write a new one, I could feel that maybe certain elements were missing, and that was a lot of the guitar work, the twin-guitar melodies,” Strömblad says. “I think Soundtrack is massive, but it also lacks those elements, I think. So on the new one we incorporated a little bit more of the acoustic guitars again. Just more intense guitar work.”

In Flames has now sold over 1 million discs worldwide and is known in the metal world as a progressive and groundbreaking band. That the group is gaining more attention every year is due mostly to its harsh touring schedule and the fact that other bands are using the Swedish sound as a launch pad for their own work as melodic metal begins to take hold in the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

“It’s just flattering to see how many — especially American bands — incorporate what you want to call the Gothenburg Sound into their music...” Strömblad says. “It’s just proof that American bands have really good taste in music.”

And if you don’t have good taste in metal... well, I guess you’re just another dude crying “Sellout!” and trying to sound cool in the bathroom at Slayer.

For more info see our What’s Up entertainment listings.