in flames

In Flames is a Swedish band from Gothenburg which has played melodic death metal for most of its career.

Biography

In Flames began when three members of the band Ceremonial Oath - Jesper Strmblad, Anders Fridn and Anders Iwers - decided to quit the band in order to begin a musical project of their own Together with bassist Johan Larsson and guitarist Glenn Ljungström, they recorded a short demo, which they sent to a few recording labels. The owner of Wrong Again Records thought the band had promised, and soon closed a recording deal with them. From this deal surfaced In Flames' first album, entitled Lunar Strain, which relied on death grunts for vocals and aggressive instrumental work. The album obtained underground success and received positive critics from the specialized press. The EP from 1995 Subterranean brought exposition to the Swedish band, and soon Nuclear Blast approached them with a contract for an European release. In Flames' line-up underwent many changes throughout their early career, and the band's first fix line-up was composed when they were joined by Anders Fridn and Björn Gelotte. With this formation, they recorded the album the The Jester Race, which made the band known to the world, especially in Europe and Japan. They were then included in Kreator's European tour, and played their first sold-out gigs. Due to the band's increasing success, Johan Larsson and guitarist Glenn Ljungström - who were already part of other established bands - decided to quit In Flames due to the difficulties of sharing time between different projects. Their last contribution to the band wa sthe album Whoracle. Peter Iwers and Niklas Engelin were invited to accompany the In Flames in the joint tour with Dimmu Borgir that followed Whoracle's release. This line-up worked rather well, and by the end of the tour they became permanent members of In Flames. Together they travelled Europe and made the band's first international show, in Japan. However, by the end of the tour, Niklas Engelin quit the band due to musical differences. Jesper Strmbland then opted for a risky move: drummer Bjrn Gelotte assumed the guitars and Sacrilige's Daniel Svensson assumed the drums. This line-up recorded Colony, and a partial world tour followed. 2000 saw the release of Clayman. By this time, the band had already become widely known, and played with bands of great recognition such as Dream Theater, Slipknot and Testament. Peter Iwers' first daughter was born, and he temporarily left the band, being substitude by Dick Löwgren for a year. When he came back to the band, the live album The Tokyo Showdown was recorded. After their notable rise to fame, however, In Flames began to lose some of the style that characterized the band. The specific reason for that is unknown, but most relate it to the changes happening in the European musical scenario at the time. In Flames ultimately released two more experimenal albums, Reroute To Remain and Soundtrack To Your Escape. It is currently unknown wether the band will continue its career.