Jesper Strömblad founded the Swedish group alongside another band he was part of. In 1993, Strömblad decided to dedicate all of his time to In Flames. That same year Glenn Ljungström on guitar and Johan Larsson on bass guitar joined for the first In Flames line up.
Their first album was released in 1994 called 'Lunar Strain'. The trio had to use different singers to help out, as they didn't have a lead vocalist. But in 1995 they got Björn Gelotte to join the band as a drummer, and Anders Fridén as their full time vocalist. The official one-piece metal band was born.
Their music uses harmonized lead guitar melodies and screamed/ growled vocals. On Soundtrack to Your Escape, the band used less guitar melodies so they were able to incorporate more synths, but this seemed to be only a short phase in their music. In Flames' lyrics have varied over the years as well. In some of their releases like 'The Jester Race', they seemed to talk about astrology and mankind. But in later albums such as 'Come Clarity' the band specifically sang about their personal issues and life problems.
In Flames were big influences to many metal bands. Darkest Hour, Slowlife and Trivium are amongst the few that name In Flames as a huge influence on their melodic death metal style.
Forget what you thought you knew about heavy metal in general, because as In Flames have spent the best part of twenty-five years proving, there actually is such a thing as melodic death metal. It’s commercially viable, too, with the Gothenburg outfit having shifted two million records over the course of their career to date; eleven records in, they’ve carved out a feverishly loyal cult fanbase, and continue to pack out their own shows the world over as well as provide support to some of the biggest bands in metal, too. Dreadlocked vocalist Anders Friden is one of the most recognisable frontmen in the genre, and it’s his energy that’s key to In Flames shows being the high-octane affairs they’ve long been known as. He rarely stays still, stalking the stage with genuine menace and he screeches through the likes of ‘Take This Life’ and ‘Rusted Nail’. Behind him, his four bandmates put on nightly masterclasses in technical proficiency; guitarists Bjorn Gelotte and Niclas Engelin, in particular, are amongst the most naturally-gifted players in metal. With a new record, Siren Charms, set for September, the band have lined up October dates in Manchester, Glasgow and London, as part of a wider European tour.
Joeg_67
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