Jester In Flames

Of the three albums that make up Gothenburg's holy trinity, Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery was the least immediate, with unorthodox song structures that took time to assimilate, while At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul didn't truly cement its classic status until a new generation of American metalcore bands started to copy it riff for riff. In Flames' The Jester Race, however, pretty much announced itself as a masterwork right from day one. More than any other, this is the album that put the "melodic" in melodic death metal. Traditionalists who'd never been able to stomach death metal's brutality were stunned to hear winding, intricate twin-guitar lines lifted from Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and countless European power metal records…

When a band changes their style and sound, it can be polarizing. Melodic death metal pioneers In Flames have experienced this with their fans, as their sound has grown more accessible over the years with fewer growling vocals. Their countrymen and contemporaries Opeth have drawn similar criticism, but their switch from death metal to prog seems to have been more easily accepted than In Flames’ evolution toward the mainstream. In Flames’ effort, Battles, has plenty of melody, but there are numerous intense moments, as well.
Battles is the first In Flames album recorded without drummer Daniel Svensson since 1997‘s Whoracle. The band traveled to Los Angeles to record with producer Howard Benson (Halestorm, Skillet, Papa Roach). Benson recommended using drummer Joe Rickard (Red) for the album, and he ended up joining the group permanently…

Just about any genre or style of music has had skillful crossover artists who managed to win won over some nonbelievers. Grover Washington, Jr.'s tasteful jazz-funk reached a lot of people who hadn't necessarily developed a taste for the straight-ahead bop of Clifford Brown and Sonny Stitt; Willie Nelson's country-pop reached a lot of listeners who weren't necessarily into the hardcore honky tonk of Buck Owens and Lefty Frizzell. And in the metal world, In Flames has served as a bridge between the death metal/black metal underground and the more melodic power metal of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Queensrÿche. Originally released in Europe in 1994, In Flames' debut album, Lunar Strain, attracted an interesting mixture of death metal/black metal, power metal, and thrash metal enthusiasts. Like the early releases of At the Gates, Lunar Strain helped write the book on what came to be known as "melodic death metal"…

A master of melodic death metal, In Flames delivers one of its best efforts with 1997's Whoracle. One extremely heavy number after another flows continuously from this record's track list, including standouts like the mind-bending "Gyroscope" and "Morphing Into Primal," just two of the original and extremely well-executed songs offered on this release. Indeed, some tracks are much better than others on Whoracle. Softer numbers like "Jester Script Transfigured," with its half-acoustic Metallica ballad vibe, could probably have been left off this otherwise powerful recording. There are also some rather unnecessary vocal histrionics, most notably on "Worlds Within the Margin," but this kind of overcooked "singing" really comes with the death metal territory…

In Flames debut album, Lunar Strain, has often been likened to Black Metal and Goth, which is understandable in some ways (Mikael Stanne's croak and the slower, moodier riffs laced with keyboards,) but the fact is, this was just a varied though somewhat disjointed first attempt at creating their sound.
Rooted in Power Metal more than anything, Lunar Strain kicks off with Behind Space, the albums most concise, aggressive song. A great folk melody ends Space and we move on through the title track, Starforsaken, and Dreamscape, of which the first two are fine examples of this album's merit, though the latter is my least favorite from this record. On to the apex of the album, the two parter, Everlost…

In Flames represent the best of metal's past, present, and future. In Flames are as vital and even more energized today than when they unleashed classics like Come Clarity and Clayman in decades past. Foregone, the furious fourteenth studio album, combines the greatest aggressive, metallic, and melodic strengths of their landmark records with the seasoned songwriting of their postmodern era. The melodic guitars, crushing riffs, and high-speed tempos that define much of the In Flames catalog first crystalized on their second album, The Jester Race (1996), complete with hints of the catchy choruses to come. Whoracle (1997) is the rawest and arguably heaviest In Flames album from the 90s.

On Sounds of a Playground Fading, the band’s tenth studio album, In Flames officially complete their transition from Swedish melodic death metal pioneers to unpredictable Swedish progressive pop/rock/neo-classical metal innovators. Their first outing without founding member and chief songwriter Jesper Strömblad (the 13 tracks rely solely on the music of Björn Gelotte and the lyrics of Anders Fridén), Playground Fading's technical acumen and slick infusion of modern rock dazzles for the most part, especially on stand-out tracks like “A New Dawn,” “Fear Is the Weakness,” and the soaring title cut, all of which, in true In Flames fashion, aim for the bleachers and end up exploding into the night sky, but for all of the bells and whistles, there’s not a whole lot of variety to be had here…

At this point, IN FLAMES are less of a band than they are a musical institution in the heavy music world. Since helping create Sweden's legendary “Gothenburg Sound” three decades ago to their current status as melodic metal monoliths, the act have constantly eschewed trends in order to forge their own musical path. This is evident on their 13th full-length »I, The Mask«, which sees them reuniting with multi Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, MOTÖRHEAD), who also produced 2016's »Battles«, in order to further redefine their sound. “I think it's very difficult for IN FLAMES to be something we're not and that dichotomy of melody and aggression will always be at the core of our identity,” vocalist Anders Fridén explains from a tour stop opening for DEEP PURPLE in Mexico. “We are always open to new ideas and don't let anything limit us,” guitarist Björn Gelotte adds. “We just ask ourselves if we will love playing this stuff live… and as long as we feel that, nothing can really touch us.”

In Flames has done a lot over the years to alienate and divide their fanbase. If you’re on the outside looking in and seeing the way their music has been received over the years, you might deduce that consistency and overall stability is not exactly the Gothenburg quintet’s strong suit. For the most part, that much is true; their heyday is clearly behind them as far as creativity goes, so it’s far too tough of a task for them to attempt to revisit the glory days of The Jester Race and Whoracle, no matter how much they’d want to. That hasn’t stopped them from trying to create enjoyable music, even if they’re not the melodic death metal giants they once were. Their rock bottom was 2016’s Battles, a feat they’d want to avoid recreating given the scope of the backlash it got. Sans “(This Is Our) House”, the singles pointed to an effort closer to Sounds of a Playground Fading and A Sense of Purpose than the last two releases, and it's roughly what we got with I, the Mask…