Where Are You - In Flames
Where did it all go wrong? I have pondered this question many times, only to come up with
the same answer as which came first, the chicken or the egg. I dont know that an
answer exists, but I am determined to get to the bottom of this tangled web of confusion.
The bottom line is, Where Are You In Flames?
Am I a death metal fan? Not as big as a lot of people, but In Flames are one of my top two
bands (the other being Hypocrisy) that invited me in to that unknown world and opened the
floodgates for me to swim in. Their version of "melodic" death metal really
helped to create an entire movement, along side Dark Tranquility, Sacrilege, and At The
Gates.
Here is a bit of reading material, for those who do not know the background of the group.
In Flames was formed in 1990 when Jesper Strömblad decided to leave his band (Ceremonial
Oath) to pursue a new direction in music. He later found Johan Larsson and Glenn
Ljungström and formed the first version of In Flames. They quickly smacked a demo and
joined the Wrong Again family. The somewhat unstable (in the terms of line ups) released
"Lunar Strain", followed closely by the golden masterpiece that is known as
"Subterranean". Tired of borrowing personnel, Anders Friden and Bjorn Gelotte
gave the group a more steady line up. Not exactly as Johan Larsson and Glenn Ljungström
left the band, but soon were replaced by Peter Iwers and Niklas Engelin. Niklas left the
group to focus on Gardenian. This moved Iwers from drums to bass and allowed Daniel
Svensson to give In Flames a pulse.
After a few years of trying, the group was signed to Nuclear Blast (after the release of
Subterranean), and blew up their fair share of speakers. With each release being better
than its predecessor, In Flames struck gold with the release of "Clayman". One
can call that desert, because what followed makes even the strongest man lose his lunch.
Lets call "Reroute to Remain" what it truly is, a failed experiment. Even
Doctor Frankenstein knew when his monster needed to be put to sleep. He did not try again.
In Flames surely did, releasing the most horrendous EP of all time, featuring a cover of
"Land Of Confusion" by Genesis. Even my dog left the room on that one. Just when
you thought the worst was over came "Soundtrack To Your Escape", and an
appropriate title it was, after hearing the first song or two, I was ready to escape by
jumping out of a window. Where are the guys who released such classics as
"Subterranean", "Whoracle", "Colony", and
"Clayman"? Will we ever get another classic from them?
Change is inevitable, and often times it is a good thing; however, this is a classic tale
of Beauty and the Beast. We all have witnessed the beauty in sound that they
are capable of, now it is the beast's turn. Even the loading page of their website
(www.inflames.com) has the band heads drawn out exactly like Limp Bizkit has been known to
do. They were one of the best bands in the world, should they really try to model
themselves after one of the worst bands?
The guilty parties are Anders Friden (vocals), Jesper Strömblad (guitar), Bjorn Gelotte
(guitar), Peter Iwers (bass), and Daniel Svensson (drums), and the label that
allowed this catastrophe to happen is none other than Nuclear Blast (www.nuclearblast.de).
Is the label 100% responsible for the train wreck called In Flames, I would venture a
guess and say NO! But their hands are not 100% clean either. We now know the line up did
not change in between "Clayman" and today, so what happened?
My question is simple, Where Are You In Flames? Where is the band that released such
great material, who helped define an entire genre with their creativity and musical
craftmanship?
Entire Catalog
Soundtrack To Your Escape 2004
Trigger 2003
Reroute To Remain 2002
Tokyo Showdown 2001
Clayman 2000
Colony 1999
Whoracle 1998
Black-Ash Inheritance 1997
The Jester Race 1995
Subterranean 1994
Lunar Strain 1994