Web page:
The Offivial In
Flames Homepage
Line up:
Anders Fridén
- Vocals
Björn Gelotte - Guitars
Jesper Strömblad - Guitars
Peter Iwers - Bass
Daniel Svensson - Drums
Biography
It
was the year 1990, Jesper decided to take leave of the band Ceremonial
Oath, that he was currently in, together with Anders Fridén and Anders
Iwers( Tiamat) He wanted to make music in a different direction,
and he teamed up with Johan Larsson and Glenn Ljungström to form IN
FLAMES. The gang made a demo and shipped it off to Wrong Again records
in order to get a record-deal, which they did.The owner of the company
enjoyed the music so much that he immediately gave them a deal over the
phone, as they rang him up one night, while drinking.He asked them
if they had more songs, other than the three they had sent him, and they
lied and said: Yes, we have 14 songs. The next day, they sat down and
wrote the album Lunar Strain, which was released some time later, and
became a big underground success. They had some ”in and out members”
, and borrowed some from different bands. People that have been a part
off IN FLAMES since the beginning, are Mikael Stanne and Anders
Jivarp ( Dark Tranquillity), Anders Iwers ( Tiamat), Henke Forss (
Dawn), Daniel Erlandsson (Eucharist, Arch Enemy), and a few more.
The
band then released a mini-cd called Subterranean, that became the
”breaker” for IN FLAMES, in terms of getting out off the underground
scene, that is, and led them to get a license deal with German company
Nuclear Blast for the next record, and they have been there since then.
After
some time, the boys were getting tired of constantly borrowing peole in
order to make a record, or do a decent live show, and they asked Anders
Fridén and Björn Gelotte to join the band, on vocals and drums, and
they accepted. IN FLAMES were for the first time a band with a real line
up.
They
recorded and released yet another record . The Jester Race, which became
a huge success, worldwide, and the band started to get some fantastic
attention all over Europe, and in Japan, where they were licensed to Toy´s
Factory. They went on a festival tour together with Samael, Grip
inc. And Kreator - this was the first big thing that happened to them,
but definetly not the last. Some gigs here and there over the next year,
led to both Johan and Glenn feeling that they had to make a choice where
their prioritees were , and sadly, they choose not be a part of IN
FLAMES any more. They
both announced, unexpectedly after the recording of Whoracle, that they
were leaving, and Björn, Jesper and Anders were left with a finished
record and half a band.
Luckily
they were good friends with Peter Iwers and Niklas Engelin, who both
happened to play bass and guitar, and they filled in at the end of the
recordings, to do a mini-tour with Dimmu Borgir. This worked out fine
and the two gentlemen were asked to stay in the band permanently, and so
they did. Together the group continued onto a successful tour in Europé
and an amazing week in Japan, where they did their first two shows.
Japan
welcomed the Swedes with warm arms, and they had an amazing experience.
As
they return to Sweden, Niklas leaves the band, due to some different
opinions, and the fact that he wanted to focus on Gardenian, his other
band. This is the turning point for IN FLAMES, as they decide to switch
Björn from drums to guitar, (being a guitar player originally), and
recruit Daniel Svensson ( Sacrilige) on Drums. This works out wonderful,
and they record COLONY, the biggest success so far.
The Colonization
takes them around the world, to Europe, USA and Japan, and this tour is
an amazing experience for IN FLAMES, that finally receives the attention
they´ve been waiting for. As they play full houses almost everywhere,
the party goes on for a few months, and the response is excellent
all over the world.
In
August of 2000, after a few years of successful touring , the release of
Clayman is a fact, after spending 3 months in the studio. This
record spins off really well, and the sales are overwhelming and it
knocks out the previous record sales in a few months.
After
doing festivals with Dream Theater, Slipknot, Testament, Methods of
mayhem, etc, a world tour was to expect. In Flames aimed for Japan and
Europe, which was squeezed in between 2 American tours. This was the
same round as last year, only this time bigger places, more people
and more material. In Japan, Jesper received an award from BURRN! As the
number 1 songwriter of the year.
The
tours were a huge success once again.
Peter
Iwers did not join them on all of these tours as he had a new arrival
back home, that he stayed home with instead, a baby girl, but he joined
in for the Scandinavian and Japan dates, and was temporarily replaced by
Dick Löwgren from Armageddon for the other tours.
In
the year 2000, approximately 150 shows were performed by In Flames , and
then a well deserved vacation was taken by the members.
2001,
Peter is back and the band does a few single shows in Sweden, including
a headline gig in Gothenburg, which was featured in 4 television
channels, and aired live on the radio.
Charts
this year were very high, including #4 in Japan, both group and record,
# 3 in Canada´s greatest metal mag- Brave words and Bloody Knuckles, #
1 in Metal Maniacs, and # 17 on the official Swedish charts, to name a
few.
A
video is shot for Only for the Weak, and the band will now head out on a
European mini tour, before doing the festivals in the summer.
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