In Flames has been confirmed as the head support of Lamb of God’s US Tour this fall.
The tour will start off in Phoenix, AZ on October 30th, and will continue for 38 shows all over the US.
Ticket will go on sale 21st of September. http://www.livenation.com/event/1700492E0B71A99F
Tour Information http://inflames.com/tour/
At this point of their career, when IN FLAMES release a new album the question is no longer about
whether they’ll finally get back to the melodic death metal sound that made them famous almost
20 years ago. On the contrary, with over 2,5 million records sold over the past years and 10 albums
in, their fans wait in fascination and (in some cases) fear of what’s coming next.
So it goes that, even as the title sounds like it’s heralding the end, “Sounds Of A Playground
Fading” is in fact a new chapter of IN FLAMES lore. Especially now that founding guitarist and
songwriter Jesper Strömblad is no longer part of the band. Strömblad took himself out of the
equation prior to the writing of the new record, leaving guitarist Björn Gelotte to lay the first
stones of a new foundation on his own. It was only natural that long term stand-in guitarist Niclas
Engelin (also Engel, he played in Passenger together with Anders Fridén) filled the vacant spot. In
September 2010 IN FLAMES finally entered their own IF Studios together with producer Roberto
Laghi (production, recording and mix, also ”A Sense Of Purpose”, Sonic Syndicate, Hardcore
Superstar), Daniel Bergstrand (co-production as well as vocal-recordings, also Dimmu Borgir,
Meshuggah, Behemoth) and Örjan Örnkloo (keyboards and programming) to start the recording of
the new album, “Sounds Of A Playground Fading”.
“There’s a huge difference in how the songs were written this time,” says Gelotte. “Jesper quit, so
I wrote all the music. It was very strange not having him around, but at the same time we had the
opportunity to do things a little bit differently as well. We worked more around the vocals than
we’ve ever done before. It was very interesting from my point of view because it took a hell of a
lot longer to write the songs. I had to rearrange stuff for the lyrics, and I also had to adapt to
certain things that I never had to be concerned about in the past, like re-writing riffs to fit a
certain idea. It was a good challenge for me.”
“Sounds Of A Playground Fading” is, as expected, a challenge for the listener as well. Still
unapologetic for their modern metal edge – a facet of the band’s sound since the aptly titled
“Reroute To Remain” from 2002 – IN FLAMES pushes that envelope further on new tracks “Ropes”,
“Fear Is The Weakness”, “The Attic” and “Deliver Us”. At the same time, they’ve reached back to
the “Whoracle” era (1997) on “The Puzzle”, “A New Dawn”, and the latter’s dark spoken word
intro, “Jester’s Door”. Gelotte and vocalist Anders Fridén are the culprits, having made a point of
keeping the fans that plug in on the edge of their seats.
“I always like having dynamics in a song, on an album, in the setlist,” says Gelotte. “That’s what
keeps things interesting. Your ears and your mind will only take so much of the same thing before
tuning it out completely. We’re going to get shit from a lot of people and we’re going to get love
from a lot of people for this album. That’s the nature of this band and it’s always been in our
cards. We’re used to it.”
The album title is as thought provoking and unique as the music, reflecting the mindset of the
band, Fridén’s in particular. “Sounds Of A Playground Fading” suggests a loss of innocence or a
season of change, but it will ultimately mean different things to different people. Suffice to say, it
represents IN FLAMES in 2011.
“It took a while for me to get my head around the title, and we talked a lot about it when Anders
first presented it,” Gelotte reveals. “It obviously has to do with the rest of the lyrics on the
album. I think the title sums up IN FLAMES in the present day. We’re way older now compared to
when we started this band, so maybe this is about leaving those innocent days behind a little bit.
It doesn’t mean that we’re responsible adults all of a sudden, though. We’ve grown up and we
look at the world differently now, but we’re still as enthusiastic about making music as we ever
were.”
“Sounds Of A Playground Fading” will be out in various formats such as a Jewelcase, Digital album,
2LP Gatefold and Special Edition CD + DVD that comes in a pop-up Digipak as well as Ltd. Deluxe
Box Set CD + DVD including the aforementioned pop-up Digipak and various special goodies. The
outstanding artwork for the album was done by Dave Correia.
IN FLAMES were founded 1990 in Gothenburg and soon became one of the most successful Swedish
Metal bands since the release of their break-through album “The Jester Race” in 1996. Like many of
the predecessors, their last album “A Sense Of Purpose” (2008) charted all over the world including
the band¹s highest ever entry on the American Billboard top 200 with an amazing #28. Other
notable chart entries: Sweden #1, European Billboard top 100 #7, Canada Billboard top 200
#7, Germany #6, UK (top 200) #54, Finland #3, Japan #14, and Norway #15.
Around the time of the release of “Sounds Of A Playground Fading” IN FLAMES will play some of the
most important European summer festivals such as Sonisphere, Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park, Nova
Rock, Hellfest and many more followed by the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Tour
throughout North America in July and a European tour in the fall and winter of 2011.
“Sounds Of A Playground Fading”
1. Sounds Of A Playground Fading (4:44)
2. Deliver Us (3:31)
3. All For Me (4:31)
4. The Puzzle (4:34)
5. Fear Is The Weakness (4:07)
6. Where The Dead Ships Dwell (4:27)
7. The Attic (3:18)
8. Darker Times (3:25)
9. Ropes (3:42)
10. Enter Tragedy (3:59)
11. Jester’s Door (2:38)
12. A New Dawn (5:52)
13. Liberation (5:10)
Line-up (2011):
Anders Fridén – vocals
Björn Gelotte – guitars
Peter Iwers – bass
Daniel Svensson – drums
Niclas Engelin – guitars
Selected Discography:
Lunar Strain (1994)
The Jester Race (1996)
Whoracle (1997)
Colony (1999)
Clayman (2000)
Reroute To Remain (2002)
Soundtrack To Your Escape (2004)
Come Clarity (2006)
A Sense Of Purpose (2008)
Sounds Of A Playground Fading (2011)
Photos & Artwork:
Photos by Patric Ullaeus
Artwork by Dave Correia
IN FLAMES online:
www.inflames.com
The House of Blues Las Vegas
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Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
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Crossroads at House of Blues is truly the place where food, music and art intersect. For reservations call 702.632.7607.
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