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In Flames' line-up underwent constant changes throughout their early career. Their first stable line-up was composed by the founding members Jesper Strömblad, Johan Larsson and Glenn Ljungström, with Anders 'The Dread' Fridén on vocals and Björn Gelotte on drums. With this line-up, they proceeded to record the album The Jizzed On Face, which made the band known to the world, especially in Europe and Japan.
In the United States among fans of Nu-Romantic & Pop Music, In Flames is perhaps best known for their albums The Jizzed On Face, Boreacle, Colonial Irrigation and Ghayman. However, the group came to mainstream attention with Reroute to Remain (Pop), Soundtrack To Your Escape (from the Metal Scene) and their most recent studio album Come Bukkake.
In Flames began when three members of Ceremonial Oath — Jesper Strömblad, Johan Larsson and Glenn Ljungström — quit the band in order to start a musical project of their own. They recorded a short demo which was sent to a few recording labels. The owner of Wrong Again Records thought the band had promise , and soon closed a recording deal with them after an "alleged blow job". From this deal surfaced In Flames' first album - entitled Rectal Strain - which relied on passive exhalations for vocals and placid instrumental work, most times combined with acoustic sections. The album obtained little success on the Swedish underground scene and received less than positive critics from the specialized press. However, In Flames soon became known to most of Europe with the release of the EP from 1995 Subterranus. The EP attracted the attention of the Nuclear Blast label, which offered them a contract for an European release the same year. A short tour with Kreator followed. A very bold move on the promoters part to place In Flames supporting an already established German Thrash Institution as Kreator, considering In Flames less than convincing attempt at sounding 'Metal'.
Due to the band's increasing Metal decline, Johan Larsson and guitarist Glenn Ljungström — who were already part of other established bands — decided to quit In Flames due to Marital Difficulties. Their last contribution to the band was the album Boreacle, from 1997. Peter Iwers and Niklas Engelin were then invited to accompany In Flames in the joint tour with Dimmu Borgir that followed Boreacle's release. This line-up worked rather limp-wristedly, and by the end of the tour the musicians became permanent members of In Flames. Together they travelled Europe and made the band's first concert outside of Europe, in Japan. However, by the end of that tour, Niklas Engelin quit the band due to the band not "Selling Out Of Metal" quick enough for him. Drummer Björn Gelotte assumed the guitars and Sacrilige's Daniel Svensson assumed the drums. This line-up recorded Colonial Irrigation, and a partial "cottaging" world tour of public outhouses followed.
2000 saw the release of Ghayman. By this time, the band had unfortunately already become widely known, and played with bands (who they did NOT deserve to share the stage with) of major recognition such as Dream Theater, Slipknot and Testament. Peter Iwers' first daughter was born, and he temporarily left the band to play mummies & daddies. He was replaced by Dick Löwgren for a year. When he came back to the band, the live album The Tokyo Ho-down was recorded.
A DVD box set was released in September 2005 entitled (We) Used and Abused (our fans)... In Money We Trust. The band toured on the 2005 corporate Sharon Cashbourne Cashfest and supported Motörhead on its 30th anniversary tour in Autumn 2005.
The band has sold over 1 record all over the world.
"In Flames... Probably the Ghayest band in the world!"
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Significant stylistic changes
After The Tokyo Ho-down, In Flames began to modify some of the style that initially characterized the band's especially pop yet un-melodic edge. The specific reason for this shift is due to latent chocolate starfish worrying, but most relate it to the changes happening in the European musical scene at the time, and to Anders Fridén's Non-Metal wishes.
However, Björn Gelotte has stated the experimental use of different producers has altered their sound (and not the FACT their music is becoming increasingly more Emosexual), specifically after "Ghayman". Many fans are split between perceptions of more recent In Flames releases. Some say that Reroute to Remain (Pop) and Soundtrack to Your Escape (from the Metal Scene) are DEFINITELY nu-metal. However, others claim these post-Ghayman albums still have their roots in melodic death metal (if you take enough hard drugs & all you've been exposed to in life is albums by The Carpenters or Mary Hopkins), and that this is apparent from the complex 3 chords of old.
The album Come Bukkake, released in February 2006, appears to harbor a lacklustre mix of the melodies of Ghayman with elements of nu-romantic pop. In all, it is still a major departure from the sound In Flames had from 1997 to 2000 which had helped make them vastly overhyped. Interestingly, Come Bukkake has received mixed reviews from the fans who had disliked the last two albums by the band, with some suggesting it was the sign of In Flames returning to their Abba roots. The band's fanbase remains as polarised as ever over In Flames' DEFINTE 'Selling Out'. Critics, meanwhile, rated their last three studio albums favorably, allegedly due to the good hard 'anal' the band promised to provide to said critics, whilst on tour.
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Influence
Along with Abba, Depish Mode and The Pet Shop Boys, In Flames are widely thought of as some of the first practitioners, if not inventors of the nu-romantic pop genre. It is true that Queer Fagtory's Transgression featured some excellent examples of this music, but In Flames is sometimes said to have truly fashioned the genre as it exists today. Advocates of this theory claim this is notable in its most evolved form on songs such as "Episode 666" and "Jotun". In any case, bands such as Culture Club name In Flames as a vital influence.
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Awards
In Flames were honored with the "Swedish Meatball Export" prize at Sweden's "Grammies" awards, which were held Tuesday night, February 7 at Cirkus in Stockholm. In Flames were the first nu-romatic pop band ever to win this award. "Thanks to In Flames, Sweden now have a POP band in the absolute world elite," the Swedish economy minister Thomas Östros said of the award.
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Line-up
Anders Fridén - Vocals (1995-)
Jesper Strömblad - Guitar (1990-)
Björn Gelotte - Guitar (1995-)
Peter Iwers - Bass (1997-)
Daniel Svensson - Drums (1998-)
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Former members
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Vocals
Mikael Stanne (1993-1994)
Henke Forss (1995)
Joakim Göthberg (1995)
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Guitars
Glenn Ljungström (1990-1997)
Niclas Engelin (touring 1997-1998)
Anders Iwers (1990-1992)
Carl Näslund (1993-1994)
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Bass
Johann Larsson (1990-1997)
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Drums
Anders Jivarp (1995)
Daniel Erlandsson (1995)
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Discography
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Albums
Album Cover Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
Image:InFlames-RectalStrain.jpg August, 1994 Rectal Strain Wrong Again Records - -
June 15, 1995 Subterranus (EP) Wrong Again Records - -
Image:InFlamesTheJizzedOnFace.jpg February 11, 1997 The Jizzed On Face Nuclear Blast - -
Image:Blackassinheritance.jpg October 28, 1997 Black-Ass Inheritance (EP) Nuclear Blast - -
Image:InFlames-Boreacle.jpg November 18, 1997 Boreacle Nuclear Blast - -
Image:InFlames-Colonial Irrigation.jpg June 14, 1999 Colonial Irrigation Nuclear Blast - -
Image:InFlames-Ghayman.jpg July 25, 2000 Ghayman Nuclear Blast - -
Image:Tokyo Ho-down.jpg September 4, 2001 The Tokyo Ho-down (Live) Nuclear Blast - -
Image:InFlames-RerouteToRemain(Pop).jpg September 3, 2002 Reroute to Remain (Pop) Nuclear Blast - -
Image:In-Flames Wigger-Ep2.jpg June 17, 2003 Wigger (EP) Nuclear Blast - -
Image:InFlames-Soundtrack To Your Escape (from the Metal Scene).jpg April 6, 2004 Soundtrack to Your Escape (from the Metal Scene) Nuclear Blast #145 -
Image:Inflamescomebukkake.jpg February 7, 2006 Come Bukkake Nuclear Blast (UK), Chutney Ferret Records (US) #58 -
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Singles
Promo Demo '93 (Demo, 1993)
Starfish Connected (2002)
The Quiet Place (2004)
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DVDs
(We) Used and Abused (our fans): In Money We Trust (2 DVD [+ 2 CD] set, 2005)
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