Genre > Rock > Heavy Metal

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" -- an approach that combines death metal elements (extreme vocals, blastbeats) with the type of intricacy, musicality, and craftsmanship one expects from old-school masters like Dio, Maiden, Priest, and Black Sabbath. Most death metal favors brutality for the sake of brutality, but Lunar Strain does not govern by brute force alone and is -- by power metal standards -- much more accessible than the albums that extreme bands like Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, and Carcass were coming out with at the time. In 1994, the best was yet to come for In Flames; even so, this was a promising debut that had a major impact on melodic death metal and symphonic black metal.

- Alex Henderson (All Music Guide)

Reissue of the Subterranean EP by the Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames.

The new album from In Flames is entitled “Siren Charms”. This is the 11th studio album from In Flames recorded in December 2013, at Hansa Studios, Berlin. The album was produced by Daniel Bergstrand, Roberto Laghi and In Flames. The mix was done by Michael Ilbert at Hansa Tonstudios, and mastering by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound, NYC.

Like their countrymen Entombed, In Flames add the familiar influence (and sense of groove) of classic heavy metal to their extreme death metal sounds, as well as progressive instrumental interludes that help lend a feel of epic drama to their music. Colony's arrangements experiment with sound effects, melodic guitar leads, varied textures, and Hammond organ, adding more detail, contrast, and dramatic structure to the rush of their onslaught and making it a definite step forward for the group.

- Steve Huey (All Music Guide)

The 14-track set sees the group further refine its dynamic sound, an amalgamation of classic hard rock riffs, thrash-like rhythms and harsh, extreme vocals. But In Flames doesn’t shy away from catchy choruses; in fact, the band’s aggressive accessibility originated the underground movement now known as 'melodic death’." -- Billboard Magazine

A master of progressive death metal or the 'Gothenberg sound' practiced by many a Swedish band, In Flames delivers one of its best efforts with 1997's Whoracle.

Reissue of the 2011 album from the Swedish Melodic Death Metal band. Sounds Of A Playground Fading is a new chapter for In Flames now that founding guitarist and songwriter Jesper Stromblad is no longer part of the band. Stromblad took himself out of the equation prior to the writing of the new record, leaving guitarist Bjorn Gelotte to lay the first stones of a new foundation on his own.

The Swedish band, In Flames, over the past decade, have become one of the most revered, yet highly scrutinized metal acts in the world. With as many high quality releases as the band has put out, the fans demand excellence every time out, and with Soundtrack to Your Escape, In Flames continue to hold up their end of the bargain. Reissue.