In Flames on Evolving Sound: Melody Is ‘Absolutely Central To What We Do’ But ‘We Package It Differently’

In Flames' Battles album is out now and it marks another step in a bold new direction for the melodic Swedish outfit. Despite how varied their sound and direction is across their 12 studio albums, there's one central element that unifies them: melody.

Fans are quick to harshly respond to any direction In Flames go with each ensuing record, proving the band has built up a diverse legion of followers who all have their own stylistic preferences and favorite eras of the influential group. When the band stopped by our studio for a visit, we asked them about the different ways they play with melody, with the focus on Battles being anthemic melodies.

Guitarist Bjorn Gelotte fielded this question, stating, "Melody — it's absolutely central to what we do, it's what we are." He went on to explain how they build the songs based around what melodic part they create and how everything comes together.

With extreme vocals gradually working their way into the relative mainstream and being accepted, we asked In Flames what it was like witnessing this evolution as a band who cut their teeth in the early Swedish death metal scene. Frontman Anders Friden described his love for the less intelligible death metal vocalists and bands like Suffocation and Gorguts, expressing his thoughts on the current state of extreme music.

Our last question was for guitarist Niclas Engelin, who joined In Flames as a full time member since 2011, coming in far after the days of the band's more strict take on melodic death metal. We asked him if there were any challenges stepping into the group this far into their career with such a diverse catalog, but you'll have to watch to see what he says!

Check out our interview with In Flames in the video above and pick up your copy of Battles at Amazon or digitally through iTunes.

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