IN FLAMES' BJÖRN GELOTTE: 'When We Write Music, We Write An Album; We Don't Write Singles'

In a recent interview with Guitar Interactive, IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte spoke about the challenge of making full-length albums in an age when most people will listen to their music one song at a time.

"We're old enough to come from the vinyl era," he said (see video below). "For us, when we write music, we write an album. We don't write singles. We might do an EP, but that would still be this old format, like, you have an A and a B side. And you're supposed to listen to the album from the first song to the last song. That's how we write it. And then how people wanna listen to it, as long as they listen, I don't give a shit. As long as they listen, at least [they will] have the experience. Then they can decide if it's good or bad — to their liking or not. But this is how we write. So this is how we listen to bands as well. So it's hard to really get into bands if they only release one single or they write one song at a time. Then you listen to the record, and it sounds nothing like it. So that could be hard.

"The world is moving on, and we have to adapt, all of us," he continued. "And we do. I think. We have people that we work with — our record label, our management and everything; they get to choose whatever they wanna present first [as a single]. Because, for us, the record is done; you should listen to it from there to there. And that's how we write too. Really early on in the process, it's, like, as soon as we have a bunch of songs, we're, like, 'Okay, let's put them together in the right order and see what we're missing.' So you get this blueprint, in a way, and you see the holes where you need to fill. And then you write those songs. And it's a nice journey throughout the whole record. That's how we work."

IN FLAMES' latest album, "I, The Mask", was released in March via Nuclear Blast (worldwide, excluding North America) and Eleven Seven Music (North America). The 12-track disc reunites IN FLAMES with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, MOTÖRHEAD) who also produced 2016's "Battles". Additionally, the album was mixed by Grammy Award winner Chris Lord-Alge (CHEAP TRICK, LINKIN PARK) and mastered by Grammy-winning mastering engeneer Ted Jensen (PANTERA, EAGLES, GUNS N' ROSES).