THE RESISTANCE Feat. THE HAUNTED, Ex-IN FLAMES Members: 'Coup De Grâce' Album Due In January

THE RESISTANCE, the Swedish extreme metal band featuring former and current members of IN FLAMES and THE HAUNTED, will release its sophomore full-length album, "Coup De Grâce", on January 22, 2016 via earMUSIC.

According to a press release, "Coup De Grâce" "reconnects with the one and only, original extreme hardcore and slams it straight down your throat and into the present age. The ferocious and relentless pureness makes it a masterpiece, as the overwhelming aggression encloses and doesn't let you go."

Joining singer Marco Aro (also in THE HAUNTED) in THE RESISTANCE's current lineup are IN FLAMES founding member Jesper Strömblad on guitar, Daniel Antonsson (ex-SOILWORK, DARK TRANQUILLITY) on guitar, Chris Barkensjö (ex-KAAMOS, GRAVE) on drums, and the band's latest addition, Rob Hakemo (ex-M.A.N.) on bass.

"Coup De Grâce" track listing:

01. Death March
02. I Welcome Death
03. Smallest Creep
04. Violator
05. Felony
06. Death Blow
07. Resolution
08. World Order
09. Enslavement
10. Art Of Murder
11. For The Venom
12. The Drowning
13. As It All Came Down

Asked how THE RESISTANCE compares to IN FLAMES, Jesper told Highware Daze: "Well, I would have to say, if I have to compare, THE RESISTANCE is a totally different band. The only common thing is that me and Glenn used to play in IN FLAMES. So, I guess, musically, it's much more simple. It's heavy and aggressive and it comes from another school, I would say. I wanted to do something that all of us wanted to do, like keep it simple [and have a] little bit more of death metal style. Also, we have some melodies, but they are very, very restricted, so to speak. So I would say for fans of IN FLAMES, do not expect to hear what they think they would. If you would call IN FLAMES the Ambassadors of Gothenburg sound, I would say that THE RESISTANCE — we're talking to a step back and have done something of a marriage between the Stockholm and Gothenburg sound."

Regarding how Ljungström became involved with THE RESISTANCE, Jesper said: "It started with me and Marco talking about starting something up again. We didn't want to do the dog years again; we just wanted to do the good stuff and have fun again. And we were talking about who should be the second guitar player, and I was, like, 'Well, I should call Glenn,' because I hadn't talked to him in ten years. We kind of drifted apart because of various reasons. He moved out of town. He got a family and has a quite demanding job. So I just called him up and asked, 'Do you want to dust off your old guitar and decide to jam with me again? And we'll see what comes up.' And he was, like, 'Hell yeah! I've been waiting for this call for years!' He was all excited. So we met up, we had a great time; it was like two weeks had gone by. He's the same jerk that he's always been and I love him to death. He just picked up the guitar and said, 'Well, I've had some ideas through the years.' 'Okay let's hear them.' And he started playing and my jaw was dropped! He hadn't touched the guitar for in ten years, and he's still one of the most amazing rhythm players there is. It's quite cool to have him back. For that reason, if you connect, you would see that actually the founders of IN FLAMES is now in this band together — in a whole different style."

THE RESISTANCE released its debut EP, "Rise From Treason", in North America on January 29, 2013 via earMUSIC. Another EP, "Torture Tactics", followed in February 2015.

THE RESISTANCE made its live debut on October 8, 2011 at Club Distortion in Stockholm, Sweden.

Strömblad quit IN FLAMES in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.