IN FLAMES Bassist PETER IWERS: 'We Don't Go Into The Studio With Finished Songs'

Metalpaths.com recently conducted an interview with bassist Peter Iwers of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked what the main differences are between IN FLAMES' new album, "Siren Charms", and 2011's "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", Iwers said: I think, obviously, this is a little darker record, this is more experimental. But at the same time, it's not like we go into the studio and say, 'Let's do this differently, let's try that. Let's change this way.' For us, it's always been a matter of evolving between each record and trying to do something that we haven't done before. And I guess, you know, being down in Hansa studio [in Berlin, Germany], being influenced by just being there in this legendary studio, affected a lot of the outcome of the songs as well, even though a lot of it was written before. I guess the biggest difference is that Anders [Fridén] does a lot more clean vocals on this one than what he's done before. Because, if you break it down, you do have the aggression, you have all the melodies and the hooks and the choruses and all that stuff, but this is the record where he sings clean more than ever before. Mainly due to the fact that he's getting better at it, I'm sure."

Iwers also spoke about the IN FLAMES songwriting process, telling Metalpaths.com: "I think it's a little bit mix of everything. There is a vision, obviously. I mean, Björn [Gelotte] writes all the riffs, and we put it together as a band. Anders writes all his lyrics and he actually records… I mean, on this one, he was on a whole different level in the studio, so as soon as he was done, he kind of came up [and said], 'Oh, this is what I did. Do you like this?' And I think he had a vision, we all had a vision, but I don't think it was really outspoken. I don't think that anybody actually had a vision that we knew about ourselves. It was kind of subconsciously [there], is what I would say. But, at the same time, the whole project, the whole experiment of going into the studio with... You have a bunch of riffs, a bunch of ideas and you have some songs more or less done, and that's the whole experiment, that's the beauty of being in the studio — not really knowing exactly what you're gonna come out with, other than that you will be pleased, obviously. But we keep working and recording until we think that we have created a killer album. So we don't go into the studio with 11 finished songs. It's writing itself at the same time as we're recording it, kind of."

"Siren Charms" sold around 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 26 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, 2011's "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", opened with around 14,000 units to land at No. 27.

IN FLAMES' 2008 effort, "A Sense of Purpose" registered a first-week tally of 20,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 28. This was slightly less than the premiere-week performance of "Come Clarity" (Ferret),which shifted just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to debut at No. 58.

"Siren Charms" was released in the U.S. on September 9 via Sony/RED. The CD was recorded at Hansa Tonstudios (DAVID BOWIE, DEPECHE MODE, U2) in Berlin, Germany. The cover artwork was created by Blake Armstrong of Space Boy Comics.

Interview (audio):