IN FLAMES Frontman Discusses Departure Of Guitarist JESPER STRMBLAD

May 25, 2011

Karen Bliss of AOL's Noisecreep recently conducted an interview with vocalist Anders Fridn of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Noisecreep: How difficult was recording this album, given that Jesper [Strmblad, former guitarist] was not in the band?

Anders: We've been without him for almost two years prior to the actual album recording. It wasn't so much on the musical side; it was more on the friendship side. We've known each other for so long and we've seen him struggle with his [alcohol] addiction, and whatever problems come along with the addiction, for quite some time. But the recording was pretty much as always, or even better. Like, the whole vibe was very good within the band.

Noisecreep: In the studio, did recording go smoother since you didn't have to worry about an alcoholic friend?

Anders: Yeah, in a way. I mean, we all miss him as the person, Jesper. It looks more different and looks like a struggle from the outside, when people look into the band, but we've been living with this for such a long time and we've been struggling with this issue for more years than you can imagine, and we just tried to keep it hidden from the public. I don't want to take away anything from Jesper because it's been really significant for our sound, but he has not been the one holding everyone together. And the band is way bigger than us me, Bjrn, Peter, or Daniel. I think IN FLAMES is way bigger than the individual and if we can't trust each other that we will appear on upcoming tours and so on, then that makes it harder for everyone else.

Noisecreep: Is the door open if [Jesper] wants to come back?

Anders: Never say never, but we are very happy with the situation we are in. Now we can work as a band. But who knows? Obviously a lot of changes need to come from him. As I said, we're good friends. We're not enemies or anything. It's just a long relationship that's been burning out.

Read the entire interview from Noisecreep.

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