IN FLAMES Guitarist Says Band Decided To 'Give Vocals A Little Bit More Space' On New Album

A brand new song from Swedish metallers IN FLAMES was premiered during this past weekend's (May 6-8) edition of Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. The band's guitarist, Bjrn Gelotte, was also interviewed on the program. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

When asked whether the departure of founding guitarist Jesper Strmblad (who quit the band in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction) affected the direction of IN FLAMES' new material, Gelotte replied, "I wouldn't say that [it changed] the direction at all, actually. We sort of formed and shaped and pulled this band into what it is right now and we're still pulling in the same direction. But it did a lot with the chemistry within the band and also a little bit about how we approached the writing of [the new IN FLAMES] album ['Sounds Of A Playground Fading']. I did all the music, but I had a lot of help from my friends; it was more of a collaboration with the other guys, especially when it comes to arrangements. But also, really early, we decided to give vocals a little bit more space [this time around], because that's something that we always [waited until] the last week of the recording as well now we've got a week to do the vocals and that's not really fair. That was an interesting new way of writing the music, keeping vocals in the focus than we had in the past. The dynamics right now are slightly different. I had Jesper with me all the time, or Jesper had me with him all the time, so it was really easy to finish songs really quickly, and this time I had to work a little bit harder for it, but it feels really good having done it."

Regarding IN FLAMES' new single, "Deliver Us", Gelotte said, "It's not a very fast song, but it's very melodic and it's got a really powerful chorus. And as a guitar player, I am kind of proud to say I love the solo on this one. It was not very hard [to play], but it's a nice thing. It's a I don't know what you would call it icing on the cake."

Interview (audio):

To see a full list of stations carrying Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show and when it airs, go to FullMetalJackieRadio.com

A 30-second audio sample of "Deliver Us" can be streamed at Amazon.com.

The "Deliver Us" digital single will be released via Century Media Records on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand: Friday, May 6
UK: Sunday, May 8
North America, Spain, Italy: Tuesday, May 10
Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, May 11
Rest Of Europe: Monday, May 9

"Sounds Of A Playground Fading", the tenth album from IN FLAMES, will be released via Century Media Records on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway: Friday, June 17
Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, June 22
Spain, Italy: Tuesday, June 21
Rest Of Europe: Monday, June 20
North America: Tuesday, June 21
Australia, New Zealand: Friday, June 24

13 songs were laid down for the CD, which was recorded at the band's IF Studios in Gothenburg with engineer Roberto Laghi (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK, SONIC SYNDICATE).

"Sounds Of A Playground Fading" track listing:

01. Sounds Of A Playground Fading
02. Deliver Us
03. All For Me
04. The Puzzle
05. Fear Is The Weakness
06. Where The Dead Ships Dwell
07. The Attic
08. Darker Times
09. Ropes
10. Enter Tragedy
11. Jester's Door
12. A New Dawn
13. Liberation

The cover artwork was created by Dave Correia and can be viewed below.

In an interview with the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, IN FLAMES vocalist Anders Fridn, 38, revealed that "Sounds Of A Playground Fading" will almost certainly challenge the band's fans' musical expectations.

"We have some songs that pretty much go against the hard rock formula," he said. "There's a song called 'The Attic' where we have an accordion playing the chorus instead of me singing it. Another song begins with a spoken-word part that evolves into a kind of hard DEPECHE MODE-type thing. We also have some really fast, typical IN FLAMES tunes.

He added, "We've never denied where we come from, but at the same time we like to challenge our listeners."

Fridn also talked about the often dark lyrical content on "Sounds Of A Playground Fading".

"Some people I know have passed away, and then you have kids being born," he explained. "I've got two kids myself and, of course, it has affected the songwriting. Suddenly you're not alone anymore."

IN FLAMES recently recruited Niclas Engelin from fellow Swedes ENGEL as the band's new second guitarist.

IN FLAMES's last album, "A Sense of Purpose" (2008),shifted 20,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release. This was slightly less than the opening tally of "Come Clarity" (Ferret),which sold just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to debut at position No. 58.