IN FLAMES Guitarist Slams BLABBERMOUTH.NET S**t-Talkers

Paolo Bianco of Italy's Metal Shock magazine recently conducted an interview with IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte at the band's own IF Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden. In addition to discussing the group's new album, "A Sense of Purpose", Björn spoke about IN FLAMES' newly revamped fan club "The Colony", which is being described as a community for metalheads to chat and meet as opposed to the "time-wasters" who post comments on BLABBERMOUTH.NET, leaving only negative feedback.

Said Gelotte: "I hate all these… when you read on Blabbermouth, for instance. Like somebody writes, let's say, this and this band is going on tour and they're bringing these bands. I would be [like], 'Yeah, this is great! One of my favorite bands and they're bringing three bands I haven't heard. But I heard they're good.' I would write that. But the first thing you read in the comments is, like, 'Oh, fuck them. I don't like that band. And that band sucks even worse. I would never pay… blah blah blah.' Where do you find the energy to be so negative? It's, like, stupid. So we wanted to do something for people that are positive and like what's going on and what's surrounding us. And especially, it's a great way for us to interact with these people and, hopefully, to meet most of these people as well. I mean, if you're a member there, you can always go into the different competitions, you can win stuff, or you can just apply for meet-and-greets — stuff that's only for these people — and I think that's way more interesting. And talk to these people directly in the forums or on their own messenger, or whatever. It's way more fun. And everybody feels connected and comes a little bit closer to each other. I like that."

A couple of audio excerpts from the interview (plus an exclusive photo of the band playing videogames in the studio) is available at the Italian news blog Musica Metal. (Note: The audio of Björn Gelotte talking about BLABBERMOUTH.NET can be heard in clip labeled "Part 2".)