IN FLAMES: New Album Artwork, Track Listing Revealed

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES will release their tenth album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", 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 exclusive interview with the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, IN FLAMES vocalist Anders Fridén, 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."

"Sounds Of A Playground Fading" is the first IN FLAMES album to be recorded without founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad, who quit the band in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.

"It's a really sad situation," Anders said. "We're talking about a friend whom we've known for a really long time. It's like a relationship that has burnt out. It just didn't work out anymore. He's a really great guy in many ways, but it's important that everybody can get along. If they don't, it affects a lot of people."

He continued, "We've lived with this for many years, and it's really sad that things are the way they are. I wish they weren't."

Fridén 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 will release the "Deliver Us" digital single 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

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.

"Sounds Of A Playground Fading" album cover:

"Deliver Us" single cover: