Metaphor
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Nu-metal was pretty big by 2002 - metalcore not so much yet, it was just getting started. A lot of people have called Reroute nu-metal but that's bullshit. Say what you want about the album, but it isn't a fucking nu-metal record. You could argue that in some ways In Flames were on the crest of the metalcore wave in the same way they were the original MDM wave. I don't think they pioneered metalcore in the same way they did MDM, but they got in there early and Reroute was a step in that direction (with STYE and CC taking larger steps towards that type of sound, which by 2006 was pretty big).
It's interesting because according to the band themselves, they were very much divided during the Come Clarity sessions - to the point where guitars, drums and vocals (not sure about bass) were all recorded totally separately with no collaboration in terms of the direction of the album. Bjorn and Jesper pretty much gave the song structures along with the guitar parts to the rest and said work with this. With that in mind the album should have been disjointed, but you would never have known about the dissension in the band from listening to the album, which is very cohesive.
Meanwhile, ASOP was the opposite. The band were all back on the same page, recorded everything together and collaborated. It should have resulted in a stronger effort, but was instead weaker than the previous album. On that basis alone you could make an argument that the band were better served with Jesper and Bjorn leading the way and everybody else taking a back seat. Compromise across the band produced a record that was weak and unsatisfying, whereas division gave us what is generally regarded as the strongest album since Clayman.
But that was the same for the previous albums. They doing their thing and Anders on his own. And, if you think about the asop documentary, it was almost the same. You never see Bjorn and Jesper working with Anders. They were working together and Anders is on his own with the vocal producer.
I'm only going off what the band have revealed in previous interviews. Up until Come Clarity they had always been recording together in studio, irrespective of how intertwined they were as a collaborative unit. Come Clarity was the only time they literally recorded everything separately. They've said ASOP was the first time they'd properly collaborated as a band, and you can only take their word for it as we weren't there.
They recorded STYE in a cabin together in Denmark. Anders may not have had much say in the composition, but he was still physically there with the rest of the band (not sure about Daniel, as drums were recorded elsewhere, but I assume he was physically there if the rest of the band were). Come Clarity was the only album where they were physically separated from each other entirely. Maybe it makes a difference, maybe not, but the band's division was at its peak during Come Clarity, to the point where they wouldn't even share the same studio space to record.
That may well have been the case. The quote wasn't detailed enough to know exactly what he meant, so we can't make any assumptions beyond he was surprised at some point during the process. Either way he presumably didn't have much influence over the end result, as the guitar melodies are few and far between on STYE. It contradicts the narrative of Anders being the dictator who forced the band to move away from the MDM sound, which remains the common consensus for many. If we are to believe Anders' quotes in various interviews, whilst he had a little say at changing minor things, it was mainly around suiting his vocal melodies rather than the general composition and instrumental vibe of an album. So, the blame should be equally apportioned to Bjorn and Jesper, if we're talking about the simplification of the band's music post-2000.
We also have to consider Jesper's comments about the band moving in a direction he wasn't comfortable with for many years as the main reason why he left. Bjorn isn't a strong-willed personality so it wouldn't have been him imposing anything. If not him, then who, if Bjorn and Jesper were the creative masterminds and only ever gave Anders the end product to put vocals on? Something doesn't quite add up, so it's a question of who you believe.
They were so sickened by the vocals in Reroute that they were like.. let's make something with no melody at all, that way he can't possibly layer his shitty singing vocals on top of it! What are you gonna do now, bitch?!
I think that Jesper's words were meant for the future of the band, not the present at the time. He always defends asop as a great album.
And yeah. It makes no sense to blame Anders during that period. He had no saying in the music as the rest of the band had no saying in the vocals and titles.
Maybe people is confused by the fact that they hired a producer because they wanted to improve Anders vocals, but that did, mainly, affect said vocals and the final (and failed) mixing of r2r.
Then, Jesper has always defended nu metal bands. Far from the idealized picture that some people has made of him being only an extreme metal musician.
And yeah. It makes no sense to blame Anders during that period. He had no saying in the music as the rest of the band had no saying in the vocals and titles.
Maybe people is confused by the fact that they hired a producer because they wanted to improve Anders vocals, but that did, mainly, affect said vocals and the final (and failed) mixing of r2r.
Then, Jesper has always defended nu metal bands. Far from the idealized picture that some people has made of him being only an extreme metal musician.
Somebody definitely spiked Anders' drink before the recording of My Sweet Shadow. That part before the chorus where he's like "ahhhyhyy lagh ahahlhaf abbasdlfhl aohwerohlhfasl" he's totally hammered. I've been there many times.
Yeah, Jesper's tastes are far more diversified than many people believe. Dude has written pop songs as well as metal of various genres. By all accounts he was as ready as Anders and Bjorn to leave the MDM sound behind and move into alt metal instead. Still with MDM influence here and there, but with much less effort. I do think he preferred playing the older songs live, though, but that's just a hunch on my part from watching the live videos.
In the interview I read he claimed ASOP was the point where the band was divided between going in a radio-friendly direction or staying MDM, but, really? Reroute and STYE had already started going in that direction, and Come Clarity had the band's most popular/radio friendly songs in their catalogue to that point with Take This Life and the title track, so I'm not sure I buy that ASOP was the tipping point. Maybe Anders presented an early draft of Siren Charms or something and it enraged Jesper enough to quit. Who knows.
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