New album Foregone out February 2023
- Thread starter TheJestersDoor
- Start date
Yeah. I don't know why people tends to think that leaving a band means that they have to be in bad terms. There are lots of reasons to leave bands, including the continuous cycle of releasing a new album and touring. I can understand why some musicians grow tired of it.
- Jul 25, 2016
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Especially when they start having kids, I think that was a lot of it for Daniel and Peter, combined with general burnout and the desire to pursue other ventures.
Yes. Having kids and not seeing them grow up... That's a good motivation.
Now, with a band like THE they can go on tour as if they go on vacation. It's not a project that is going to take them away from their homes for a long time.
Now, with a band like THE they can go on tour as if they go on vacation. It's not a project that is going to take them away from their homes for a long time.
It was on some facebook video session Peter did around the time Cyhra was being formed... can't remember exactly what he said but it may have been creative differences. I can remember somebody, it may have been Peter, telling a story about how Anders had made a huge change to a song during the Siren Charms sessions and he and Bjorn only learned about it when they put a demo CD on in their car or something.
Peter also said for Battles he basically came into the studio knowing nothing about the songs and had to improvise the bass on almost everything.
I think it's changed at various points since Jesper left. SOAPF was mainly a Bjorn album. Siren Charms was mainly an Anders album. Battles was a Howard Benson album. I, the Mask... maybe a combo of Anders/Bjorn/Benson? I dunno. For sure the band vision post-SOAPF seems to have been driven by Anders and later Anders/Benson.
Ilias7
Member
- Aug 24, 2016
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I remember an interview during the SOAPF or SC period, where both Anders and Bjorn said that there are no compromises in songwriting since Jesper left. They both have to agree that they like an idea or it won't make the cut. When they were three songwriters, one of them had to compromise occasionally.
So, I don't think that Bjorn is so innocent regarding the direction of the band after ASOP. Maybe he doesn't have such a strong power of will as Anders or he doesn't care that much to argue.
So, I don't think that Bjorn is so innocent regarding the direction of the band after ASOP. Maybe he doesn't have such a strong power of will as Anders or he doesn't care that much to argue.
What they meant was that, during those years, Bjorn and Jesper were in charge of the music without asking Anders and Anders was in charge of the vocals without asking them.
About reaching agreements, I guess that's easy when the weak part (Bjorn) is not going to say shit about any changes made to his parts. And yes, I'm talking about SC and how he knew that his parts had been changed after the first production meetings.
I mean, I'm the guitarist and main songwriter of a band, then go into a meeting to find that the things that I wrote are going to be changed and the less that I do is to leave the room without saying a word and the album is never recorded. But that's me.
About reaching agreements, I guess that's easy when the weak part (Bjorn) is not going to say shit about any changes made to his parts. And yes, I'm talking about SC and how he knew that his parts had been changed after the first production meetings.
I mean, I'm the guitarist and main songwriter of a band, then go into a meeting to find that the things that I wrote are going to be changed and the less that I do is to leave the room without saying a word and the album is never recorded. But that's me.
It's a strange situation for sure. Honestly I think Bjorn just enjoys the general lifestyle, enjoys being a part of the In Flames brand and is completely non-confrontational personality-wise. As long as some of his stuff is on the album he's happy, regardless of what Anders or Benson have done to it. I think this part of an interview around the time of the Siren Charms release says it all:
"S: What inspired ‘Through Oblivion’?
B] “It was actually something that was meant to be between songs, no vocals or distorted guitars. I’ve always had the idea of doing something in between songs, connecting two songs with something in between. But when I presented it, it was a no-go. Anders said ‘we’ll make a song out of this’ so we started working on it and it ended up being something different for us. It moves on and on with nothing sticking out, it’s like a mantra or something. It’s a very different approach to music than we normally have. Usually there’s a lot of melodies and a lot of layers and it’s fairly straight forward. When the chorus kicks in it makes total sense, it was really fun to do. The bridge after the second chorus just makes the song even stronger. It was meant as a solo part, but Anders started singing on top of it and it sounded better. A lot of small things came together to make it the way it sounds today.”
"S: What inspired ‘Through Oblivion’?
B] “It was actually something that was meant to be between songs, no vocals or distorted guitars. I’ve always had the idea of doing something in between songs, connecting two songs with something in between. But when I presented it, it was a no-go. Anders said ‘we’ll make a song out of this’ so we started working on it and it ended up being something different for us. It moves on and on with nothing sticking out, it’s like a mantra or something. It’s a very different approach to music than we normally have. Usually there’s a lot of melodies and a lot of layers and it’s fairly straight forward. When the chorus kicks in it makes total sense, it was really fun to do. The bridge after the second chorus just makes the song even stronger. It was meant as a solo part, but Anders started singing on top of it and it sounded better. A lot of small things came together to make it the way it sounds today.”
- Jul 25, 2016
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After meeting Bjorn at a meet and greet, I got the impression that he was just a very laid back dude, incredibly chilled and very personable.
To be fair while the idea of through oblivion as an interlude is a really cool one, I do like that song, and I actually agree that Ander's vocals over the "solo" improve it as it's more of a repeating melody than a solo, and Anders actually (say it quietly) put an interesting layer on top.
It's not that Anders' ideas were necessarily bad, but we've heard this before. Metaphor was supposed to be an instrumental as well. Again, you could say adding vocals made it better, but it seems like Bjorn is happy to just go with what Anders says rather than fight his corner. We never got that musical interlude at any point on Siren Charms, after all. Similarly that story about Bjorn and Peter hearing a big change in music only after Anders and the SC producer had done some work and not even told them about it... something about that seems off.
I mean, maybe Bjorn is genuinely fine with all of that and that's why the dynamic between he and Anders works. Jesper and Anders' fractured relationship was likely partially due to Jesper not being willing to cede to Anders' demands in the same way. Peter's departure seemed partially motivated by the same issue, although to my knowledge he never actually wrote anything in terms of songs.
- Jul 25, 2016
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Everything's Gone was another one, Bjorn wrote it as a heavy song, imagining screams over it, then Anders came out with the weird talking stuff
Yeah, that's right. I suppose it's possible there are occasions when Bjorn overrules Anders on things... but I've never heard that in an interview. It's pretty much always the other way around. Could just be because Anders hasn't talked about it in the same way Bjorn has though. I can't really judge these guys or their dynamic because I'm not there - I've only heard fragments from interviews. It paints a picture but it might not be the entire picture. Either way the dynamic clearly works for Anders and Bjorn and I guess that's all that matters. If Bjorn was unhappy he could have done what Peter or Daniel did and leave. I do think he's happy enough with how things are, and I won't judge him or Anders on that. Only the music that comes out of it
Oh yeah “In Flames talking”. Nothing wrong with that, goes back to Whoracle days or before. The music itself is bland and lame. If anything the talking makes it better.
What the overall picture seems to say is that Bjorn is not a leader but a follower. He might have some... Sometimes he might want to take a bigger role but, in the end, he doesn't seem to be able to make real decisions but to adapt to other people's opinions.
Which is weird considering that the last great effort, CC, was about Bjorn and Jesper taking all the musical decisions themselves.
Which is weird considering that the last great effort, CC, was about Bjorn and Jesper taking all the musical decisions themselves.
Pallbearer
Passive Member
Broderick said he contributed to the new album. And described the album as "pretty damn heavy". I've got to say this renewed my interest in In Flames somewhat, even though I'm mainly following the band for the same reasons as DE stated he is ("morbid curiosity and loyalty")
A lot of things could be blamed for IF's "downfall". Anders starting to sometimes push the envelope a bit too much? Björn becoming lazy and more interested in the touring life than in the actual creative process? Jesper becoming an unreliable alcoholic? All of them wanting to make more money to provide for their families? Howard Benson not being the right producer? All these things probably, but what I've also been thinking for a long time is that In Flames could use more composing power. On what I consider to be the band's best work (TJR, Whoracle, Colony, Clayman, Reroute and Come Clarity) there usually were more than one composers per track. From Clayman on they dropped the song-by-song credits, but in a CC era interview Björn stated it's rare for him or Jesper to compose an entire track on their own. So even the one who's been credited for composing In Flames songs alone on the six albums I listed before, Jesper, preferred to write with someone else. Therefore I think Björn trying to write all the music himself isn't the ideal position, necessarily. (I know that wasn't the case on Battles, but Benson and his friends probably weren't the best possible choices for helping out.) Hopefully Broderick has been able to make positive impact with his contributions.
Just ask Jester Slave. He's always happy and willing to discuss the issue.
A lot of things could be blamed for IF's "downfall". Anders starting to sometimes push the envelope a bit too much? Björn becoming lazy and more interested in the touring life than in the actual creative process? Jesper becoming an unreliable alcoholic? All of them wanting to make more money to provide for their families? Howard Benson not being the right producer? All these things probably, but what I've also been thinking for a long time is that In Flames could use more composing power. On what I consider to be the band's best work (TJR, Whoracle, Colony, Clayman, Reroute and Come Clarity) there usually were more than one composers per track. From Clayman on they dropped the song-by-song credits, but in a CC era interview Björn stated it's rare for him or Jesper to compose an entire track on their own. So even the one who's been credited for composing In Flames songs alone on the six albums I listed before, Jesper, preferred to write with someone else. Therefore I think Björn trying to write all the music himself isn't the ideal position, necessarily. (I know that wasn't the case on Battles, but Benson and his friends probably weren't the best possible choices for helping out.) Hopefully Broderick has been able to make positive impact with his contributions.
Just ask Jester Slave. He's always happy and willing to discuss the issue.
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