New album Foregone out February 2023

[eochaid]

I think that blabbermouth commits a terrible mistake by putting the focus on Jesper's problem with alcohol.

It seems to me clear that his alcoholism is caused by his mental issues, not the other way around.

IF. From the moment that changed the info for the band in every social media and their website, it's clear that Niclas is not a part of it anymore. I'm not sure why people is still considering that.

 

[Cobra8472]

The simplest answer imo is that he's simply signed an NDA and the band are the ones that have to announce his departure; and thus he's unable to confirm it independently.

Departure in this context is probably a wide gamut; stretching from simply not being invited to play with them to termination of any agreement(s). I wouldn't be surprised if he's under agreement with IF for live shows, where remuneration and terms for such services are defined for another X years and neither party is incentivized to terminate this.

 

[DE4life]

The thing is, if they're on good enough terms to allow Niclas to not fulfil contractual agreements and go and form a completely new band which he does play and tour with, then surely they'd just agree to terminate whatever remains of his deal and they'd go their own separate ways? Otherwise there would be a legal dispute going on which would likely preclude Niclas from being able to form and play in a new band until it was resolved. It's been nearly 3 years now, so there's no reason to think if he had signed an NDA and it was up to the band to announce it that they'd wait this long, especially when Broderick has been committed to IF for some time now and is even listed as an official member of the band on socials.

There's something unusual beneath the surface, which I think stems from Niclas being creatively unfulfilled in In Flames and forming The Halo Effect. As these guys are all friends it muddies the water a bit in terms of lashing out legally, but from Anders' comments on THE in that recent interview it seems like that friendship has at the very least been strained by what has happened there.

 

[DE4life]

In terms of incentives for both parties, the only agreement of sorts I can think of is that Niclas basically said to Anders & Bjorn "I need more creative involvement, if you guys don't want me to have that level of involvement then fine, but let me go and do my own thing for a while", with Anders & Bjorn saying "OK, we'll find somebody else to replace you, but if it ever turns out we need you again we expect you to come back and work with us".

It would be a strange arrangement but I can't think of much else that would make sense.

 

[galvanized]

In terms of incentives for both parties, the only agreement of sorts I can think of is that Niclas basically said to Anders & Bjorn "I need more creative involvement, if you guys don't want me to have that level of involvement then fine, but let me go and do my own thing for a while", with Anders & Bjorn saying "OK, we'll find somebody else to replace you, but if it ever turns out we need you again we expect you to come back and work with us".

It would be a strange arrangement but I can't think of much else that would make sense.

The thing is, why do they even need Niclas? I mean, the guy is reliable, but they never utilized him to his capacity, and there should be at least 10 other guitarists at any given time that could fill his role in IF. I was going to say 100-1000 but let’s say they are picky. How butthurt can Anders be? Niclas literally never did anything in IF except play on stage when the other guys were in the mental hospital. He is leaving zero legacy. I say that with total respect for him. But IF gave him no opportunities to leave one.

 

[DE4life]

The thing is, why do they even need Niclas? I mean, the guy is reliable, but they never utilized him to his capacity, and there should be at least 10 other guitarists at any given time that could fill his role in IF. I was going to say 100-1000 but let’s say they are picky. How butthurt can Anders be? Niclas literally never did anything in IF except play on stage when the other guys were in the mental hospital. He is leaving zero legacy. I say that with total respect for him. But IF gave him no opportunities to leave one.

I mean, I agree, but it's the only plausible explanation I can think of if it isn't some kind of weird legal thing. If Broderick suddenly dropped out, got ill or something, then Niclas would be obliged to step in for live dates. Not sure how that'd work if he was already on tour with THE. In fact I'm pretty sure it couldn't work, so it seems really unlikely as a short-term thing, and as a long-term thing, as you say, there are plenty of guitarists that would be willing and capable to step in.

No scenario makes total sense, but it has to be something along these lines.

 

[galvanized]

It is also weird for IF to be so worried about Broderick quitting and leaving them in a bad spot. Why not involve Broderick in the creative process so he doesn’t quit? Why not use his skills to revive the band instead of being a band literally in a state of slow decay. Basic employee retention philosophy. Give your members ownership, responsibility, and thrive. If he quits there would be 10 others at the gate ready to go.

 

[DE4life]

We know Niclas is an extremely creative guy, and I don't think it's a stretch to say it's highly likely he moved on from IF because they were barely letting him do anything. We also know Broderick had been frustrated with lack of creative input in previous bands too, so how long is he going to put up with being given scraps by Anders and Bjorn before he says fuck this and leaves? It's not like he's working under two creative geniuses here. Their speciality is basic three to four minute songs revolving around the chorus, that Bjorn openly admits "anyone could play". Feels like they'll eventually end up with some no-name guitarist as they did for bass and drums, happy just to be in a somewhat famous band whilst playing "da hits" every tour and contributing absolutely nothing beyond being there and being competent.

 

[galvanized]

Feels like they'll eventually end up with some no-name guitarist as they did for bass and drums

Wrong.

It won’t be a no-name guitarist.

It’ll be a two-first-name guitarist from California or Florida.

 

[Pallbearer]

The thing is, why do they even need Niclas? I mean, the guy is reliable, but they never utilized him to his capacity, and there should be at least 10 other guitarists at any given time that could fill his role in IF. I was going to say 100-1000 but let’s say they are picky. How butthurt can Anders be? Niclas literally never did anything in IF except play on stage when the other guys were in the mental hospital. He is leaving zero legacy. I say that with total respect for him. But IF gave him no opportunities to leave one.

They do seem to be picky. At least as far as guitarists go. In 2012 one of them (I think Peter, but not sure) commented that had Niclas refused the gig they would've quite possibly just decided to disband instead of starting auditioning replacements for Jesper from "the outside".

Not sure if I should fully believe that though. They all probably are the main bread earners in their families, and on top of that both of the current main men have made it clear they don't exactly miss working normal day jobs.

 

[Cobra8472]

I mean, I agree, but it's the only plausible explanation I can think of if it isn't some kind of weird legal thing. If Broderick suddenly dropped out, got ill or something, then Niclas would be obliged to step in for live dates. Not sure how that'd work if he was already on tour with THE. In fact I'm pretty sure it couldn't work, so it seems really unlikely as a short-term thing, and as a long-term thing, as you say, there are plenty of guitarists that would be willing and capable to step in.

No scenario makes total sense, but it has to be something along these lines.

This is what I meant above. I reckon Niclas has an active agreement with the band where he is, on paper, a performing member when the rest of the band request it. Previously they requested it for every show. Now they don't, because insert reason here. This puts him in limbo; but any NDA's and public statement clauses would still be in effect.

This is speculation obviously, but it's the simplest business/legal angle I can think of.

 

[eochaid]

There's the chance, that no one has mentioned, that they simply have monetary problems regarding Niclas' expulsion from the band.

Let's say that they don't agree on the money that they should be giving him. It's not the same situation if he left the band as if he got expelled and the compensation might vary by a lot. Now, if this is a change and they're solving this via court, that would be a reason to not talk about it.

 

[DE4life]

This is what I meant above. I reckon Niclas has an active agreement with the band where he is, on paper, a performing member when the rest of the band request it. Previously they requested it for every show. Now they don't, because insert reason here. This puts him in limbo; but any NDA's and public statement clauses would still be in effect.

This is speculation obviously, but it's the simplest business/legal angle I can think of.

Outside of any crazy conspiracy theories, I think this is the most likely scenario. Still strange, but makes the most sense based on everything we know. Niclas obviously has a strong connection to IF - not in terms of songwriting or contributions in that sense, but he's been friends with Anders and Bjorn for a long time and played as part of IF in both the late 90s and for nearly a decade between 2011 - 2019. Perhaps he has a sense of loyalty there where, even though he needs to pursue something as an outlet for his creativity, he doesn't want to completely sever his connection to IF either.

I guess we'll see if eventually it's decided that it's best for all parties if Niclas officially moves on, but I can understand if he, Anders and Bjorn want to keep that connection solid even if Niclas is away for a while.

There's the chance, that no one has mentioned, that they simply have monetary problems regarding Niclas' expulsion from the band.

Let's say that they don't agree on the money that they should be giving him. It's not the same situation if he left the band as if he got expelled and the compensation might vary by a lot. Now, if this is a change and they're solving this via court, that would be a reason to not talk about it.

It's possible, but it would be pretty sad if that was the case. You'd think that anything compensation related would have been written into Niclas' contract, but it's also possible that Anders and Bjorn don't actually have anything to do with it. It might be a dispute between Niclas and IF management/record label. With that said, both IF and THE are on Nuclear Blast, so I highly doubt it's a record label issue.

 

[Cobra8472]

Outside of any crazy conspiracy theories, I think this is the most likely scenario. Still strange, but makes the most sense based on everything we know. Niclas obviously has a strong connection to IF - not in terms of songwriting or contributions in that sense, but he's been friends with Anders and Bjorn for a long time and played as part of IF in both the late 90s and for nearly a decade between 2011 - 2019. Perhaps he has a sense of loyalty there where, even though he needs to pursue something as an outlet for his creativity, he doesn't want to completely sever his connection to IF either.

I guess we'll see if eventually it's decided that it's best for all parties if Niclas officially moves on, but I can understand if he, Anders and Bjorn want to keep that connection solid even if Niclas is away for a while.



It's possible, but it would be pretty sad if that was the case. You'd think that anything compensation related would have been written into Niclas' contract, but it's also possible that Anders and Bjorn don't actually have anything to do with it. It might be a dispute between Niclas and IF management/record label. With that said, both IF and THE are on Nuclear Blast, so I highly doubt it's a record label issue.

I personally doubt he's sticking around due to a sense of loyalty. Rather, I'd expect the termination clause(s) to be in some way negative for Niclas, thus he hasn't initiated it. In Flames is incentivized to keep him on retainer (in case they need him) and additionally avoid negative PR of another departure for as long as possible. I don't think such a scenario is very strange, it makes a lot of sense from a business perspective- and bands as big as In Flames are basically businesses.

He's benched, but not cut, basically.

 

[Pallbearer]

I think that blabbermouth commits a terrible mistake by putting the focus on Jesper's problem with alcohol.

It seems to me clear that his alcoholism is caused by his mental issues, not the other way around.

Yes. He said the same himself.

Some time after things had gone south for him with The Resistance he posted a statement where he apologized for letting people down and said he has suffered from depression/anxiety problems for over 20 years, and that all too often the solution has been to "take the easy way out", i.e. alcohol.

 

[The Grayfox]

Is it Tanner or Bryce that's the conspiracy theorist Trumper?

 

[ThePhobiac]

Bryce, though I don't think he's a Trumper, just anti-vax.

 

[DE4life]

I remember seeing Bryce's socials a while ago and they were embarrassing. Maybe he's grown up a bit since then but I doubt it.

 

[eochaid]

Doesn't Anders, in the interview, mention the vaccines or the full pandemic?

 

[DE4life]

He doesn't really say anything about the vaccines, just that the pandemic was depressing and he only saw Bjorn twice or something during that time.