What was your experience with him?I’ve always thought Anders was kind of an asshole. He comes across as a douche bag in a lot of interviews and just really pompous. It’s not difficult to see how people in the same band as him might have problems with him.
Granted, I’m biased because he actually was an asshole to me
New album Foregone out February 2023
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The Grayfox
Nija
I love regaling people with this story.
I also wish I saved the post. I should've screenshotted it back then. It was in 2011 on the Jesterhead forums. If you don't know, Jesterhead was In Flames' official fan club and the members would actually take part in discussion on the forums (from time to time). Jesper had just left the band. Now I'll preface this by saying that there were only really a handful of us old school guys around those parts. Most of the members were fairly new fans and among them were the fanboyest of the fanboys. Any time Anders would post, it was like a fucking train of fanboys came through immediately just blindly agreeing with whatever he said. Anyway... obviously a thread was created to discuss Jeppe's departure from the band. I think most people were sad, myself included. But since everyone was weighing in on it, I said that him leaving was a serious blow being that it was, you know, his band and all. He was the last original member and I felt that what he brought to the In Flames table would be sorely missed and that their sound moving forward would be affected by it.
Anders did not like it. He basically wrote out a paragraph lashing into me telling me that my opinion didn't mean anything and that In Flames was not one individual, but a collective with equal say in the band (which I doubted then and doubt even more so now). He ended his tirade with "how's that for your two cents?" I was then DMed by two moderators (one of which was ArchY, if you remember him) and the guy who ran the fanclub telling me Anders didn't appreciate my post and that I was on "thin ice." I was basically told that unless my opinion was in line with the management of the fan club and the band themselves, that it wasn't welcome. If you didn't kiss their asses you were essentially blackballed. I saw at least one person get banned and their membership "revoked" because their opinions were not the same as most. Mind you, you have to understand that it was ass kissing to the highest degree there. If you weren't just swallowing everything the band fed you and saying how great it tasted, you were told that you were on "thin ice."
It was a fan club where not all were welcome, clearly. I believe the bans are what led to Plintus and some others creating JesterAss which didn't last very long unfortunately.
I also met Anders once (before this all went down) and he was just kind of cold to people. Peter, Bjorn and Daniel were all amazing human beings and took lots of time to talk to fans. Peter especially was just a sweetheart of a person. So between those two situations, I'm just not a big fan of his.
I also wish I saved the post. I should've screenshotted it back then. It was in 2011 on the Jesterhead forums. If you don't know, Jesterhead was In Flames' official fan club and the members would actually take part in discussion on the forums (from time to time). Jesper had just left the band. Now I'll preface this by saying that there were only really a handful of us old school guys around those parts. Most of the members were fairly new fans and among them were the fanboyest of the fanboys. Any time Anders would post, it was like a fucking train of fanboys came through immediately just blindly agreeing with whatever he said. Anyway... obviously a thread was created to discuss Jeppe's departure from the band. I think most people were sad, myself included. But since everyone was weighing in on it, I said that him leaving was a serious blow being that it was, you know, his band and all. He was the last original member and I felt that what he brought to the In Flames table would be sorely missed and that their sound moving forward would be affected by it.
Anders did not like it. He basically wrote out a paragraph lashing into me telling me that my opinion didn't mean anything and that In Flames was not one individual, but a collective with equal say in the band (which I doubted then and doubt even more so now). He ended his tirade with "how's that for your two cents?" I was then DMed by two moderators (one of which was ArchY, if you remember him) and the guy who ran the fanclub telling me Anders didn't appreciate my post and that I was on "thin ice." I was basically told that unless my opinion was in line with the management of the fan club and the band themselves, that it wasn't welcome. If you didn't kiss their asses you were essentially blackballed. I saw at least one person get banned and their membership "revoked" because their opinions were not the same as most. Mind you, you have to understand that it was ass kissing to the highest degree there. If you weren't just swallowing everything the band fed you and saying how great it tasted, you were told that you were on "thin ice."
It was a fan club where not all were welcome, clearly. I believe the bans are what led to Plintus and some others creating JesterAss which didn't last very long unfortunately.
I also met Anders once (before this all went down) and he was just kind of cold to people. Peter, Bjorn and Daniel were all amazing human beings and took lots of time to talk to fans. Peter especially was just a sweetheart of a person. So between those two situations, I'm just not a big fan of his.
Stanne is probably the classiest guy in metal. I haven't ever heard or read online a single bad thing about him or any kind of negative experience whatsoever related to the band. In every interview I've seen he does his best to appear in a good mood and is well-spoken.
I've done away with idolizing my favorite musicians long time ago, but Stanne is someone I would genuinely love to have a few beers with and talk about just whatever.
I've done away with idolizing my favorite musicians long time ago, but Stanne is someone I would genuinely love to have a few beers with and talk about just whatever.
Man... If that had happened to me... I would had screenshot the messages, make them public and wait laughing for my ban.
Thanks for sharing. I used to sometimes read the jesterhead forums but never was active.I love regaling people with this story.
I also wish I saved the post. I should've screenshotted it back then. It was in 2011 on the Jesterhead forums. If you don't know, Jesterhead was In Flames' official fan club and the members would actually take part in discussion on the forums (from time to time). Jesper had just left the band. Now I'll preface this by saying that there were only really a handful of us old school guys around those parts. Most of the members were fairly new fans and among them were the fanboyest of the fanboys. Any time Anders would post, it was like a fucking train of fanboys came through immediately just blindly agreeing with whatever he said. Anyway... obviously a thread was created to discuss Jeppe's departure from the band. I think most people were sad, myself included. But since everyone was weighing in on it, I said that him leaving was a serious blow being that it was, you know, his band and all. He was the last original member and I felt that what he brought to the In Flames table would be sorely missed and that their sound moving forward would be affected by it.
Anders did not like it. He basically wrote out a paragraph lashing into me telling me that my opinion didn't mean anything and that In Flames was not one individual, but a collective with equal say in the band (which I doubted then and doubt even more so now). He ended his tirade with "how's that for your two cents?" I was then DMed by two moderators (one of which was ArchY, if you remember him) and the guy who ran the fanclub telling me Anders didn't appreciate my post and that I was on "thin ice." I was basically told that unless my opinion was in line with the management of the fan club and the band themselves, that it wasn't welcome. If you didn't kiss their asses you were essentially blackballed. I saw at least one person get banned and their membership "revoked" because their opinions were not the same as most. Mind you, you have to understand that it was ass kissing to the highest degree there. If you weren't just swallowing everything the band fed you and saying how great it tasted, you were told that you were on "thin ice."
It was a fan club where not all were welcome, clearly. I believe the bans are what led to Plintus and some others creating JesterAss which didn't last very long unfortunately.
I also met Anders once (before this all went down) and he was just kind of cold to people. Peter, Bjorn and Daniel were all amazing human beings and took lots of time to talk to fans. Peter especially was just a sweetheart of a person. So between those two situations, I'm just not a big fan of his.
Consistent with his recent reaction to THE, looks like he gets super defensive about his value and contribution to the band and as a musician. Probably because in the 90s/2000s people always recognised Jesper as the main driving force of the band and at a later stage Bjorn as well whereas he was never considered to be as important.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
I think the problem with bashing any famous people based on snippets like this is that a.) we easily forget that they are humans after all and b.) we can't see their side of the story. Yes, Anders telling you off and possibly telling the mods to put you in purgatory is lame - and I say possibly because c.) we do not actually know if it was Anders telling the mods to put you in line, or the mods were so much up in the band's ass that they acted on their own accord.
But imagine being Anders, who had to get rid of Jesper because they could not carry his drunken ass further, then some smartass comes along and lectures him about how Jesper's absence will be a serious blow to the band. It wasn't you who had to deal with him and his unprofessional ways which put the band at risk for who knows how many years by that point. While I haven't had to experience trying to get a druggie or alcoholic person to do anything, there are plenty of examples from the world and the stories are pretty much the same: they are hard to work with, you often don't know where they are, they randomly skip sessions or dates and they are an all around hassle to deal with and try to force them to at least function properly. I can totally understand if Anders snapped at you for missing the mark by a long shot. I also understand you who was not privy to this info and who felt that someone famous just embarassed you publicly for no good reason.
And yes, I know you guys always try to attack the notion that Jesper was THAT hard to deal with, so just take my explanation as an educated guess without solid proof. It happened before and still is happening in the music industry. I watched a lot of wrestling history and it was rampant there. Watched many Jackass interviews, especially with or about Steve-O and they all played out pretty much the same: most people around them got tired of their shit.
But imagine being Anders, who had to get rid of Jesper because they could not carry his drunken ass further, then some smartass comes along and lectures him about how Jesper's absence will be a serious blow to the band. It wasn't you who had to deal with him and his unprofessional ways which put the band at risk for who knows how many years by that point. While I haven't had to experience trying to get a druggie or alcoholic person to do anything, there are plenty of examples from the world and the stories are pretty much the same: they are hard to work with, you often don't know where they are, they randomly skip sessions or dates and they are an all around hassle to deal with and try to force them to at least function properly. I can totally understand if Anders snapped at you for missing the mark by a long shot. I also understand you who was not privy to this info and who felt that someone famous just embarassed you publicly for no good reason.
And yes, I know you guys always try to attack the notion that Jesper was THAT hard to deal with, so just take my explanation as an educated guess without solid proof. It happened before and still is happening in the music industry. I watched a lot of wrestling history and it was rampant there. Watched many Jackass interviews, especially with or about Steve-O and they all played out pretty much the same: most people around them got tired of their shit.
Pallbearer
Passive Member
As for Stand Ablaze, I think it's a bit of an overstatement to suggest Björn and Anders don't have any relation to the song. Neither of them were in the band when it was written, sure, but it was still played quite a lot in the late 90's. Setlist.fm lists 58 known performances of SA before this years' Dalhalla concert.
I don't think there is necessarily some kind of attachment to Stand Ablaze. They also played Graveland a lot over the past two decades yet that song was never a fan favorite and I don't think I've seen it once brought up when people discuss their favorite IF songs. Graveland also just so happens to be the shortest and the easiest song to play off TJR.
Stand Ablaze is a very weird choice no matter how you look at it. I wouldn't be suprised if it was one of the new guys that suggested it.
Stand Ablaze is a very weird choice no matter how you look at it. I wouldn't be suprised if it was one of the new guys that suggested it.
Well. It was. If one of the two main songwriters leaves the band, being the one person that has given it it's distinctive sound, then it's obvious a blow. Now, Anders reacted as a cunt and the admins were a bunch of morons. Though I agree that there's a high chance that they did that on their own. Anyway, if it was Anders the one who told them, then it's even worse.
One of the things about being a public figure is that you're becoming part of everyone's opinions. If one simple opinion like that was too much for him, then just leave.
Still the same. It is more natural to want to play songs that you were involved with in the writing or recording process. Otherwise, it's mostly playing another person's song.
It made sense in 1999 because Jesper, the person who wrote the song, was still a prominent member of the band. Without him there's no obvious reason to play a song the remaining band members had zero input into. Especially when there are plenty of other better known songs that Anders and Bjorn were involved with.
Frankly it would make far more sense to play something like Crawl through Knives or New Dawn. Genuine fan favourites that are routinely ignored. But no instead we'll play a song from a 1995 EP that about 1% of the audience knows and we had no part in creating - just because. Nothing to do with THE. No sir.
Frankly it would make far more sense to play something like Crawl through Knives or New Dawn. Genuine fan favourites that are routinely ignored. But no instead we'll play a song from a 1995 EP that about 1% of the audience knows and we had no part in creating - just because. Nothing to do with THE. No sir.
a lot of cynical takes on this;
Some more positive ones:
I think it's a cool thing and I find it very hard to attribute it to malice or misappropriation.
Some more positive ones:
- They like it themselves, and would like to play it
- They wanted to do something extra special for old-school fans in a special venue
- ...any other reason that isn't to spite THE or Jesper and is rooted in musical passion and enjoyment.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
Oh give me a break, they are playing old songs for a while now. Next thing you'll accuse them of recording their new record in a somewhat older style becaus eof THE, despite the recordings being done for a while so you can't possibly say it was reactionary. You are seeing shit for wanting to see shit.
Also, what would be the point?! Their main audience wants to hear take this life and i am above, so THE hardly intrudes on their territory.
Also, what would be the point?! Their main audience wants to hear take this life and i am above, so THE hardly intrudes on their territory.
I mean, you guys can choose to have cognitive dissonance over this, but the fact remains it makes no sense. Just because you like that it happened doesn't change that it's extremely unlikely that they just decided to do this just because they wanted to. We can ignore external factors at play but it doesn't stop them being there.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
Isn't the venue an external factor itself? https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/in-flames/2019/borgholms-slott-borgholm-sweden-139fb939.html
They played System, Metaphor and Swim for example. You are reaching. Also, check their in our room setlists, because that was where they started to play old stuff again and many of them (ie. BS, Moonshield) sticked around.
They played System, Metaphor and Swim for example. You are reaching. Also, check their in our room setlists, because that was where they started to play old stuff again and many of them (ie. BS, Moonshield) sticked around.
They have actual links to all of the older songs played recently. You also can't really compare anything from 1996 onward to the fucking obscurity that is Subterranean.
You said it yourself, their current audience wants to hear newer stuff, not a random old song. Judging from the reaction of the crowd at the venue literally one or two people at most knew what they were even playing, so no, I don't consider the venue a factor as the audience clearly had no idea what they were listening to. Either a big miscalculation by IF or nothing to do with why they played it.
Got people talking though, hasn't it? Have seen 'IN FLAMES play STAND ABLAZE OMFG!!!' across multiple metal news sites and even the MDM subreddit.
You said it yourself, their current audience wants to hear newer stuff, not a random old song. Judging from the reaction of the crowd at the venue literally one or two people at most knew what they were even playing, so no, I don't consider the venue a factor as the audience clearly had no idea what they were listening to. Either a big miscalculation by IF or nothing to do with why they played it.
Got people talking though, hasn't it? Have seen 'IN FLAMES play STAND ABLAZE OMFG!!!' across multiple metal news sites and even the MDM subreddit.
I don't get how a venue might be an external factor unless it's some special place where they started palying live and decided to go full nostalgic. Following that logic, playing at Wacken should make them use a setlist from their first 5 albums.
Jester Slave
Narcissist
You say you don't know how the venue could be a factor, but apparently refuse to actually check out their previous borgholm setlists... I linked you one already, here's the one the year prior: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/in-flames/2018/borgholms-slott-borgholm-sweden-6beb2aee.html
Superhero, It's No Good, Like You Better Dead, Siren Charms or playing songs with a fcking string quartet is apparently nothing special. Nor Battles, Swim or M E T A P H O R. Nor marketing it (in 18 and 19) as their very own festival there. Seriously guys... it's just ridiculous that you talk about cognitive dissonance while you refuse to acknowledge that the venue was indeed special. You close your eyes on Metaphor but go full on conspiracy-theory on Stand Ablaze.
You will look especially silly if they do not actually incorporate Stand Ablaze into their future sets, Though I'm sure the excuse is already in the chamber: "they saw the bad audience reaction so they canned the idea, but they were TOTALLY going to transition their sets into old-school IF shows!!!!!!!!!!!"
Superhero, It's No Good, Like You Better Dead, Siren Charms or playing songs with a fcking string quartet is apparently nothing special. Nor Battles, Swim or M E T A P H O R. Nor marketing it (in 18 and 19) as their very own festival there. Seriously guys... it's just ridiculous that you talk about cognitive dissonance while you refuse to acknowledge that the venue was indeed special. You close your eyes on Metaphor but go full on conspiracy-theory on Stand Ablaze.
You will look especially silly if they do not actually incorporate Stand Ablaze into their future sets, Though I'm sure the excuse is already in the chamber: "they saw the bad audience reaction so they canned the idea, but they were TOTALLY going to transition their sets into old-school IF shows!!!!!!!!!!!"
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