Stoking that Fire

In Flames reignite the death metal fire with Foregone, an album that marks ex-Megadeth master Chris Broderick’s recording debut with the band

- Jon Wiederhorn

WHEN THEY SURFACED from the darkened streets of Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1990, In Flames were among the pioneers of Swedish melodic death metal, combining the speed of fellow countrymen Dismember and Entombed with the guitar harmonies of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, injecting the genre with a newfound virtuosity that inspired scores of other acts, including American metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage and Unearth.

By the early 2000s, however, In Flames weren’t blazing quite as brightly. They slowed down their songs, curbed their aggression, incorporated more melody and drew from elements of alternative rock and industrial, causing many of their early fans to jump ship. In Flames didn’t care. They enjoyed playing death metal for about 10 years, then became more inspired by other, more experimental types of metal. That’s exactly what they delved into between 2002 and 2019 and in the process, they attracted a larger fanbase.

“We’ve always been lucky enough to do whatever the fuck we wanted,” says guitarist and main songwriter Björn Gelotte. “We don’t ever go into an album with anything in mind, but we decided early on that we never want to repeat ourselves, and we’ve had the opportunity to make so many records, so we’ve always tried to make the process interesting and challenging.”

The follow-up to 2019’s I, the Mask marks yet another departure — at least it’s a departure from the commercial metal they’ve written over the past 17-plus years; Foregone, the band’s 14th full-length studio album, is fast and frenzied — pretty comparable to the melodic death metal In Flames released in the late Nineties.