In Flames Interview

Interview
Anders Fridén
In Flames

Lineup:
Anders Fridén – Vocals
Jesper Strömblad – Guitars
Björn Gelotte – Guitars
Peter Iwers – Bass
Daniel Svensson – Drums

Anders Fridén of In Flames (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

Come Clarity N. American Tour:
IN FLAMES
Trivium
DevilDriver
Zao
2/12/06
HOB
Interviewer: Karma E. Omowale
Photos: Erika Kristen Watt

"I like all of our albums; they are small photographs of who we were at that time in our lives".

Fêted In Flames has been burning up the airwaves for the past twelve years and judging from their freshly released release/eighth studio production, Come Clarity, the inferno continues to rage. I was fortunate to catch up with the legendary frontman, Anders Fridén, during the band's stop in Chicago on the current leg of their first of many headlining North American tour. Mr. Fridén talks about the new album, gives us his take on those who didn't feel the previous two albums, he even offers advice to up and coming bands…

Karma: Congrats on your headlining tour, how's the tour going so far? It’s been a long time coming!

Anders: Yeah, last year was basically support, I'm happy to be out on our own tour…it's been going well.

Karma: How does it feel to be one of the forefathers in the Gothenburg Sound, a genre…to be credited by so many as an influence? How do feel about that? Who do you look up to?

Anders: I'm happy to be recognized as a member of that. Some guy the other day asked pretty much the same question but like ten years from now if I appeared in a metal book or something like that, that says "In Flames from a little shitty town, Gothenburg. They created, blah, blah, blah…amongst a few others", [chuckles] then we would have made a mark in metal history that would make me proud; but today I'm not walking around as if I'm thinking I'm better than anyone else. But it's cool! [Smiles] Anders Fridén of In Flames (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

Anders: Uh, I look up to Martin Gore of Depeche Mode because I think he's a great writer, he's a great songwriter and Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. He's not with us anymore but Layne Staley from Alice In Chains, which was one of my earlier inspirations when it came to lyrics and he had such [intonation fills with ardor] an amazing voice with so much soul and passion. You can feel the pain when he's singing, so yeah…

Karma: What is the greatest challenge that you have been able to overcome in order to get you where you are at this point in your career?

Anders: [Laughs] I don't know, getting along I guess. I mean we're like brothers but you know we fight here and there, whatever. I guess it took a lot to learn we'll get our own space, whatever and then to be able to have…[pauses] when it's not fun anymore. When we get our own space, we don't have that kick anymore then for me, it's over. We have that, we have a strong solid fanbase all over the world, and we are still able to put out songs that people actually care about. Definitely, it means a lot and that's why we're here today. When I don't have that kick, anymore then that's it!

Karma: Hear you are #1 on the Swedish export charts too as you continually receive rave reviews. What do you have to say to those fans who were disappointed and or weren't feeling the last two releases wishing you’d stuck to the harder side of your music. What is your take on this?

Anders: Listen to the other ones! [Laughs] To me it's just like it's hard for us to satisfy everybody. I mean a lot of people are interested in what we do and [pauses] I do understand the fans as well! I'm a big fan of music; I may not agree with everything that my favorite band does with every album but then I don't listen to it. I listen to the other ones. I don't know, I don't mean to make nothing light about it but I don't scream to other people, "These guys suck! They sold out!" To me it's like, this is our eighth album and in what, like twelve years. Our first album [Lunar Strain] came out in '94 and now it's 2006. If someone don't like it, fine then I understand them. It's just like, we write music for anybody, everybody's entitled to listen to In Flames, we don't write for an elite group who say it should be like this or that. I guess that's why we’re here today, because we do what we feel like. We don't care so much, don't get me wrong…

Anders: I love our fans appreciate our music; you know that's great! I love them for that but… [pauses]

Anders: Yeah, it's not going to change me to write for somebody. We don’t write for the record company either which is like we do what we do, the five of us decides what's gonna be on the album and then we give it to the record company and then it's up to other people to judge it. I know I can't be loved by everyone, [it is] what it is. [Smiles]

Karma: Come Clarity is probably the best sounding disc, recording-wise, that I've heard from you guys since Clayman. The songs sound so powerful this time around, (a quality I don't believe was present on the last two records) and I'm attributing that to the fact that you are finally comfortable with the studio you're recording at these days. Is that an accurate statement?

Anders: Maybe [smiles] Yeah, I mean it was a lot of turmoil going on when we recorded Soundtrack I guess because we entered this mansion in Denmark and we built up two studios from scratch and recorded everything there except for the drums [which were recorded at Dug Out Studios]. That was kind of chaotic, we all lived there, you know.

Anders: Maybe, some of us were… [pauses] I'm pretty much involved in the whole recording process; I'm very interested that becomes what I want in the end. I'm a producer of other bands as well…

Anders: …so I'm really interested in the whole thing. Some in the band were more interested in doing their stuff and then leave. They would stick around and drink beer and you know it can become a bit irritating sometimes but that's just what it is.

Karma: So obviously it works out better for you to be able to separate the work environment from living quarters.

Anders: Yeah, yeah, I agree; I think so. We recorded guitar and bass at our studio at home in Gothenburg this time so the guys could go home to their families and you know, at the end of the day you left… [pauses]

Anders: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like you go to work and you're not at work 24/7. But I liked that, recording of Soundtrack; I had a good time. I thought it was really interesting to build a studio, work there, and then tear down. You could never reproduce that sound again ever. It was really unique.

Karma: So then from the sound of things, you were truly satisfied with the end results.

Anders: Yeah, I liked the album but I like all of our albums; they are small photographs of who we were at that time in our lives.

Karma: He also had this to add: it's nice to hear the return of leads and the amazing melodies you dudes are known for! Was bringing these elements back a conscious decision on the band's part going into the initial writing process?

Anders: The thing is when we were writing for this album, we said let's do Anders Fridén of In Flames (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

something a little more aggressive, a little more up tempo and let's bring the guitars in the front. Because on Soundtrack maybe the electronics took to big of a… [pauses] were a little too obvious in the whole sound picture so to speak. This time around, I'm mean they are there as much as on Soundtrack but not as upfront and not as obvious maybe and more underneath, giving it more of a backbone together with the drums and the normal bass. So that was a conscious decision, other than that, we just write whatever comes out. Probably the first couple of songs are a bit hard and then you find the direction to where you want to go. The only thing is that we don't want to repeat ourselves. We want people to not know exactly what they want but we want the same to… at the same time melody is for me, melody and aggression and it's always a balance between those. Sometimes more melodic, sometimes its more aggressive but I want people to be able to hear, "Okay, this is the new In Flames" and it should never be, "Oh, I heard this before one hundred times, you know"!

Karma: Understood. Now as far as Ferret Records is concerned, it definitely was not the obvious choice…

Anders: Well we were touring a lot of the time pretty much the whole year, up until today, [laughs] and we couldn't find our albums in the stores. It was a big problem and if someone hears us for the first time and they go to the record company or the record store and want to pick up the album, they can't find it, next week they'll forget about us or there's another release or they don't have enough money. It's like; we want people to be able to pick up the album that's why we do this. I want my music to be heard, you know or else I could be in the cellar just produce tapes for my friends and pass it around. [Chuckles] So, when we were down with the deal over here; we were just looking around. I know the guys from Ferret from before, I know they were and up and coming independent record label. They said the right things; to have control it's a really important thing for us to be able to produce our baby, nobody says a thing or has anything to do with except for the five of us. And they were like, "Go ahead!" and they take care of what they know the best and we stay out it. It's the best deal that we could get.

Karma: The cover art from Derek Hess speaks volumes; it's very striking and fits the album well.

Anders: I knew Derek Hess work from a bunch of other bands [Sepultura, Converge, Tommy Lee] well we didn’t want to do the same thing again and I wanted something more graphical, if that's the right word. [Smiles]

Anders: …for this album 'cos I mean [touches his chest] it's close to my heart and everything. Ferret said that they know how to get in contact with him, no problem I sent Derek the lyrics and told him about the concept and what I wanted, a few different ideas that I had. This one was by far the best one, I mean he just draw it, and there it was. It was very, it was almost… [smiles] I mean I can't draw myself, I'm terrible at that but it was almost like I could see my hand moving, and whatever. It's more "Take This Life", the song more than anything but it fits us, the whole concept. You know we put our soul and our heart into what we do and then it's up to other people to take it and stomp on it, and do whatever you want, it's there. [Note: I seriously doubt there will be much stomping for this effort]

Karma: What's the biggest lesson learned thus far after releasing eight albums…

Anders: Don't think that you're better…than you actually are, I mean what you are. I think growing slowly but steady has made us very humble to what we do. We all keep our feet on the ground; we don't think more about ourselves than…we know pretty good who we are. I mean I'm a totally different person on stage than I am right now.

Karma: Well it's good to be able to have a creative outlet to let go of frustration and whatnot.

Anders: Yeah, it is, I guess it's a way to draw the beast out of you, I guess. [Laughs] I mean I think it's important to believe in yourself. Young bands ask what they should think about more or less do. Don't try to be part of a trend or what's part of now because then you'll always be a step behind. It's always like, believe in yourself. Trends come and goes and all of a sudden you're hip, you know.

Anders: Yeah, and whatever then you're not. Believe in yourself, don't try to be accepted by everybody 'cos that will never happen.

Karma: Speaking of young bands, are there any new bands that you'd like to see blow-up next? Who should we be on the lookout for next?

Anders: There's a Swedish band called Coma, which is extremely good, but they are very far from how we sound, but that's a great band. And Mikey Doling from Soulfly and Snot; he has a new band called InVitro? I just heard a couple of songs from them, and they're really, really good. Also, they don't sound like our music, but it's very good.

Karma: Knowing you produced Caliban’s Opposite From Within, excellent job by the way…

Anders: …oh thank you! [Smiles] I did the new one [Undying Darkness] as well. It's coming out pretty soon.

Anders: I would love to work with other bands, but I don't have time. I like being a producer. I like being part of something, a devolvement of an album, the creation of something. It feels really good I just don't have time. This year's gonna be crazy; I'll only be home twenty days before August.

Anders: I don't know. Give it another ten years [laughs] and I'll see when I'm sitting on my porch and think about the good old days, then I can mention stuff. Obviously the freshest one…[all of a sudden loud guitar noises pipe from the adjacent room] …[looks at me] hold on! [Annoyed by the blaring noise he screams in Swedish] "Björn…"! [One of the crew members comes to the door] "Can you tell him to shut the "f" up?" [The crew member shuts the door] Sorry, where was I?

Anders: [Smiles] Honestly it feels like the new ones [voice drops down to a whisper] are the best ones. There's nothing I really regret doing except for like, Tokyo Showdown, I say that sucks!

Anders: We were young and naïve, we [didn't] know stuff yet. Our record company told us to record live, we got some tapes sent back from Japan, they sounded like crap, and we tried to do our best. [Shrugs shoulders] It didn't turn out good but hey; we made up for it with the release of Used And Abused.

Karma: That you did! Speaking loosely of videos, any future plans to do more IF vs. Soilwork videos or with even with another band?

Anders: No, not really, it's done. [Smiles] The thing we did with Soilwork was great. But it's just like; we don't want to repeat that.

Karma: Understood. If you could commission another band to cover an In Flames song, whom would d Anders Fridén of In Flames (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

o it and which song would you choose.

Anders: Ouuhh, I would love Nine Inch Nails to do something. And that's because I like them a lot but that just counts for me, not for the other guys. I wish that Johnny Cash would have done a song from us.

Karma: That would be interesting too, which one would you have liked him to have done?

Anders: Like "My Sweet Shadow" or something like that, that would be cool to hear him do that!

Karma: Definitely!! On a personal note, in a previous interview I had that you guys are poker fanatics.

Karma: I am sure you have some interesting stories from this…willing to share any good ones? What’s the coolest / oddest thing you’ve won?

Anders: Not really but we do play online everyday. We play on the bus as well. When we went to Vegas, and I played a tournament and I got 6 out of 60 people or something. But it was a good feeling, I won some money. At least I was the last out, so that was good. [Laughs]

Anders: Probably some Swedish crap you wouldn't know about but Dad he likes Queen and Dire Straits, so.

Anders: Well I wanted to become an architect when I was younger before metal took me away from studying and become a really deep person. [Laughs] No but I wanted to be an architect when I was studying.

Karma: How about you bandmates, what would they do if it were not for music?

Anders: Drunk in the park somewhere! [Hysterical laughter erupts in the room] I don't know, really. None of us have any real education, I think I was the longest one in school, and Daniel as well, but it wouldn't lead anywhere. I don't know, probably work as a record shop or a music store. Bjorn really likes computers so he'd probably work with that.

Anders: Ummm, I picked up the new Confessor album [Unraveled] the other day…

Anders: …which is great. I liked the first one, I mean I it hadn't heard it in years but I remembered how good it was and I saw the latest album and I kinda picked it up. It reminded me of the early Alice In Chains days as well. I recommend that one.

Karma: Who in your opinion is the epitome of a frontman, being a frontman yourself?

Karma: If you could interview a band, whom would you interview and what would be the one thing you'd like to know about them.

Anders: [Eyes brighten] Ouuh, I would interview Trent Reznor and talk to him about the whole production thing and whatever goes on in his head and how they develop songs, you know more on a nerd level [laughs bashfully] than something that is interest to the public, more for my personal notes. [Note: Oddly enough, Anders had the fortune of meeting Twiggy Ramirez of Nine Inch Nails later in the evening while the band was guest DJ'ing at Exit in Chicago]

We'd like to thank Anders and his camp for the interview and to Josh for the additional questions.

q Here for photos of the band after the show at Exit guest DJ'ing on our MySpace blog