In Flames is a heavy metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1990. Since the band's conception in 1993, they have released nine studio albums and one live DVD. As of 2008, In Flames has sold over 2 million records worldwide. They are considered the pioneers of Melodic Death Metal.
In Flames was founded in the year 1993 by Jesper Strömblad as a side project from his then-current death metal band, Ceremonial Oath. Jesper formed In Flames with the purpose of writing songs with a more melodic musical direction, something which he was not allowed to do in Ceremonial Oath. In 1993, Jesper decided to quit Ceremonial Oath due to musical differences and began focusing more on In Flames. That same year, Jesper (guitar, drums, keyboards) recruited Glenn Ljungström (guitar), and Johan Larsson (bass) to form the first official In Flames line-up.
The trio recorded a three song demo and sent it to Wrong Again Records. In order to increase their chances of being offered a record deal, the trio lied to the owner of the record labelby telling him that they already had 13 songs done. The owner of Wrong Again Records, seeing promise in the band, offered In Flames a record deal over the phone.
During 1993, In Flames wrote, recorded, and self-produced their debut studio album, Lunar Strain, in Studio Fredman. Since In Flames did not have a vocalist yet, Jesper asked Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquillity to provide session vocals. In 1994, Lunar Strain was released.
Influence
In Flames, being one of the pioneers of a new music genre, have influenced many bands and most notably they were a direct influence on the new wave of metalcore. Many metalcore bands such as Trivium, Darkest Hour, Slowlife, As I Lay Dying,and Still Remains name In Flames as one of their biggest influences. In Flames is also a direct influence on many of the melodic death metal bands that have followed. Melodic death metal bands such as Insomnium,[43] Omnium Gatherum, and Blood Stain Child also include In Flames as one of their biggest influences.
