In Flames
It was the year 1990, Jesper decided to take leave of the band Ceremonial Oath, that he was currently in, together with Anders Fridйn and Anders Iwers( Tiamat) He wanted to make music in a different direction, and he teamed up with Johan Larsson and Glenn Ljungstrцm to form IN FLAMES. The gang made a demo and shipped it off to Wrong Again records in order to get a record-deal, which they did. The owner of the company enjoyed the music so much that he immediately gave them a deal over the phone, as they rang him up one night, while drinking. He asked them if they had more songs, other than the three they had sent him, and they lied and said : Yes, we have 14 songs. The next day, they sat down and wrote the album Lunar Strain, which was released some time later, and became a big underground success. They had some ”in and out members” , and borrowed some from different bands. People that have been a part off IN FLAMES since the beginning, are Mikael Stanne and Anders Jivarp ( Dark Tranquillity), Anders Iwers ( Tiamat), Henke Forss ( Dawn), Daniel Erlandsson (Eucharist, Arch Enemy), and a few more.
The band then released a mini-cd called Subterranean, that became the ”breaker” for IN FLAMES, in terms of getting out off the underground scene, that is, and led them to get a license deal with German company Nuclear Blast for the next record, and they have been there since then.
After some time, the boys were getting tired of constantly borrowing peole in order to make a record, or do a decent live show, and they asked Anders Fridйn and Bjцrn Gelotte to join the band, on vocals and drums, and they accepted. IN FLAMES were for the first time a band with a real line up.
They recorded and released yet another record . The Jester Race, which became a huge success, worldwide, and the band started to get some fantastic attention all over Europe, and in Japan, where they were licensed to Toyґs Factory. They went on a festival tour together with Samael, Grip inc. And Kreator - this was the first big thing that happened to them, but definetly not the last. Some gigs here and there over the next year, led to both Johan and Glenn feeling that they had to make a choice where their prioritees were , and sadly, they choose not be a part of IN FLAMES any more. They both announced, unexpectedly after the recording of Whoracle, that they were leaving, and Bjцrn, Jesper and Anders were left with a finished record and half a band.
Luckily they were good friends with Peter Iwers and Niklas Engelin, who both happened to play bass and guitar, and they filled in at the end of the recordings, to do a mini-tour with Dimmu Borgir. This worked out fine and the two gentlemen were asked to stay in the band permanently, and so they did. Together the group continued onto a successful tour in Europй and an amazing week in Japan, where they did their first two shows. Japan welcomed the Swedes with warm arms, and they had an amazing experience.
As they return to Sweden, Niklas leaves the band, due to some different opinions, and the fact that he wanted to focus on Gardenian, his other band. This is the turning point for IN FLAMES, as they decide to switch Bjцrn from drums to guitar, (being a guitarplayer originally), and recruit Daniel Svensson ( Sacrilige) on Drums. This works out wonderful, and they record COLONY, the biggest success so far.
The Colonization takes them around the world, to Europe, USA and Japan, and this tour is an amazing experience for IN FLAMES, that finally receives the attention theyґve been waiting for. As they play full houses almost everywhere, the party goes on for a few months, and the response is excellent all over the world.
