In
Flames
In Flames is one of my
most beloved bands and I expect with great anticipation every release of
theirs. I think that "Come Clarity" is definitely amongst their best albums,
so I suppose you can imagine how glad I was when I found out that I'd actually
be able to have a nice chat with one of my favourite bands! It's Saturday
4 o' clock in the afternoon, when my telephone rings. It's Peter on the
other side of the telephone line, so everything starts to unfold... And
this is what we've talked about...
1. CONGRATULATIONS ON “COME CLARITY”! I THINK
IT’S ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF YOUR CAREER!
Oh, thank you very much!!!
-HOWEVER I’M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT
THE CREATOR’S POINT OF VIEW. ARE YOU CONTENT WITH THE FINAL RESULT?
Absolutely yeah! We try not to write or record
anything until we are absolutely pleased with it, until we feel the songs
are great. We try to look at the songs from an outside point of view and
ask ourselves “What if another band has made these songs? Would we have
liked them?” and if we feel this way, it’s done!
2. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE IN FLAMES CAMP FROM THE
RELEASE OF “SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR ESCAPE” TILL NOW?
We’ve been on tour basically. We’ve been on
tour…not constantly but almost. We had a huge break before we started touring
for “Soundtrack to your Escape” and we’ve been to the U.S. for a couple
of times, Europe for festivals, we’ve been to Australia and Japan, we also
did a U.K. tour and a European one supporting a bunch of bands… We’ve been
touring our asses of actually…
-SO, YOU’VE BEEN EVERYWHERE EXCEPT FOR GREECE…
Yeah… We actually went to Greece…
-YEAH I KNOW 3-4 YEARS AGO. I SAW YOU THEN.
Yeah, but we also came two years ago again.
We went to that festival in Athens, where the promoter took all the money
and run. We were there the first day of the festival on the beach watching
Motorhead and then the next day we had a call telling us that the festival
was cancelled… I really hope we get the chance to come to Greece again.
I love Greece and actually I’ve been there 5 times till now.
-IN WHICH PLACES? THE ISLANDS I SUPPOSE…
No, in Athens actually. Although I’ve been
to Aegina as well. I have some friends there and I like it very much!
3. I’VE LISTENED TO THE PROMO CD NUMEROUS TIMES
AND I’M INCAPABLE OF COMPILING A LIST OF MY FAVORITE TRACKS. EACH TIME
I LIKE A DIFFERENT SONG THE MOST. SO, COULD YOU PICK OUT YOUR FAVORITE
SONGS?
No! Hahahaha! It’s very hard! It’s going to
be a lot easier to me once I play the songs live. When I see for
which ones I get the biggest feedback and which ones I just enjoy playing
the most. It’s hard for me to choose when I’ve only rehearsed them… I obviously
like “Take this life”, for which we did a video. It’s a challenge, it’s
so fast and it keep me on the edge, but it’s hard for me to choose my favorite
songs.
4. I THINK THAT “COME CLARITY” SOUNDS CLOSER TO
“REROUTE TO REMAIN” AND “CLAYMAN” RATHER THAN “SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR ESCAPE”.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT?
I don’t know really! A lot of people say different
stuff, but I’ve never thought about our albums they sound like this or
like that. I don’t start to think about it. We just like to write music,
we like the most at the moment and then it’s up to everybody else to tell
us whether they like it or not. It’s not a conscious thing we do.
-ACTUALLY YOU CONTINUE TO INCORPORATE IN YOUR
SOUND CLASSIC DEATH METAL ELEMENTS ALONG WITH MODERN TOUCHES. SOMETHING
THAT YOU AND A COUPLE OF OTHER BANDS ACTUALLY STARTED. HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT IT?
I think it’s great! We try to take out all
our influences we try to incorporate in our sound anything we listen to.
Not just metal, but whatever is good. Whatever we like listening to and
if it’s not metal it doesn’t matter as long as it is good!
-SO, IS THERE STILL PLACE FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENT?
ARE THERE ANY ELEMENTS YOU’D LIKE TO ADD OR EXPERIMENT WITH IN THE FUTURE?
Yeah! There’s always stuff, but there is never
anything that we sit down and say we are going to do this or that. It just
comes naturally. However, I’ve always wanted to use something that is called
a melotron, but I don’t think this is something that is going to happen
in the near future, so I suppose I have to use on my own.
5. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU I FOUND “SOUNDTRACK TO
YOUR ESCAPE” TO BE A BAD MOMENT FOR IN FLAMES. I THINK IT’S TOO NOISY AND
OUT OF THE IN FLAMES STANDARDS. ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH IT?
OK! Yeah, of course! Definitely! It’s the
way we wanted things to sound at the time. There is no point to looking
back and thinking “Oh! I’d like to change this or that”. No, there is no
point in that at all! I’m proud of what we did at each time and I think
I’m always going to be.
-DID THIS ALBUM HELP YOU OPEN UP TO THE U.S. METAL
MARKET?
I don’t know really! I mean… It’s not something
I’ve ever sat to think about. Each record has been giving us the opportunity
of touring the world and I think this is what has opened things up for
us to play in many places and not only in the U.S., but also in Europe,
Asia and everywhere else. I think continuous tours all over the world is
what helped us gain more fans.
6. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO REVIEW
“COME CLARITY”. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE?
I would say “Wow! This must be the greatest
record of all times!”. Hahaha!
7. THE ALBUM IS GOING TO INCLUDE 13 SONGS, BUT
THE LAST ONE “YOUR BEDTIME STORY IS SCARING EVERYONE” ISN’T AVAILABLE ON
THE PROMO CD. WHY?
I guess, it’s probably one of the record label’s
politics. When you hear it you’ll understand…
-OK DOES IT SOUND LIKE THE REST OF THE SONGS OR
DOES IT SOMETHING SPECIAL?
Well, both yes and no I have to say. It sounds
definitely like the rest of the songs, but it’s something different and
you’ll understand it as soon as you listen to it.
8. THE FINAL ALBUM IS GOING TO INCLUDE FREE BONUS
DVD FEATURING THE WHOLE LIVE PERFORMANCE IN THE REHEARSAL ROOM OF THE ALBUM
“COME CLARITY”.
It’s not a live performance. It’s just as
rehearsing. There is no audience there…
-WILL IT BE IN A LIMITED EDITION OR NOT?
Yes, it will be! From what I heard the other
day at least. It was the record company’s idea. We wanted to do something
special for the people that came to Gothenburg to listen to the record.
We wanted them to be able to do something rather than just sit down and
listen to the record. It’s really hard to do that and get a proper impression.
That’s why we did this, for those people to watch and then our record company
said it came out great, so they wanted to put it on the CD.
-YOU OFFER SOMETHING EXTRA TO YOUR FANS WITH ALMOST
EVERY RELEASE OF YOURS. WHY?
We try! Yeah! You know these days everything
is so expensive, the CDs are really expensive, so we think that if we can
give something back, then that’s very good! We wanted to give people the
value for the money they spent. If it was up to us, the CDs would be much
cheaper, but it’s not!
9. I SUPPOSE THE COVER ARTWORK WILL BE THE ONE
I HAVE ON THE PROMO CD. RIGHT?
Which one do you have? The black one?
-THE BLACK ONE, YEAH. THE ONE WITH THE FLAME AND
THE SYMBOL OF CHAOS.
No, that want be the cover artwork.
-SO, IS IT THE ONE YOU HAVE ON YOUR SITE? THE
WHITE ONE SHOWING A PERSON WITH HIS HEART TAKEN OUT?
-WHY DO I HAVE THIS COVER THEN?
I don’t know! Actually I saw the promo CD
yesterday and I asked myself that very question. I have no idea why they
did that. It gives the wrong impression and it’s not something that we
planned to have as a cover in the beginning. I don’t know why they did
this actually…
-WHO CREATED IT? I MEAN THE COVER YOU ARE GOING
TO HAVE?
You know… I don’t know the name of the guy…
-SO, IT’S NOT NIKLAS SUNDIN THIS TIME?
No, it’s not Niklas. I’m sorry, I can’t remember
his name, but I think it’s really cool and I like the cover very much!
-IT’S VERY ELOQUENT AND IT DESCRIBES EXACTLY WHAT
YOU WANT TO SAY I THINK…
Yeah, exactly! You are very smart!
10. WILL THERE BE A SINGLE RELEASE PRIOR TO THE
RELEASE DATE OF “COME CLARITY” OR AFTER?
There will be a video released. I don’t know
if they’re going to do a single as well, but if yes, then it’s going to
be “Take This Life”.
-BESIDES “TAKE THIS LIFE”, WHICH OTHER SONGS WOULD
YOU LIKE TO BE INCLUDED IN A SINGLE RELEASE? IN OTHER WORDS WHICH SONGS
DO YOU THINK THE FANS ARE GOING TO LOVE THE MOST?
We’re gonna do… I guess we’re gonna do a bunch
of videos and my personal favorite as a second one is “Come Clarity”. I
don’t know yet. There is five of us and then there is the record company
as well. We’ll see which ones are going to be in the end, but if I had
to choose, I’d choose this one!
11. WHAT TOPICS DO YOUR LYRICS DEAL WITH THIS
TIME? WHAT THINGS INTRIGUED YOU TO TALK ABOUT?
Well, it’s Anders’s stuff. I try never to
comment so much on his lyrics… It’s always him against whatever he is writing
about. He usually writes about a bunch of different stuff. He uses metaphors
to speak of situations that happen to all of us and you know he talks about
stuff he dislikes or likes… The main thing is that he likes people to read
his lyrics and try to figure out what he means.
12. SO, DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW WHY YOU HAVE NAMED
THE ALBUM “COME CLARITY”?
Yes! Absolutely! It’s basically no hidden
meaning behind it, like on “Soundtrack to your escape”, which has the idea
of escaping reality for a little while you know. The lyrics are not a concept,
but there is a general concept behind all the lyrics he wrote for “Come
Clarity”…
-DO YOU MEAN WITH THE TITLE TO BE OPEN MINDED
AND SEE AND UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEMS OF NOWADAYS SOCIETY?
Exactly! It’s sort of an epiphany for me.
My personal feelings about it are that it’s an epiphany of… like an experience
that you say “Ohh, now I finally see!”. That’s the beauty of it! You can
interpret it any way you like!
13. YOU’VE RECENTLY SHOT A VIDEO CLIP FOR THE
SONG “TAKE THIS LIFE”. DID YOU CHOOSE THIS SONG BECAUSE YOU THINK IT’S
THE CATCHIEST?
Hmm… it’s something that… It’s the most aggressive
song on the record and at the same time it has a really intense lyrical
theme that basically says take care of yourself and think before you react.
-THIS IS WHAT THE VIDEO CLIP ALSO SHOWS…
Yes, exactly, so it’s not because it’s the
catchiest song, but because this is the first song you’d listen to in order
to get a first impression of the album.
14. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART
IN YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU?
I think the best part is that we try to put
all of our influences within our music. It’s something that many people
do, sure it’s aggressive metal, but I also know there are a lot of people
who are not into this kind of music, but appreciate it. The worst thing
is that the label of our music is metal and many people are narrow-minded
that won’t give it a chance…
-YOU KNOW WHAT’S WEIRD TO ME? SLIPKNOT PLAY EXTREME
MUSIC, BUT THEY WERE PROMOTED AS A MAINSTREAM BAND WITHOUT BEING LABEL
UNDER THE METAL CATEGORY, SO MANY PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO POP MUSIC OR WHATEVER
ALSO LISTEN TO SLIPKNOT! ON THE OTHER HAND, LIKE YOU SAID, BANDS THAT MAY
PLAY LESS EXTREME MUSIC DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE FILED UNDER ARE VIEWED
WITH PREJUDICE… IT’S REALLY STUPID!
Yeah! Exactly! I’m trying to say that there
are two types of music actually, good and bad music. I listen to good music
and there are lots and lots of different types like metal music, rock music,
jazz music… I think that’s the healthiest view you can have of music. You
don’t have to label it… There are 10 different types of metal. We have
heavy metal, power metal, black metal, whatever… For me it’s just metal.
People ask me what kind of music I listen to and I say that I listen to
good music.
15. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR A TOUR? HAVE YOU
DECIDED WHICH OTHER BANDS YOU’LL TOUR WITH?
Yeah! Most of them yes! We are going to the
U.S. first now with Trivium, Devildriver and Zao and then we come to Europe
with Sepultura and we are still discussing about the other bands, so we
have to wait until I tell you about the other bands. Let’s wait to see
what happens, but unfortunately no Greek show is planned yet…
-I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT…
Yeah and I think it’s too bad. I really hope
we’ll be able to come and play there soon enough.
-IT’S A SHAME CAUSE YOU HAVE MANY FANS HERE…
I know! It’s a shame, because it’s not up
to us. I’d love to go to Greece, but it’s up to the booking agents. We
tell them where we want to go and they try to fix it, but for some reason
they never book Greece. I don’t know why… It’s really weird!
16. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD
IT BE?
-WHY JUST HATE?
Well, it’s the first thing that came to my
mind! I don’t know! It’s a very good question!
-IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD IT SHOW?
It would be black and white.
17. WHAT’S THE WEIRDEST QUESTIONS YOU’VE BEEN
ASKED?
The previous one? Nooo! I’m just kidding!
Haha! I don’t know, but sometimes there are some really weird questions.
It’s not some questions, but it’s the questions that start with a “Why
did you do…”, when people are questioning us and our choices. Those questions
I don’t like. Now that I think of it, I think the worst question, which
was actually more of a statement came last year or the year before, when
I wan for promotion in Athens. So, this guy came and told me “Your producer
writes all the songs” and I said “No”, “Yes he does!” is what he
answered back at me..
-WELL, YOU DON’T KNOW! I’M SURE HE KNOWS BETTER
THAN YOU!
Hahahha! He thought so, so I finally had to
tell him “Listen man, I’m in the band and I know who writes the songs and
it’s not our producer!”. That definitely was the worst one! Hahaha!
18. WHAT’S THE IDEAL TITLE THAT WOULD SUM UP THE
WHOLE IN FLAMES HISTORY AND ESSENCE UP TO NOW?
An interesting journey or something and it
certainly has been!
19. THANK YOU! IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE
TO MENTION AND I FORGOT TO ASK YOU? LEAVE A MESSAGE TO YOUR FANS…
Yeah, again I’d like to say sorry that we
haven’t come and played at your beautiful country for so long. I’d love
to come more, I hope that we will at least come to play in Athens this
summer. Thanks very much to everybody that supports us!
Christine Parastatidou
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