Interview: Anders Friden from In Flames
Hailing from Gothenburg in Sweden, In Flames are one of metal’s longest running acts. With the release of their twelfth studio album ‘Battles’ quickly approaching, we had a chat with frontman Anders Friden to discuss the upcoming album, working with a new producer, “planet earth food”, and how to build a setlist covering over 25 years of riffage!
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Anders, how’s your day going so far?
It’s good, we’re in Germany rehearsing and we’re doing okay!
Rehearsing for a tour?
Yeah, we start our tour in Japan on the 6th of November so we’re here now rehearsing for a week…just gluing everything together!
You’re a few weeks out from releasing the new album ‘Battles’, how are you feeling approaching the release date?
We feel great! I mean, pretty much as soon as it’s mixed you want to get it out and people hearing it because you’re proud of your material. There’s the usual long lead time happening where labels have to get everything in line, but I’m really excited to get it out there. We want to get these songs on the road and start playing, get them into the In Flames system. I’m really looking forward to people having it in their hands or whatever they are going to listen on!
How has the recording process on this album differed from previous albums?
Well we worked with Howard Benson, a different producer, this time. We’d never worked with him before and he’s situated in California. He suggested we head over there to start writing and record the album there. He also wanted demos of the songs first, which is something we’ve never had to do before.
So that was different because we let go of our control a little bit, but that being said it was all for the better. The first day he said, “I don’t wanna change you guys, I don’t wanna turn you into something you’re not. I just want you to perform better with your instruments”.
He’d ask us what we want to say with these songs and with our music, and that was cool to be in the position to sort of explain what we wanted to say. Then when the demos were done we all knew exactly what we wanted and what was going to happen. It made the process happier and more relaxed!
So you can confidently say working with Howard was a good choice?
Definitely, it was awesome. Heavy metal all day, BBQ all night! Working with him was extremely smooth. In past we’ve had ideas in our heads to get on tape and it took a while because we had to search for sounds ourselves and set things up ourselves but here everything was ready to go. There were plenty of amps to use, so the idea never disappears and you can get it out instantly. I’m really happy we went there and gave away our control a little, it worked for the better!
In Flames have a huge back catalogue, do you have an album that sits closest to your heart?
It’s a difficult question to answer because they all mean something to me. The new one is a great album and it was the best way of working we’d ever done, but that doesn’t mean it’s better than the rest. I think it represents what In Flames is today, but that’s how I feel, maybe not what you feel or what other people feel. That’s what I love about music.
I’m the creator so I have my view, but then it’s up to everyone to interpret and decide how they feel. When I record an album, it doesn’t get released until I feel it’s complete. I would never go into a situation and say, “okay I’m not that happy with the music but f*ck it, release it anyway”, because in the end it’s my album and I have to be happy. So I feel really happy with this album, but that’s how I’ve felt about every other album we’ve done and every other time I’ve been asked this question! (laughs)
In Flames have been kicking it for around 25 years now. What’s your secret to staying a band for so long? How do you keep it fresh?
We decide ourselves where we want to go and who we want to be. This time we worked with Howard, but he didn’t change who we are or what the band wanted. We have the mentality that we do what we do, and we are the best In Flames band there is…we are the best at making In Flames music. When all is done it’s up to everyone else to interpret that how they want to.
Personally, I have an easy-going outlook on the band…so what people think doesn’t really bother me that much and that helps, but of course I love hearing people think we’re good! We believe in ourselves and we believe in our music, and that keeps us going.
With so much awesome material under your belts, how do you come up with a setlist which covers your whole career?
It’s really difficult of course, because we want to play at least one song from every album but can’t sometimes for shorter shows, y’know? Back in the early days we never thought about how they would be played live, we’d go in and be like “we can record a million guitar tracks, awesome!”, and then we’d have to play them live and our guitarists would be like “hmm, how can this be done?” (laughs). So that’s something we learned along the way, to write in a live-friendly way.
Overall we try to cover our whole career, we know there are songs that are fan-favourites and if we don’t play them people get unhappy and let us know! On the other hand we want to play songs from the latest albums to show where we are now. I feel like there are the songs people wanna hear, the songs we wanna play, and then the songs we must play…but we try and throw in surprises too!
Fun fact, when I was in high school I did a performance of your song The Jester Dance and when you didn’t play it in Brisbane a few years ago I was a little sad…do you guys ever dive back that far into your back catalogue?
Oh yeah man, we like to go back to ‘The Jester Race’ album and play songs from that and ‘Whoracle’ and what people call “the old days”, but it’s only really a handful of songs. People are always like “play the old songs!”, but then we do play them and people look confused and don’t actually know the songs (laughs). That’s just the way it is I guess, I can understand the disappointment they have but it’s so hard to please everyone!
After the release of ‘Battles’, what does the next six months of In Flames’ schedule look like?
Constant touring man, we have Japan straight up then over the US, then after Christmas we do the UK… and then we plan on coming to [Australia] but no concrete plans yet. We really want to come back to Australia, I love playing there!
So you’ve got some low-key plans on coming back to Australia?
Oh man, it’s something we constantly ask management and our agent about. I just love being there and playing there! I love the people and we’ve always been treated really well every time.
Final question, what country has the best food?
F*cking hell, I love food! This is the hardest question you’ve asked me! I love a perfect steak, I f*cking love it. I also love fish and sushi or sashimi in Japan because they’re so good at it. I love pork too man (laughs), a barbecued wild boar is amazing! I guess I have to say Planet Earth food really, I can’t decide!
In Flames’ new album ‘Battles’ is set for release on Friday 11th of November.
