IN FLAMES has just released a music video for a brand new song, “State Of Slow Decay”. The band performed the track — which was produced by Howard Benson, mixed by Joe Rickard and mastered by Ted Jensen — live for the first time during its concert on Friday (June 10) at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.
IN FLAMES singer Anders Fridén stated about the song: “We have always done our own thing without any pressure from the outside world. But being back with Nuclear Blast worldwide has for sure inspired us to write a host of new material that includes the past, the present and the future. ‘State Of Slow Decay’ includes everything that IN FLAMES are known for, but it’s more than just a song, it’s a fucking statement. I couldn’t be happier to release this as a taste of what’s to come.”
IN FLAMES has just re-signed with Nuclear Blast Records, extending the partnership on a worldwide level.
Marcus Hammer, the managing director of Nuclear Blast, states: “We are extremely happy to welcome IN FLAMES back into the NBR family on a worldwide basis. Here’s the message to the metal world: A new metal masterpiece is about to drop and you can guarantee there is no decay visible. Quite the contrary: IN FLAMES and Nuclear Blast will kill it together — once again and stronger than ever!”
Nathan Barley Phillips, senior A&R, comments: “As a dedicated long-serving Jesterhead myself, it gives me great pleasure to represent IN FLAMES as they embark on this exciting new chapter of their illustrious career. I cannot wait for you all to hear what this incredible band have in store!”
In other news, IN FLAMES will embark on a North American tour this September. Support on the trek will come from FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, ORBIT CULTURE and VENDED.
A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, June 15 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) local time and end on Thursday, June 16 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “IF22” to access tickets before the general public. General on-sale will be Friday, June 17 at 12 p.m. (noon) local time.
Tour dates:
Sep. 06 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live
Sep. 07 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Sep. 08 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
Sep. 09 – Alston, VA – Blue Ridge Festival**
Sep. 10 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
Sep. 12 – Quebec, QC – Theatre Capitole
Sep. 13 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
Sep. 14 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Sep. 15 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s Entertainment Center
Sep. 16 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
Sep. 17 – Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre
Sep. 19 – Pontiac, MI – Crofoot Ballroom
Sep. 20 – Green Bay, WI – Epic Event Center
Sep. 22 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Sep. 23 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life**
Sep. 25 – Birmingham, AL – Furnace Fest**
Sep. 27 – Sauget, IL – Pop’s
Sep. 28 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theater
Sep. 29 – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion
Sep. 30 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
Oct. 02 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium*
Oct. 04 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre*
Oct. 08 – Riverside, CA – Riverside Municipal Auditorium*
Oct. 09 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium*
Oct. 10 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee*
Oct. 12 – Dallas, TX – The Factory Deep Ellum
Oct. 13 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live*
Oct. 15 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live*
Oct. 16 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle*
* With MESHUGGAH
** Festival date
This past March, IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte confirmed that the band’s upcoming album was once again recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Benson and Howard‘s longtime engineer Mike Plotnikoff.
Gelotte discussed the progress of the recording sessions for IN FLAMES‘ fourteenth studio album while taking part in an online video chat on “The Metal Tour Of The Year” Instagram.
“We just recorded [our new album], actually,” Björn said. “We came home three days before we came [to Germany to start rehearsing for the U.K. tour]. We worked [in Los Angeles] with Howard Benson and his team. It’s really, really good, and it suits us perfectly. The weather — January in Sweden is not very fun, and January in L.A., it’s amazing.”
Asked if Benson has his own recording studio in California, Gelotte said: “He’s got a couple [of studios], actually. It’s like a house where he has a few rooms, which is the studio. And that’s where we do all guitars, bass and drums and all that stuff. But he’s doing all the vocals at his house; he’s got his own studio set up there. So [IN FLAMES singer] Anders [Fridén records his vocal tracks] there, and I’m in the house with Mike Plotnikoff, working on riffs and stuff. Yeah, it’s awesome. This is the third record we [have done] with them, and it just works out really, really good for us.”
IN FLAMES‘ follow-up to 2019’s “I, The Mask” is due later in the year. The upcoming album will mark the band’s recording debut with American drummer Tanner Wayne, best known for his work with UNDERMINDED, SCARY KIDS SCARING KIDS and CHIODOS. Wayne joined IN FLAMES following the departure of Joe Rickard, who played on “I, The Mask” and 2016’s “Battles”.
Tanner made his live debut with IN FLAMES in July 2018 in Brno, Czech Republic.
Longtime IN FLAMES drummer Daniel Svensson announced in 2015 that he was leaving the band to focus on his family life.
IN FLAMES‘ current lineup features American bassist Bryce Paul, who has been playing most of the shows with the group since longtime bassist Peter Iwers‘s November 2016 exit.
Three years ago, IN FLAMES guitarist Niclas Engelin stopped touring with the band to focus on “personal matters.” Filling in for him since then has been former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick.
In August 2020, IN FLAMES released a special 20th-anniversary edition of its seminal, critically acclaimed album “Clayman”. “Clayman 20th Anniversary Edition” came entirely remastered by Ted Jensen (PANTERA, DEFTONES, GOJIRA) and featured all-new artwork in a 16-page booklet, a brand-new instrumental medley plus four re-recorded versions of fan favorites such as “Only For The Weak” and “Pinball Map”.