Spanish extreme metallers NOCTEM have issued the following:
Swedish progressive/doom metallers MINORA are collaborating with former IN FLAMES and current THE RESISTANCE guitarist Jesper Strömblad on a few songs that MINORA is planning to release later this year.
MINORA‘s debut album, “Imago”, was released about a year ago. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based band “adds unique aspects to their metal sound with a mix of alternative post-rock and progressive elements,” according to a pres release. “The result has been turning the ears of many in the metal/rock scene after countless shows and re-invention.”
“Imago” was recorded at Svenska Grammofonstudion (DARK TRANQUILLITY, THE HAUNTED) in Gothenburg and was mixed and mastered by David Castillo (KATATONIA, BLOODBATH, OPETH) at Ghost Ward in Stockholm during 2010. The album is full of dynamic, heavy, guitar-driven songs and even includes a cover of BJÖRK‘s “Jóga”. The band also employed the design skills of Shelby Cinca, who has done work for THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and DARKEST HOUR. Source: Blabbermouth.net
Malcolm Burger of Voice Of Rock Radio conducted an interview with drummer Daniel Svensson of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES ahead of the band’s first-ever appearance in the country for the annual RAMfest music festival (which took place in Johannesburg on Saturday and in Cape Town on Sunday). You can now listen to the chat HERE. Source: Blabbermouth.net
Nikita Ramkissoon of South Africa’s Times Live spoke to bassist Peter Iwers of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES ahead of the band’s first-ever appearance in the country for the annual RAMfest music festival (taking place in Johannesburg on Saturday and in Cape Town on Sunday).
On pioneering the “Gothenburg” metal sound:
Peter: “There were other bands at the same time doing similar things. I think we reached a little further then some of them. You have DARK TRANQUILLITY, AT THE GATES… so many bands did this together I would say, and I think we all had one thing in common, and that was the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. It’s not like we sat down and tried to sound like any of the bands we listened to, but we all liked these different bands. We just made music inspired by whatever we liked.”
On the band’s early years:
Peter: “We did all of these rough years on the road, not making any money, not enjoying ourselves, besides the part of being on stage. Everything around it sometimes was really crappy. So we stuck in together and had a really good time. We went up there and remembered why we started doing this. We love playing music, we love being on stage.”
On parting ways with longtime guitarist Jesper Strömblad, who left the band to seek treatment for alcoholism:
Peter: “It took us some years to realize how sick he was from the alcohol. We always thought he could handle it. But he needed more and it was really hard for us to see one of our best friends destroy himself. When he left to take care of himself, it was difficult. After one year, Jesper called and said he was quitting so that he could get better by himself, and we said, ‘Okay, as long as you’re happy and feel well.'”
On whether there have been times when the band almost reached its breaking point:
Peter: “We’ve come close, but never close enough to destroy this. I mean, on tour, we miss our families, but the love for music is what drives us. The stage brings us back and whenever we are together, we are stronger than ever.”
On being criticized by the band’s longtime fans for changing their sound over the years:
Peter: “If you listen to the first IN FLAMES record, it was kind of brutal melodic death metal. But you listen to today’s stuff, and it’s not really the same thing anymore. We’ve always had the element of melody and harmonies, usually on the guitars, sometimes on keyboards, sometimes vocals, and we just tried to incorporate it into whatever element that fitted the purpose at the time. We don’t want to make the same record twice.”
Read the entire interview from Times Live. Source: Blabbermouth.net
On February 14, Derek Snider of The Score television network — a Canadian specialty television service providing sports, news, information, highlights and live event programming, available across Canada — conducted an interview with drummer Daniel Svensson of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES when the band played at Sound Academy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Daniel talked about his favorite topics: the state of Swedish league soccer, and his boyhood love of his local football club — IFK Gothenburg. You can now watch the chat HERE. Source: Blabbermouth.net
On February 18, Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with vocalist Anders Fridén of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES when the band played at the Best Buy Theater in New York City with TRIVIUM, VEIL OF MAYA and KYNG. You can now watch the chat below. Source: Blabbermouth.net
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