In Flames "Lunar Strain (Japan, Toy's Factory, TFCK-88737)"

Lunar Strain is the debut studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released in April 1994. The album is noted for its elements of black metal and Scandinavian folk, the latter exemplified in the inclusion of violins and acoustic guitars.

Lunar Strain the only In Flames full-length to not feature Anders Fridén as the vocalist and Björn Gelotte as either drummer or lead guitarist. Guitarist Jesper Strömblad plays the drums, while the vocals are sung by Dark Tranquillity vocalist Mikael Stanne, a session musician for In Flames at the time. Stanne had sung with the band previously on "Demo '93". Coincidentally, Fridén was the original vocalist for Dark Tranquillity and he effectively traded places with Stanne in 1995. By 2010, all band members who participated in the recording of Lunar Strain had left In Flames.

The songs "Behind Space" and "Clad in Shadows" were re-recorded in the album Colony (1999), featuring In Flames' future lineup; both songs were renamed with the suffix '99 at the end of the title. "Clad in Shadows '99" was also released on the reissue of the album Whoracle (1997).

In 1999, the album was re-released under the title Lunar Strain – Subterranean, including all tracks from the band's future release, Subterranean.

On the 2003 Regain Records re-release, the songs order differs slightly, with "Clad in Shadows" being the second track, shifting the rest down by one. However, the discrepancy is not apparent in the album's track listing. Track 10, on the original release "Clad in Shadows", became Track 2 (this was not shown on the album's track list), and each track after track 2 ended up being credited as the track before (i.e. "Clad in Shadows" is credited as "Lunar Strain", and so on).

The album was re-released and remastered with bonus tracks in 2004 via Regain Records and in 2005 via Candlelight Records, featuring the same artwork but a more modern logo, as seen on Reroute to Remain and Come Clarity. The bonus tracks are actually three songs re-recorded from the band's 1993 demo, which contained "alternative mixed versions of the album recordings."

Tracklist:

1. Behind Space 04:54  
2. Lunar Strain 04:05  
3. Starforsaken 03:09   
4. Dreamscape 03:45   
5. Everlost (Part 1) 04:16  
6. Everlost (Part 2) 02:57
7. Hårgalåten 02:26  
8. In Flames 05:33  
9. Upon an Oaken Throne 02:49  
10. Clad in Shadows 02:49
11. Stand Ablaze 04:38   
12. Everdying 04:24
13. Subterranean 05:48   
14. Timeless 01:45
15. Biosphere 05:13   
16. Eye of the Beholder (Metallica cover) 05:20   

Time:  01:03:51  

Recording information:

Recorded in Autumn and Winter 1993 at Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Fredrik Nordström, H. Bjurkvist, J. Karlsson – engineering

In Flames, Fredrik Nordström – mixing

StageTech – production

Kenneth Johansson – cover art and photos

Henrik Lindahl – additional photos

Local Hero Music – layout

In Flames "The Tokyo Showdown - Live in Japan 2000 (2CDS, Mexico, Scarecrow Records, SC02041)"

The Tokyo Showdown is the first live album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames. It was recorded during their Japanese tour in 2000 at their show in Tokyo. During their performance of "Scorn" they incorporated the opening riffs of Slayer's "Raining Blood".

The album title was inspired by the action film Showdown in Little Tokyo.

Track listing

CD 1

1. "Bullet Ride" (from Clayman, 2000) 4:41
2. "Embody the Invisible" (from Colony, 1999) 3:42
3. "Jotun" (from Whoracle, 1997) 3:33
4. "Food for the Gods" (from Whoracle, 1997) 4:24
5. "Moonshield" (from The Jester Race, 1996) 4:25
6. "Clayman" (from Clayman, 2000) 3:36
7. "Swim" (from Clayman, 2000) 3:21
8. "Behind Space" (from Lunar Strain, 1994) 3:52
9. "Only for the Weak" (from Clayman, 2000) 4:31
10. "Gyroscope" (from Whoracle, 1997) 3:25
11. "Scorn" (from Colony, 1999) 3:50
12. "Ordinary Story" (from Colony, 1999) 4:15
13. "Pinball Map" (from Clayman, 2000) 4:33
14. "Colony" (from Colony, 1999) 4:47
15. "Episode 666" (from Whoracle, 1997) 3:37

Time:  01:00:32

CD 2

1. "Clad in Shadows '99" 2:24
2. "Strong and Smart" 2:33
3. "Man Made God" 4:11
4. "Behind Space" (live) 3:37
5. "Goliaths Disarm Their Davids" 4:55

Time:  17:16

Recording information:

Recorded during the Japan Tour in November, 2000.

Produced and mixed in the Spring of 2001 at Studio Fredman.

Mixed and produced by In Flames at Studio Fredman during the spring of 2001

Mastered by Göran Finnberg at The Mastering Room

Artwork and design by Niklas Sundin and Cabin Fever Media

Masayuki Noda – photography

In Flames "Clayman (Limited Edition Shape CD, NB 499-8/27361-64998)"

Clayman is the fifth studio album by Swedish Melodic Death Metal band In Flames, released via Nuclear Blast on 3 July 2000.

Clayman is the final In Flames album to feature their original melodic death metal sound. According to Andy O'Connor of Spin: "Clayman represents a sweet spot between their deathier, more complicated beginnings and their commercial aspirations."

The album's lyrics explore themes such as depression and internal struggles. The band tuned their guitars to drop A# on the songs Pinball Map and ...As the Future Repeats Today.

The album's cover art is based on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man drawing. The Jester Head appears in the background, both on the cover, and in the album booklet itself. Music videos were produced for the songs "Pinball Map" (directed by Tamara Jordan) and "Only for the Weak".

Matt Kantor of AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five and said: "With some of their best writing yet, they continue to tighten up a sound that could please fans of everyone from Queensrÿche to Arch Enemy to maybe even Satyricon. With their blend of speed, melody, and pensive aggression, In Flames is indeed hard to pin down. Clayman at its core, though, is invigorating, well-executed metal that, dare it be said, is a fun listen; this probably isn't far from what the band intends."

In 2005, Clayman was ranked No. 448 in Rock Hard magazine's book "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time". In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 by Metal Hammer magazine. In 2020, "Bullet Ride", "Pinball Map", "Only for the Weak", and the title track were re-recorded for a 20th-anniversary edition of the album. Fan responses to the re-recordings have been mixed.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Anders Fridén; all music is composed by Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte.

1. "Bullet Ride" 4:42
2. "Pinball Map" 4:08
3. "Only for the Weak" 4:55
4. "...As the Future Repeats Today" 3:27
5. "Square Nothing" 3:57
6. "Clayman" 3:28
7. "Satellites and Astronauts" 5:00
8. "Brush the Dust Away" 3:17
9. "Swim" 3:14
10. "Suburban Me" (featuring Christopher Amott) 3:35
11. "Another Day in Quicksand" 3:56

Total length: 43:44

Recording information:

Recorded and produced at Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Charlie Storm – programming, synthesizer

Christopher Amott (Arch Enemy) – guitar solo on "Suburban Me"

Fredrik Nordström – additional programming, synthesizer, recording, production

In Flames – recording, production

Axel Hermann – artwork, layout

Tobias Lundgren – photography

In Flames "Colony (Germany, Nuclear Blast NB 399-2/27361 63992)"

Colony is the fourth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released on 21 May 1999 via Nuclear Blast Records.

It is the first In Flames album to feature the band's classic line-up; Björn Gelotte switched to lead guitar, to replace Glenn Ljungström, and Daniel Svensson filled the drummer position left vacant by Gelotte. Peter Iwers became the new bass player, replacing Johan Larsson. With Anders Fridén and Jesper Strömblad remaining on vocals and rhythm guitar respectively, this lineup remained unchanged until 2010.

In 2021, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999 by Metal Hammer magazine.

The album deals with various aspects of religion, society, and spirituality, from the somewhat positive light of "Embody the Invisible" and "The New Word", to the more negative "Zombie Inc." and "Scorn". Colony features a faster, tighter, and more energetic approach to the music than displayed on the previous album, Whoracle, though the songwriting approach is similar.

The title of the song "The New Word" is subject to debate. According to the track list on the back cover of the original 1999 release, the official In Flames web site, and the lyrics printed in the original 1999 CD booklet, the correct title is "The New Word"; however, according to the heading of the lyrics printed for the song in the original booklet, the track list on the 2004 re-release, and the official Nuclear Blast Records website, the song is called "The New World". The 2009 re-release Colony: Reloaded did nothing to clear up this issue, with the insert and the booklet containing the same inconsistency as the original 1999 release. The song's lyrics themselves, meanwhile, suggest that "The New Word" is indeed the correct title.

"Pallar Anders Visa" is a cover of the Swedish folk song "Pallars-Anders visa" which can be roughly translated as "song of Anders the thief". It is an instrumental, just like the bonus track "Man Made God". Guitarist Björn Gelotte talked about it in an interview:

It's an old Swedish traditional song. Really old. "Pallar Anders" is a name, but it means "Anders, the guy who steals apples" and it's his song. I don't know how to translate it.

The song "Embody the Invisible" appears in the soundtrack for the 2003 video game Tony Hawk's Underground.

The tracks "Behind Space '99" and "Clad in Shadows '99" are both remakes of the tracks first heard on Lunar Strain, although "Behind Space '99" excludes the acoustic guitar outro present on the original version.

This would be the first time the band would down tune their guitars from C standard on previous album with "Ordinary Story" and "Colony" being tuned to drop A#, something they would continue on future albums.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Anders Fridén, except where noted; all music is composed by Jesper Strömblad, except where noted.

1. "Embody the Invisible" 3:37
2. "Ordinary Story" 4:16
3. "Scorn" Björn Gelotte, Strömblad 3:37
4. "Colony" 4:39
5. "Zombie Inc." 5:05
6. "Pallar Anders Visa" (instrumental) 1:41
7. "Coerced Coexistence" 4:14
8. "Resin" 3:21
9. "Behind Space '99" 3:58
10. "Insipid 2000" 3:45
11. "The New Word" Gelotte, Strömblad 3:18

Total length: 41:31

According to Björn Gelotte Pallar Anders visa is "an old Swedish traditional song. [...] "Pallar Anders" is a name, but it means "Anders, the guy who steals apples" and it's his song". "Pallar" is a synonym of "to steal" in Swedish.

"Behind Space '99" (and also the bonus track "Clad in Shadows '99") are remakes of the original 1994 tracks, then sung by Mikael Stanne.

"Embody the Invisible" appears in the soundtrack of the video game Tony Hawk's Underground.

Official music videos:

- Ordinary Story

- Colony

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Studio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Mastered at the Mastering Room, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Göran Finnberg – mastering

Andreas Marschall – front cover illustration