#daniel bergstrand

Léo Margarit’s drum playthrough for WAIT by Pain of Salvation

Soundtrack to Your Escape was the first In Flames album that barely qualified as melodic death metal: Reroute to Remain may have been a shock to the system, but it was an extension of what the band had been doing since Anders Fridén joined in 1996.  However, while “Dead Alone” wasn’t that far removed from “Cloud Connected”, “Swim” or “Pinball Map”, it still felt a world away from “Jotun” or even “Embody the Invisible”.  The track moved briskly in typical In Flames fashion, and Fridén’s vocals weren’t exactly melodic, but there was far less menace here, and “Dead Alone” as a whole felt more like alt-metal than even the mellower moments on Reroute to Remain.  Maybe it was the smoothness of Daniel Bergstrand’s production, but Daniel Svensson’s drums didn’t hit as forcefully, and the axework of Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte didn’t bite as hard.  The song was still an enjoyable banger, and felt like a natural continuation of the last couple In Flames records, but when one stopped to think about it, the whole affair was pretty clear departure from death metal, even the melodic variety.  Of course, before one could call this a sellout, there was still the matter of Fridén’s croaking, which was still completely anathema to American radio. Nonetheless, Soundtrack to Your Escape was the true departure point for In Flames, signaling a break from the past that the band subsequently spent the better part of 15 years moving away from.

ICON by Pain of Salvation from the album Panther

Sabbath Mater by Behemoth from the album I Loved You At Your Darkest - Director: Dariusz Szermanowicz

Bartzabel by Behemoth from the album I Loved You at Your Darkest - Director: Dariusz Szermanowicz

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