walking upstream…
In Flames
photo: cato edvardsen · cc by 2.5 ↗In Flames
sourcesWikipedia · Loaded Radio · Revolver
In Flames began in 1990 as a Gothenburg side project for drummer Jesper Strömblad, who wanted to fuse Iron Maiden's melodic twin-guitar writing with death metal's brutality — a combination he later said he'd never heard attempted. Vocalist Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte joined in time for 1996's 'The Jester Race,' and across that album, 'Whoracle,' and 'Colony,' In Flames helped define the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity. By 'Clayman' (2000) and 'Reroute to Remain' (2002) they'd pushed toward a cleaner, more accessible metal that widened their audience across Europe and the U.S., while later records kept experimenting with electronics and a more mainstream metal sheen.
the sound in question
2002
Cloud ConnectedIn Flames
walk the tributaries ↓
Iron Maiden1980s · Heavy metal / Hard rock / New wave of British heavy metal
Founder Jesper Strömblad has said he started In Flames specifically to combine Iron Maiden's melodic guitar-writing with death metal's brutality, a mash-up he felt no one else had tried. Vocalist Anders Fridén has likewise pointed to a 1983 Swedish TV broadcast of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest at the Dortmund Festival as a formative, tape-it-and-replay-it moment for an entire generation of future Gothenburg musicians.
listen: upstream & here
1983
The TrooperIron Maiden
1996
MoonshieldIn Flames
listen forHear how 'The Trooper''s harmonized, singing dual-guitar line resurfaces almost unaltered in intent on 'Moonshield' — both open with a clean, melodic guitar figure played in close harmony before the song turns heavier, using the melody as connective tissue rather than an occasional flourish.
Judas Priest1980s · Heavy metal
Fridén has directly credited Judas Priest, alongside Iron Maiden, as one of the bands that shaped In Flames' sound, and 'Exciter' — released a year before Motörhead's 'Overkill' and widely cited as an early template for speed metal — models the same twin-guitar precision and driving tempo the Gothenburg scene absorbed wholesale.
listen: upstream & here
1978
ExciterJudas Priest
1997
GyroscopeIn Flames
listen forLine up 'Exciter' with 'Gyroscope' — both race at a relentless, unwavering tempo built from tightly synchronized rhythm guitar, using speed itself, rather than groove, as the main source of aggression.
Death1980s · Death metal / Progressive metal / Thrash metal
Fridén has named Death, alongside Morbid Angel, among the American death metal bands In Flames drew from despite 'not really sound[ing] like any of them' — the influence sits in vocal delivery and riff density rather than direct copying. Where Iron Maiden supplied the melody, early Death supplied the harsh, guttural vocal attack and rapid-fire riff changes layered underneath it.
listen: upstream & heresource: Wikipedia ↗
1987
Zombie RitualDeath
1997
Episode 666In Flames
listen forCompare the raw, guttural drive of 'Zombie Ritual' with 'Episode 666' — both pair a snarled, low vocal with fast, tightly chugged riffing that briefly overtakes the melody before it reasserts itself.