In Flames Albums Ranked

In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, which was formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in 1990 in Gothenburg, Sweden. At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames are the only remaining bands responsible for developing the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During the band’s early years, In Flames had a varying group of musicians recording with them, including many session musicians. By the release of Colony (1999), the group had established a stable lineup. Their sixth studio album Reroute to Remain (2002) showed the band moving toward a newer style of music that moved further away from melodic death metal and closer to alternative metal. This decision was criticized by fans of the group’s heavier metal sound; however, it increased the band’s mainstream audience and bolstered their album sales. As of 2008, In Flames had sold over 2 million records worldwide. Since the band’s inception, In Flames have released thirteen studio albums, three EPs, and two live DVDs, their latest release being their thirteenth studio album I, the Mask in 2019. In Flames has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. They won two of these nominations; one for Soundtrack to Your Escape (2004) in the “Hard Rock/Metal of the Year” category and one nomination for their following album Come Clarity (2006) in the same category. Here are all of In Flames albums ranked.

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10. Whoracle (1997)

“Originality, inventiveness, technicality, hooks, musicianship…it’s got it all! It is a rare bird that is able to perfectly balance heaviness and melody as successfully as In Flames do, here. Indeed, brilliant songwriting is every-bit-the integral and prominent in this showcase as impeccable performances. Hence, there are more really memorable and individually-distinguishable moments, present in “Whoracle”, than I care to ever count.”

9. Colony (1999)

“This album not only gave credibility to the Swedish Melo-Death scene, it helped bring forth the modern American metalcore brand, inspiring New England acts such as Shadows Fall, Unearth, Killswitch Engage, and All that Remains. They keep the dual guitars inspired by the NWOBHM, and the death vocals, but add some singing, something very few metal bands were doing at the time. The melodic ingredients are still there, possibly even more than on previous outings, and the brutal Swedish heavy metal is still a part of this metal awesomeness.”

8. Subterranean (1994)

“This is one of In Flames best albums right up there with The Jester Race and Whoracle. Its a different singer but its still great. If you like In Flames and haven’t listened to Subterranean you need to check it out. In Flames are reaching their peak with Subterranean, both as musicians and as songwriters.”

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7. A Sense Of Purpose (2008)

“This is a GREAT album. If you like good quality really hard metal, but aren’t interested in something very very black, I think you would like In Flames. The melodic hard sound is just that perfect mix of shredding with a tempo. Some of the riffs are quite intricate and the quick solos top notch and at times even pretty.”

6. Sounds Of A Playground Fading (2011)

“Sounds of a Playground Fading continues the melodic death metal approach with obvious signs of the band shifting towards a more melodic, alternative sound with more emphasis on cleaner vocals. This album is notable for featuring only one guitarist since Jesper had already left the band by then. It is also famous for its diverse tone as Bjorn took over music writing for this entire album as with Anders for the lyrics.”

5. Soundtrack To Your Escape (2004)

“This is without a doubt one of In Flames BEST albums. It drew a lot of criticism from fans on account of the different song structure i.e. not every song has guitar solos, some still do, but some people don’t like to have their formula altered. There was a trend in older metal to place guitar solos on every single song ever written, clearly, sameness can become quite tedious.”

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4. Come Clarity (2006)

“Come Clarity is their last good album and a return to form. I enjoyed everything up to here. Reroute to Remain and Soundtrack to Your Escape were good albums but Come Clarity’s a step up. The nu-metal and metalcore is almost gone and In Flames are themselves again. Synthesizer is toned down and there’s way more guitar.”

3. The Jester Race (1996)

“After the underground successes of “Lunar Strain” and “Subterranean” (also great albums) They reached their apex with Jester Race. It starts out with the nice acoustic melodies of “moonshield” which is considered my many their best song they ever did. The riffs in this song will hook you immediately. After that comes the nice instrumental “The Jesters Dance” which is a nice transition to the next song “Artifacts of the Black Rain” which has some riffs that you’ll never forget.”

2.Reroute To Remain (2002)

“Reroute is simply a state of the art melodic metal blueprint masterclass which many bands after hearing this,basically took. The melodies on hand here are simply beautiful,epic, and condensed.Each track is delivered with passion hard edged energy and all morphed around a dark yet uplifting chorus. Some folky elements enter the fold in the guile of dawn of a new day,reminding us that in flames took focus in writing a whole structured album with many atmospheres.”

1. Clayman (2000)

“Clayman was THE album that got me into melodic death metal and then consequentially death metal and black metal further down the road. I was first introduced to In Flames through Guitar Hero II way back in 2007 and was only mildly impressed with their one track on the game, “Take This Life.” It took me 4 years to be re-introduced to In Flames and finally give them another shot at the request of a friend through the Clayman album. What I found was a completely different band altogether.”