It’s no different for Swedish legends In Flames, despite the fact they’ve been around for almost a quarter of a century, and have no less than 10 albums under their collective belt. Long-time bassist Peter Iwers, speaking from his home town of Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast, has been getting a little toey in the lead up to the release of his band’s 11th record Siren Charms, but is satisfied with the final result. “I feel very happy [about the album],” he begins. “I’ve had this album in my iPhone for the last eight months or so, or even nine months, listening to it and having to keep it a secret from everyone. But now it’s finally out and I’m able to share it with everybody in the world, and I’m very, very pleased with it.”
“Everybody knows what I know,” He concludes light-heartedly. Some bands are inherent experimenters with their sound, and some simply prefer to keep on keeping on, remaining consistent and true to their musical roots and their core audience. In Flames certainly belong to the latter category, and their consistency also extends to the quality of their releases. “What we do is write music that we ourselves like,” Iwers says, “Something that I would like if somebody else wrote it. And if that’s the case, then we know we did the right thing.”
Even better news for Aussie fans of In Flames is the band are heading Down Under in mid-to-late November. In 24 years of existence, the band have only visited our shores on three previous occasions (twice on the Soundwave tour and once with Chimaira), and Iwers wants to make this one a memorable one.
“Every time we come to Australia we’re treated so well, there’s just so much love, and it’s such a pleasure to come,” he enthuses. “I’m really sad that we haven’t been able to come as often as we would have liked to, but I think that we’ll be able to change that this time around… I’m really looking forward to coming back.” He tells of an amusing but non-musical memory from one of his previous trips to Australia: “I’ve been out deep-sea fishing a couple of times,” he recalls, “and that was amazing. The first time I wasn’t really prepared so I guess I spent the most of that first day leaning overboard and puking,” he laughs.
“The second time I was a little better prepared, and I hadn’t eaten, and I’d taken seasick pills, and it was great, we had some great fishing.” Topping it all off is the fact the tour is an incredible double headlining bill, as American mainstream metal act Trivium are also making the trip. The two bands have crossed paths many times in the past, and Iwers can’t wait to hit the road with them again, especially in Australia.
“We’ve been friends with them for so many years now, as well,” he states, “it’s kind of like going on tour with a second family. We get along great with them, and it’s a pleasure to be able to play with them, they have a very big following in Australia. To do this tour with them is amazing. “I think we’ve done Japan with those guys,” he goes on, “and Europe, and America several times.” The bands are such good friends now, they definitely tend to get a little happy together when they on the road.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he confirms, “I’m speaking to Matt [Heafy, Trivium’s front man] on the web, and talking to him about stuff all the time. Food, and booze, and all the things we like to do together.” With no less than 11 albums in tow now, the band have an incredible array of tunes and eras to draw from for their set list, and they do their very best to please as many fans as possible. “You’ll get a good mix,” he predicts, “but kind of focusing on the last four or five albums, I’d say. We will definitely throw in some oldies as well, but it all depends on how long we are playing for.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
