Review Summary: The beautiful beginnings of melodeath
Line-up:
Mikael Stanne - Vocals
Jesper Strömblad - Guitar, Drums, Keyboards
Glenn Ljungström - Guitar
Carl Näslund - Guitar
Johan Larsson - Bass
Coming out of Gothenburg Sweden in the early nineties were three bands that are considered the forefathers of melodeath (AKA the “Gothenburg” sound): At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. In their embryonic stages, In Flames struggled to put a lineup together and used future Dark Tranquillity frontman Mikael Stanne as their session vocalist. Looking back at it now,
Lunar Strain may sound more like a Dark Tranquillity album but at the time it was something very original: the beautiful beginnings of melodeath.
In Flames was formed by Jesper Strömblad whose main band at the time was Ceremonial Oath, a band where the vocalist was future In Flames frontman Anders Fridén and also utilized future At the Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg (the swedish metal scene was extremely incestuous at this point). Like most genres’ or subgenres’ early stages there were some rough edges that would later be smoothed out, like the very raw production on
Lunar Strain. There are also some things that would be almost completely done away with, like the folk-ish elements that are extremely prominent on In Flames’ debut and something that clearly sets it apart from the band’s other albums, it also makes it different from any of At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity’s albums.
Album opener ‘Behind Space’ may still be one of In Flames’ more popular songs and it was later remade after Stanne parted ways with the band but the version on
Lunar Strain has sadly been forgotten, with its acoustic guitar outro and Stanne’s vocals, this is a superior version of the track. ‘Everlost (part II)’ is a small respite form Stanne’s vocals, it’s a female singer over acoustic guitars, that and ‘Hårgalåten’ (a traditional Swedish song which is remade here with violins) further enhance the album’s folk-ish feel. ‘In Flames’ is the highlight track of the album, with Stanne’s aggressive, barely comprehensible vocals, brilliant guitar work and tempo changes, it stands above the rest of the songs on
Lunar Strain but not by much, there is a very high level of musicianship throughout. Instrumentally, the one pat that may be lacking somewhat is the drums which were handled by Jesper Strömblad most likely by default, he is a capable drummer but clearly he is an outstanding guitarist and the person most responsible for In Flames’ melodic sound, a sound that he began to establish with this album.
Being In Flames’ first album and recorded with a makeshift line-up,
Lunar Strain has been forgotten for the most part and sadly the folk elements that distinguish this album from other melodeath albums was largely abandoned, but this is one of the cornerstones of Swedish death metal.
Lunar Strain laid the foundation for the melodic death metal and In Flames would get their line-up sorted out by their next full length album with their “permanent” vocalist Anders Fridén who has in Dark Tranquillity at the time…
Recommended Tracks:
In Flames
Behind Space
Upon an Oaken Throne
