𝗜𝗻 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 — 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 (2011)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

12 years ago this week, we walked through the “Jesters Door”!

On June 15th, 2011, In Flames released their tenth full-length studio album, Sounds of a Playground Fading in their homeland of Sweden via Century Media Records. The album was later released on multiple dates throughout the rest of the world. See below for more release dates.

It is the first album recorded by In Flames without founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad, who left the band in February 2010, making it also the only In Flames release not to have two guitarists. The album was reissued on December 9th, 2014, featuring five additional tracks.

Background:

The departure of guitarist and founding member Jesper Strömblad was announced on the band's MySpace on February 12, 2010. The parting was on good terms with Strömblad, stating that "I'm determined to fight and defeat my demons once and for all...", with the remaining band members backing his decision, though in a more recent declaration Anders Fridén stated that their relationship with Strömblad was not going well. On February 28, 2011, it was announced that Niclas Engelin had re-joined the band to take the vacant spot left by Strömblad's departure.

On October 11, 2010, In Flames entered IF Studios in Gothenburg to start recording “Sounds of a Playground Fading”. On January 25, 2011, the band announced that the recording of their new album was finished and that the album was being mixed. The album was recorded with producer Roberto Laghi.

According to Anders Fridén, the album features increasingly wide vocal registers and reduced growls. In addition, some of the album's songs "pretty much go against the Hard Rock formula."

The entire album was written by Björn Gelotte. The guitar solos, unlike most other albums, were able to be pre-planned out and worked much better according to the in-studio report.

In March 2011, In Flames signed with Century Media Records. On April 6, 2011, In Flames announced their newest single, "Deliver Us", was slated for a May release.

“Sounds of a Playground Fading” was released in Sweden on June 15, 2011, on June 17, 2011 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Norway, on June 20, 2011 in the UK, Benelux, France, Greece, Denmark and Portugal, on June 21, 2011 in North America, Spain and Italy, on June 22, 2011 in Finland, Hungary and Japan, and on June 24, 2011 in Australia and New Zealand.

A video was made for "Deliver Us". It was filmed in Gothenburg, and was again directed by Patric Ullaeus, who also directed the second video from “Sounds of a Playground Fading”, "Where the Dead Ships Dwell".

A "making of" studio documentary was also made for the album, filmed by Anders Björler.

Release & Promotion:

The band revealed the cover art, track listing and first single, "Deliver Us", on their official Facebook page in April and May 2011.

Then on June 3, 2011, aol.com streamed the entire album on their music network. In Flames performed the album on their European tour with support from Noctiferia, as part of the "Defenders of the Faith III" tour, with bands Trivium, Rise to Remain, Ghost and Insense, and with Trivium in their North American Tour.

The track "Deliver Us" was featured in the soundtrack to the 2013 video game Saints Row IV.

Touring in Support of Sounds of a Playground Fading:

To support the album, In Flames performed at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, and alongside Megadeth, Trivium, Machine Head, Godsmack, and Disturbed at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival 2011.

They also played at Hellfest Festival 2011, headlining the second main stage, and Nova Rock Festival in Austria.

For part of the European tour, Jonas Ekdahl of Evergrey and Death Destruction filled in for Daniel Svensson on drums, after Svensson's decision to remain in Sweden for a time following the birth of his child.

Critical Reception:

“Sounds of a Playground Fading” received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Metacritic gave the album a 68 out of 100 based on 6 professional critics.

James Christopher Monger at AllMusic stated;

“On “Sounds of a Playground Fading”, the band’s tenth studio album, In Flames officially complete their transition from Swedish melodic death metal pioneers to unpredictable Swedish progressive pop/rock/neo-classical metal innovators.” Monger then concluded; “Bombastic and synth-heavy, “Sounds of a Playground Fading” is filled with more radio-ready moments than any of the group’s previous outings, which may divide some longtime fans, but it’s as epic as Scandinavia is cold, which is after all, the band’s trademark.”

The album debuted at No. 27 on the US Billboard 200 album chart; No. 2 on the Top Hard Rock chart, No. 7 on the Top Rock chart and No. 5 on the Top Independent chart. It also debuted at No. 1 of the Media Control German Albums chart, and at No. 12 of the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Sounds of a Playground Fading” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/sounds-of-a-playground-fading/1045560868

Click this link to watch the official music video for "Deliver Us": https://youtu.be/Wr9LZ1hAFpQ

Click this link to watch the official music video for "Where the Dead Ships Dwell": https://youtu.be/ylfn0o66jwM

Click this link to follow In Flames on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inflames

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells