IN FLAMES’ BJÖRN GELOTTE: Why We Used Same Production Team For Upcoming Album

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte has confirmed that the band's upcoming album was once again recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson and Howard's longtime engineer Mike Plotnikoff. Gelotte discussed the progress of the recording sessions for IN FLAMES' fourteenth studio album while taking part in an online video chat on "The Metal Tour Of The Year" Instagram on March 14. "We just recorded [our new album], actually," Björn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "We came home three days before we came [to Germany to start rehearsing for the currently ongoing U.K. tour]. We worked [in Los Angeles] with Howard Benson and his team. It's really, really good, and it suits us perfectly. The weather — January in Sweden is not very fun, and January in L.A., it's amazing." Asked if Benson has his own recording studio in California, Gelotte said: "He's got a couple [of studios], actually. It's like a house where he has a few rooms, which is the studio. And that's where we do all guitars, bass and drums and all that stuff. But he's doing all the vocals at his house; he's got his own studio set up there. So [IN FLAMES singer] Anders [Fridén records his vocal tracks] there, and I'm in the house with Mike Plotnikoff, working on riffs and stuff. Yeah, it's awesome. This is the third record we [have done] with them, and it just works out really, really good for us." IN FLAMES' follow-up to 2019's "I, The Mask" is due later in the year. The upcoming album will mark the band's recording debut with American drummer Tanner Wayne, best known for his work with UNDERMINDED, SCARY KIDS SCARING KIDS and CHIODOS. Wayne joined IN FLAMES following the departure of Joe Rickard, who played on "I, The Mask" and 2016's "Battles". Tanner made his live debut with IN FLAMES in July 2018 in Brno, Czech Republic. Longtime IN FLAMES drummer Daniel Svensson announced in 2015 that he was leaving the band to focus on his family life. IN FLAMES' current lineup features American bassist Bryce Paul, who has been playing most of the shows with the group since longtime bassist Peter Iwers's November 2016 exit. Three years ago, IN FLAMES guitarist Niclas Engelin stopped touring with the band to focus on "personal matters." Filling in for him since then has been former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick. In August 2020, IN FLAMES released a special 20th-anniversary edition of its seminal, critically acclaimed album "Clayman". "Clayman 20th Anniversary Edition" came entirely remastered by Ted Jensen (PANTERA, DEFTONES, GOJIRA) and featured all-new artwork in a 16-page booklet, a brand-new instrumental medley plus four re-recorded versions of fan favorites such as "Only For The Weak" and "Pinball Map".