Few modern bands have received as much fan backlash to a change in direction as Gothenburg’s In Flames. As one of the main acts of the burgeoning melodic death metal scene in the 90’s, their first four albums were held in the highest regard and clutched close to the chest by rabid obsessives, and their impact on both their contemporaries and future bands was beyond compare. With their 2000 opus ‘Clayman’, they reached the height of their creative powers and created a modern classic that still looms mightily in their discography. From there, the band would start to dilute the strength of their metal cred by moving in a more commercial direction and adding in increasing elements of metalcore, nu-metal, and alternative that continues to this day, losing many older fans and gaining a new audience as they went.
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