IN FLAMES Exclusive Guitar Lesson
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When Gothenburg melodic death metal pioneers In Flames came to New York as part of Gigantour 2008, MetalKult had a chance to sit down with guitarists Bjorn Gelotte and Jesper Stromblad for an exclusive riff lesson.
In the following lessons the pair demonstrate how to play a selection of new and classic tracks from In Flames’ nine-album catalog. Tracks include “Moonshield” from 1996’s The Jester Race and “Gyroscope” off of 1997’s Whoracle, as well as “Bullet Ride” (Clayman), “Zombi Inc.” (Colony), “Take This Life” (Come Clarity), and “Disconnected,” “March to the Shore” and “The Mirror’s Truth” (from A Sense of Purpose).
Watch below as Gelotte and Stromblad explain how they achieve their signature sound, which includes extensive twin guitar harmonies, complementary melodic lines and downright brutal riffage. Enjoy!
Easy as breathing !
ok so good way to learn but I think even with thoise clear explanation, I’m still not made to play guitar 
Fucking brilliant guitarists might I just say!
-In Flames We Trust
OOOhh man…ive been waiting for them to do a lesson..Thanx Jesper & Bjorn , you guyz are Amazing …In Flames We Trust, Pakistan.
Nice such a good song though it seems really simple to play
In Flames we trust Perth, Western Australia
Nice! thanks for your help on the road.
This is awesome. I am a huge In Flames fan. I was wondering if any of the stuff in the vids was written down anywhere. I find it a bit tough to follow just with the video.
AWSOOME!!
This was awesome so cool but not so god quality on the video…Cant you make tabs beside the video?? Or a movie on dvd like we can learn your songs?? Only for mebers maybe would be a good idea (Jesterhead). PLS send tabs!?!? Otherwise, PERFECT JOB!!!PERFECT!!!
Sweet, now do Goliaths Disarm Their Davids……go!
too bad new in flames fuckin blows…. go way back and listen to the jester race or whoracle and then try to tell me that this is good
Its a good album.You cant expect them to do the same thing everytime. If you want that stick to slayer.
^^^ who gives a shit, if all their past albums sounded exactly like the jester race/whoracle then they would be boring and repetitive, get over it, thats the past this is the present
rippedflesh your crazy. New or old, In Flames kick ass. Bjorn and Jesper are maestro’s on the guitar, and that lesson was sick. Need more now!!! -IN FLAMES we trust!!
In Flames are really great songwriters. Or should I say Jesper. I somehow got a vibe that Jesper does most of the riff writing. Great melody in the Chorus. Rock on and check out my band Solitude at www.myspace.com/solitudeswe
WE NEED TABS TO THIS
It’s great that they’re doing a lesson, but the quality of the video is so poor and the cameraman does such a poor job, you can’t make out most of what they’re playing unless you’re very experienced. Especially with the faster parts like the solo.
INFLAMES ARE AWESOME
your fuckin good, man
[…] In Flames guitarists Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad have posted riff lesson on how to play “The Mirror’s Truth” over at MetalKult. […]
www.ultimate-guitar.com —there are the tabs…
I think the album is ok and the songs are not really hard to play. Who cares, they sound good.
Greetings from Austria
Dinx
Wow this actually sounds pretty cool, I need to give the new album another chance.
Dude.. Awesome. I’m with the guy on the fact that older In Flames was better, but nonetheless I love the new stuff too! But yes, Jesper does take part in most of the musical composition.. More so than the rest of the band too. I wonder though, does he not speak any English? Hahah. Either that or he’s very soft spoken and doesn’t wanna talk. Oh well. I love the guy. The solo to freakin’ “Morphing Into Primal” is epic. He needs more solos.
That slayer comment made me laugh. It’s totally true. I love In Flames old AND new. You can’t expect a band to play the same stuff over and over again. If they did you wouldn’t like it anymore. Go ahead, put the same three songs on repeat for 7 hours straight. At first you’ll be like THIS IS AWESOME!!! After the 4th hour you’ll be annoyed and bored. But yeah, this is an awesome idea! I’ve always wanted to see them take it slow and break it down. It sounds allot more complicated when you hear it but it’s really not all that hard if you practice at it for a while. And if you guys want tabs just google them. I dunno how accurate they’ll be but you should find something.
IN FLAMES WE TRUST!
Great lesson! In Flames we trust, Sweden
Very nice guitar playing
love IF
In Flames are ths $hit, so what if they change their sound a little thats called NOT Dweling in the past and moving forward. just look at the slayer comment below. SOOO true!
in flames rocks! theyve been there and done that already. ”play the same album, play the same album” is all people say, those are the same people who arent in a band and dont have any musical skills. what people dont realize is when the band first formed, they were getting crap for sounding different. how many other bands have over 10 GREAT albums, travel the world over, won many awards, and actually have a true composer behind the music? great band! thanks boys!!!
HEY,
Nice Video
Can someone tell me the guitar tuning in those songs?
hey guys that’s cool!!!!
you’re really amazing, now I go to practice that songs
ah! and your new album is great!!
greetings from Ecuador see you!!
Nice guys
oh and Björn I love your guitar
Graet job guys!
I was just waiting for something like this!
Thank you very much!
Serse
“and actually have a true composer behind the music? great band! thanks boys!!!”
No, actually they all contribute to the song writing, Jesper dosen’t just do it all.
Great job guys! Now do My Sweet Shadow!!!1111oneoneelevencos(0)
So incredible, even though I cant play guitar I thought this was brilliant. IN FLAMES RULES THE ENTITE WORLD WITH THEIR AWESOME MUSIC!
/ Madelene, Sweden.
No, we definitely need OFFICIAL TABS to what they’re playing. Hopefully by the Guitar World staff…maybe Bjorn and Jesper gave them enough to get us real tabs eventually. After all, this is a GW website…
More often then not, the ultimate-guitar.com website has incorrect information/tabs. Especially since the down-tuning causes a lot of important nuances to be lost when others without trained ears tab it. It’s unfortunate, but true.
Downloadable video of this eventually would also be a help, so I don’t have to wait for this to load and we’re not dependent on an internet connection.
I love you guys! To you that are saying new IN FLAMES blows go back listening to your teeny bopper music. thanks Bjorn and Jesper for years of enjoyment in your music. also to who are not members yet join www.Jesterhead.com
if you want tabs, especially for the mirrors truth solo, look at Bjorn’s inlays. then just look carefully for lighter areas on the guitar. even with low quality, it’s a fantastic video. Lets go for “Move Through Me” or “December Flower”. I’ve always wanted to play that solo. Beautiful.
Thanks for the vids guys, I saw you on may 9th, and you kicked ass!!!
IN FLAMES WE TRUST!!!!!!11!1!! Eden Prairie, MN
Great video! Sounds awesome. I think you should make the tabs to the song as well… It’s not that easy to just look at the vidoe and then play. Some of the songs isn’t tabed (at all), so I think you should do it. Besides, it’s easier to play the song if the tabs are in fact correct. IN FLAMES ROCK!!
I think you should show us “Trigger” and “Drenched in fear”!
Joel,
In ‘december flower’ is Michael Ammot of Arch Enemy who plays that solo as guest guitarist.
These guys are genius if you look at their hand right picking.. amazing.
In ” December Flower” Fredrik Johansson plays the solo, from Amott family, only Chris Amott plays solo on “Suburban Me ” ; no Michael Amott included
You guys should all check out Cinders Fall!
I was greatly impressed when found this lessons! In Flames is the greatest band for me, I love all the albums very much. It would be cool to see here solo-part from “Move Through Me” - amazing staff, such masterpiece could be done only by IN FLAMES
We trust you, we know you were and are and will be best for all of us!!
Why don’t speak the other guitarrist?
Jesper is quiet by nature, and Bjorn can elaborate better in English. That is “why don’t speak the other guitarist.”
Quiet one he is hmm?
damn i’ve been playing take this live as a cover with my band (A Hope Of Life), and i never get to play the pre-chorus in the right way, this helped a lot. xd
bjorn and jesper you fucking rock!! come to chile we are waiting 4 you
December Flower solo please!!!!
Square Nothing whole song please!!!!
Suburban Me solo!!!!
Another day in quicksand solo!!!!!!
very nice, thanks! enjoyed it, der bullet ride movie helped a lot.
and the sound is really amazing. :>
In Flames We Trust, Germany ;>
Actually, in a Decibel interview, Peter, Bjorn and Anders confirmed that Jesper is the primary riff-writer for the band. He has let Bjorn take over many more of the solo responsibilities, as Bjorn is more than competent, but they don’t start writing an album until Jesper brings them a bunch of riffs. He’s the only original member left of In Flames, and yes, he is soft-spoken, and his english isn’t the best, but who cares. He’s not flashy, he’s just amazing. But Anders writes the lyrics, of course. All hail Jesper, the “tasteful” god of Melo-Scandi-thrash! Bjorn ain’t no slouch though.
why does everyone seem to think this is the new stuff? this is off clayman! awesome song
oh I see, it has a bunch of them
Great Site!
But give the tunnings
how do you achieve so low notes?
up the irons:)
Sounds as good as ever, just like you guys play live. Is there going to be a guitarworld issue with these tabbed out?? cuz I really would like tabs to go along with these lessons, thx
You guys rule for this!! I love watching and learning from musicians like yourselves. HUGE Inspiration! Detroit Rock City Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i like the style of the guitar playing
All you naysayers can find the tallest bridge to jump off of. In flames rules now and always. IN FLAMES WE TRUST.
Awesome stuff guys! Nice to see how down to earth you are and how you say it like it is (i.e. Tapped the solo cause you couldn’t do what you wanted to do by picking!!!! Let’s see Yngwie ever admit that!!!! Ha!).
Looking forward to seeing you guys in Oz very soon….
Cheers
Sven
im actually quite surprised that they did moonshield and gyroscope…. thats what i was fuckin talking about man!!
I play some In Flames stuff too, and the most tabs i found on the net is quite right… just google like “In Flames - The Mirrors Truth TAB” … on 911 oder ultimate i found really much stuff… but i think the nearliest right tabs are the Guitar Pro tabs from Ultimate
- btw: In Flames: u fkin rock! i love ur music more than every other band! i wanna have 10 more albums please :))))
THANKS FOR YOUR AWESOME RIFFS AND MELODIC METAL , REALLY YOU RE THE BEST BUT YOU GUYS FORGET LORD HYPNOS AND WAYFAERER , STAY COOL AND ROCK THE METAL SCENE AGAIN
Thank you guys for these lessons. It’s an amazing gift. I used to play covers of IF with my band, and we are very proud when your songs sound like they really are. I’m from Brazil and would be wonderfull to watch you live someday. Come over here! Thanks you guys, Björn and Jesper, you’re great musicians.
Too much distortion on their guitars. But Jesper is indeed a metal god. His early compositions are unmatched. And why doesn’t he say anything? Bjorn is doing all the talking….
What string size do you use?
Jesper & Bjorn guitar lesson!! I can’t belive it!! this is my dream and now is came true!!
…in flames demaciado arrecho desde VENEZUELAA COME TO VENEZUELA
Saw these guys in San Jose on the Gigantour.. Wished it was just an In Flames concert.. though much respect to High On Fire, Job For A Cowboy, Children Of Bodom, and of course, the Megadeth legends themselves.
Thanks for showcasing your awesome shredding skills. Oh and Jesper holds his picks in an awesome ass weird way sometimes with 2 fingers. ;O_o.
Keep the fire burning. In Flames, We trust.
Jesper may do alot of the musical composition but i think Bjorn is responsible for alot of the more melodic riffs that have emerged since he joined the band, and i wish people would shut up about their sound changing, if you would listen to the albums you would see this new album was what they were progressing toward, they did heavy and made it their own so let them experiment damnit, i love and respect in flames so ofcoarse i want to hear them experiment, although i like the new album and think its a great and unique sound, which is what im sure they were trying to accomplish, i think that it still needs a little more tweaking to perfection and i cant wait til the next album to see if they found it
BUT BJORN DOES NEED TO GROW THAT AWESOME AS BEARD BACK OUT, AND LONG AS HELL
awesome ass* beard
damnit i’ve been waiting for this for ages !!
but Jesper just needs to talk XD keep it up guys !!
drop c?
Hey guys you really kick ass¡¡¡.. in flames is the best fucking death melodic metal band ever
Colombia loves you
Hei, dere må snart holde en konsert hos deres litt mindre musikalske naboland. Dere er en stor inspirasjon for mange, så fortsett med det dere gjør best
Don’t think that just Jesper is creating music,why do you complicate so much(jesp is creating all of the riffs,bjorn is playing solos,jesp is writing alll the songs,bla bla bla…)they function like any other band.they together create riffs and solos,but together with a band they choose what is better to play or to leave out in songs.come to CROATIA.
Waffle said,
on May 29th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
drop c?
Bjorn is talking about Standard C, in which the strings of the guitar are tuned two whole steps lower than standard tuning (C-F-A#-D#-G-C). In Drop C (CGCFAD) ,the thickest string is tuned down two steps and remaining five strings are tuned down one step.
awesome job
you guys rock
Hey guys and swedish friends;) Just want to wish you a good tour this summer and I will see you guys at ROCK AM RING in a couple of days. You are awesome! Kalmar, Sweden
The best duo in the fucking rock world. I love your melodys. Keep your metal heart.
In Flames I trust.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Simple riffs yet amazing. I think that’s what makes a band great.
Just learn’t take this life!
Fucking awesome
DO COME CLARITY GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah !
GG, Bjorn Gelotte and Jesper Stromblad, But WE NEED MORE =)
Algeria
Waffle said,
on May 29th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
drop c?
–
Yes, tune your guitar in C, instead of eadgbe you go with cfa#d#gc, then drop the top string to a#
OMGF, YOU GUYS FCKIN ROCK!!!! BJORN AND JESPER ARE THE BEST GUITARUST IN THE WORLD!!!! SONGS ARE SOOO FCKIN MELODIC,RIFFS ARE GR8 SOLOS EVEN BETTER!!!!!
AND YES I AGREE : BJORN GROW YOUR BEARD EVEN BIGGER, LIKE BEFORE!!!!
GUYS I FCKIN LOVE YOU!!!! ^^
COME TO CROATIA!!!!!!!! PLSSSSS ^^
IN FLAMES WE TRUST
do come clarity guysssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Thank you MetalKult ! You’ve won my heart.
these videos had really help me
I wish you could show how to play metaphor and egonomic as well, thank you
That was really great
It helps a lot when you’re trying to learn how to play their songs! It’s nice to see the “right” way to play it. Which amps and effects do Bjørn and Jesper use to get this incredible raw and nice tone?
who can tell me what guitar strings size can drop to #A???
I love IN FLAMES ！！ I use the blue steel strings 54-12 …
The low tone too…… what strings size IN FLAMES use??
PLZ Tell me ………………………..
mail to me……………………..
ÄR DET KUL ATT SPELA GITAR TILL IN FLAMES RING MIG MITT NUMMER ÄR 0704462073
these guys really are amazing guitarist my only question is the tuning all the strings are dropped 2 steps except the top string which is A# please feed back
In Flames we trust
Simply brilliant from the best in the business!
I want to play some if this stuff so badly, but can’t make out everything… If somebody can put the video’s tab together for Take This Life, then you’d be placed on the same level as Gelotte and Stromblad themselves in terms of awesomeness!
About strings - for A# drop tuning I use La Bella strings 13-60, they are special for drop scale, but I would say that is hard to play solo on this strings on the guitar with neck scale 25.5 (24.5 on in flames’s gibson les paul guitars - more easy)
What about In Flames… I think they use string 13-56 or 12-56 or something like this.
this is fucking better then my guitar school!