''The Jester Race'' is the second studio album by Swedish
heavy metal band
In Flames, released in February 1996. It is the first album to feature
Anders Fridén
Pär Anders Fridén (born 25 March 1973) is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and Passenger, a side project.
Career
Early career
Fridén was original ...
as the band's vocalist,
Björn Gelotte
Björn Gelotte (born 27 August 1975) is a Swedish musician and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist for heavy metal band In Flames. He originally joined the band as the drummer in 1995, and continued in this position during ''The Jeste ...
as the drummer, and
Jester Head as the band's mascot.
The album was the band's second full-length album released following the more mainstream success of their 1995
EP, ''
Subterranean''. ''The Jester Race'' was recorded at
Studio Fredman by
Fredrik Nordström, who also contributed keyboards for the album.
The song "Dead Eternity" was originally on the Subterranean (EP) and the song "Dead God in Me" was originally on the Subterranean (EP) but with a different title, "The Inborn Lifeless". Although, the version on The Jester Race has different lyrics, a different ending, and a slightly different solo.
''The Jester Race'' ranked No. 79 on
Metal Rules
''Metal Rules'', also known as Metal-Rules, is a heavy metal webzine created by EvilG established in 1995. Based in the province of Newfoundland, Canada, the site was founded with the goal to promote "Real Metal". It is one of the world's larg ...
' list of the Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums. It is considered a classic album of the
melodic death metal
Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...
genre, along with
At the Gates
At the Gates is a Swedish death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gat ...
' ''
Slaughter of the Soul
''Slaughter of the Soul'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on November 14, 1995. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. ''Slaughter of the Soul'' is conside ...
'' and
Dark Tranquillity's ''
The Gallery'', exhibiting the dual guitar leads,
growled vocals and acoustic sections typical of the genre.
A
remixed version of the song "Moonshield" was released on the EP ''
Trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
''. A video for the song "Artifacts of the Black Rain" was also released.
Trivium
The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but t ...
frontman
Matthew K. Heafy revealed in an interview with ''Wall of Sound'' that ''The Jester Race'' is "the one metal album you should have heard by now."
Track listing
Personnel
In Flames
*
Anders Fridén
Pär Anders Fridén (born 25 March 1973) is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and Passenger, a side project.
Career
Early career
Fridén was original ...
− lead vocals
*
Jesper Strömblad
Clas Håkan Jesper Strömblad (born 28 November 1972) is a Swedish musician who is the guitarist of the bands The Halo Effect, Dimension Zero and Cyhra, and formerly of In Flames and The Resistance. He is best known as the founder and former ...
− rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards
*
Glenn Ljungström
Glenn Ljungström (born 7 September 1974) is a Swedish co-guitarist from Nödinge-Nol, for a band called The Resistance, since 2011. He was also an ex-guitarist and composer in a few other Swedish bands. He was most notably in heavy metal band ...
− lead guitar
*
Johan Larsson − bass, backing vocals
*
Björn Gelotte
Björn Gelotte (born 27 August 1975) is a Swedish musician and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist for heavy metal band In Flames. He originally joined the band as the drummer in 1995, and continued in this position during ''The Jeste ...
− drums, additional guitars
Guest appearances
*
Fredrik Nordström − keyboards
*
Oscar Dronjak
Oscar Fredrick Dronjak (born 20 January 1972) is a Swedish guitarist and founder of the heavy metal band HammerFall. Prior to the success of HammerFall, he also played and released albums with the death metal acts Ceremonial Oath and Crystal A ...
− vocal appearance on "Dead Eternity"
*Fredrik Johansson − lead guitar on "December Flower"
*Kaspar Dahlqvist − keyboards on "Wayfaerer"
Production and composition
*Produced by
Fredrik Nordström and In Flames
*Lyrical concept and song titles collaborated by
Niklas Sundin
Niklas Sundin (born 13 August 1974 in Gothenburg, Sweden) is a musician of the band Mitochondrial Sun, but was best known as the founding lead guitarist of band Dark Tranquillity (1989–2020). He was also one of the guitarists in the band Laethor ...
and
Anders Fridén
Pär Anders Fridén (born 25 March 1973) is a Swedish vocalist, best known as the lead singer of heavy metal band In Flames. He was also the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and Passenger, a side project.
Career
Early career
Fridén was original ...
*Lyrics on "Dead Eternity" by Jocke Göthberg
*Engineered by Fredrik Nordström and Patrik Hellgren
*Mastered by Staffan Olofsson
*Logo by
Glenn Ljungström
Glenn Ljungström (born 7 September 1974) is a Swedish co-guitarist from Nödinge-Nol, for a band called The Resistance, since 2011. He was also an ex-guitarist and composer in a few other Swedish bands. He was most notably in heavy metal band ...
*Artwork by Andreas Marschall
*Photos by
Kenneth Johansson
John Per Kenneth Johansson (2 May 1956 – 31 July 2021) was a Swedish Centre Party politician who was the governor of Värmland County between 2012 and 2018. He was a member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" i ...
*Layout by M&A Music art
References
External links
''The Jester Race'' album details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jester Race, The
In Flames albums
1996 albums
Nuclear Blast albums
Albums produced by Fredrik Nordström