It’s all go in the In Flames camp currently. Gearing themselves up for the release of their brand new album Battles as well as their Live record it’s a busy time for the band and now they have announced their brand new drummer.
Holing up to record their brand new album Battles, In Flames resolved to work with the legendary producer Howard Benson. Upon entering the studio the band were met by Benson and his team which consisted of a studio musician one Joe Rickard. After the departure of Daniel Svensson the band were unsure where to go with their next choice of drummer. Luckily they didn’t have to look far as they found Rickard and not only recorded the new album with the man but also became close friends. Leading eventually to the band asking the man to join them full time.
Check out the band announcing the drummer as their new full time member!
The official statement is a little long winded but gives you a great idea of what the story of Rickard entails :
As you know — our longtime drummer, friend, and brother that is the almighty Daniel Svensson has left IN FLAMES to pursue other dreams. He is still with us in spirit when we write our music, in our lives, and someone whom we will cherish forever. We are truly grateful for the nearly 20 years that Daniel devoted to IN FLAMES”, the band states. “Because of each other, we’ve grown exponentially as musicians and brothers. Our 12th studio album is the first we will release without Daniel since 1998, so entering the studio this time around was a bittersweet moment. At the time, we didn’t know who could even replace him, and making new music without him felt strange. We were missing a piece of IN FLAMES.
“From February to April of 2016 we recorded our newest album, “Battles” with legendary producer, Howard Benson. Howard and his team pushed our boundaries and kept our energy high every day while navigating us through a new process. Suddenly, we felt at home. Howard introduced us to one of his trusted and so talented studio drummers, Joe Rickard. Joe had formerly been a member of Grammy nominated RED, toured with numerous bands such as
Islander and RED, and has played drums on many successful albums for artists such as RED, Vamps, Starset, Brian “Head” Welch and our very own “Battles”. Joe had such natural talent behind the kit; it seemed effortless. Once we witnessed him laying down drums to our own songs with parts we couldn’t have imagined better ourselves — we knew we had to have him join IN FLAMES.
During nearly two months recording in Los Angeles with Howard Benson, Joe quickly became not only a musician that we highly respected, but also a friend. We are proud and excited to finally announce that Joe Rickard will be taking over the drums for In Flames. We feel by adding such a talented and pure musician to our band and brotherhood that we are doing Daniel a great justice in ensuring his hard work and talent will continue on.
Daniel, thank you for your incredible talent and time dedicated to this band and family that is In Flames. We are so honoured to have had the privilege of playing music with you all of these years and we couldn’t have achieved so much without you.
In Flames’ new album is set for a November 11th release via Nuclear Blast.