#Björn Gelotte

[astralbondpro]

In Flames // Cloud Connected

[thisnoise]

[thepermanentrainpress]

Gallery: In Flames @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre - Vancouver, BC Date: November 25, 2023 Photographed by: Danielle Costelo

[metalsongoftheday]

Monday, April 3: In Flames, “Black & White”

“Black & White” closed Reroute to Remain with a provocation and a dare: although In Flames’s sixth album as a whole wasn’t nearly the sellout that many in the underground proclaimed, its final track not only bounced with the times but with Anders Fridén warbling “I've come to the conclusion, yes I know/ That between black and white there is no room for two” it was clear a line was being drawn.  Although the lyrics seemed to be about a relationship (in as much as Fridén’s words could be deciphered), the notion that the singer and band couldn’t work in half measures signaled a sea change in their approach.  At the same time, “Black & White” wasn’t exactly radio friendly: Fridén’s strangled whine couldn’t pass for proper singing even by nu metal standards, and the attack in Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte’s guitars was fundamentally melodic death metal even if the writing wasn’t necessarily that.  As a result, “Black & White” as a song actually went against the message of its chorus, trying to have it both ways on its way to establishing In Flames as a major international act.

[stoneoferech]

In Flames "In Our Room"

[cardinalcopial0v3r]

someone say they like in flames too i need some in flames lovers in here !

[shobolanya]

as promised, here are some moodboards of my fancast (that is actually more like faceclaims/ people that inspire me when i draw Silmarillion characters) - moodboards highly inspired by @thegirlwhohid (go check her blog out, it's AMAZING)

𝟣. 𝒯𝒽��� 𝒜𝒾𝓃𝓊𝓇 -> 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒱𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓇

Manwë - Christoph Schneider

Varda - Dita von Teese

Ulmo - Marko Hietala

Yavanna - Floor Jansen

Aulë - Björn Gelotte

Mandos - Jonathan Hultén

Vairë - Zaz

Lórien - Chris Harms

Estë - Ruby Commey

Nienna - Gwendoline Christie

Oromë - Oliver Riedel

Vána - Elize Ryd

Tulkas - Charlie Hunnam

Nessa - Charlotte Wessels

bonus:

Melkor Morgoth - Phil Bozeman

[agnostic-priest-metal]

Timeline of Agnostic Priest & Introducing characters

1996: Tobbe and Skwisgaar found Agnostic Priest

1996-1998: The rest of the bandmates join AP

1998: First studio album releases

2004: Skwisgaar leaves

2005: AP officially splits up and ends their contract with the label

2024: Nana makes contact with everyone and starts setting up sns account

⬇️ Backdrop of the character

1. Erik Ekdahl

- Born 10 June 1975, Gothenburg, Sweden. He is an only child.

- Started playing viola when he was 4 years old but soon his interest moved toward acoustic guitar, he was 6 years old at that time. Few years later after listening to KISS and Iron Maiden - a music that changed his entire life - he started playing electric guitars when he was 11.

- His first guitar was an Ibanez RG550 and later he bought a Jackson rr24 Rhoads with his own money. He continued using that until now(1998).

- Attended the University of Gothenburg, but soon he dropped out(1995) with a dream of making his first metal band. Due to his decision he had a lot of fights with his parents and eventually left his home.

- His first band’s name was Moonchild, a symphonic metal band, and he was also a guitarist in that band. But its genre didn’t suit him and he wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the music so he decided to disband it(1996).

- Wandering around for 2 years, having some part time jobs and sleeping in an abandoned car, he saw the notice about Skwisgaar and Tobbe’s band by chance and decided to join the audition.

- Current(1998) music inspo: Alexi Laiho(COBHC), Björn Gelotte(In Flames), Johan Norman(Dissection), Michael Amott(Arch Enemy), Ihsahn(Emperor)

- Later music inspo: Kim Carlsson(Lifelover), Georg Börner(Coldworld), Neptune(Gris), Einar Selvik(Wardruna), Amalie Bruun(Myrkur)

After Skwisgaar’s departure(2004)

For a few months he was totally wasted. He tried to contact Skwisgaar one way or another but kept failing, and it made him more and more fall into depression.

Eventually, he decided to leave the band(2005) and thought he should sublimate his feelings into music - so he created a one-man DSBM band called Viva la Vida(2007), using his stage name as W. Although his band drew excess attention to listeners and achieved pretty much success, he refused all show suggestions and all interviews at that point.

In 2012, his parents accidentally died in a car crash. He heard that news from his friend and had a small funeral with his friends, but didn’t invite AP members(He didn’t want to show his weakness). After their death he started getting into some kind of old norse religion, so he stopped Viva la Vida(2013) and made another side folk music project called Heimdall. He devoted his entire life to it(2014~) until he received Nana’s call.

Misc.

- Fluent in Swedish. English is conversational but sometimes broken. Or many times.

- Never dyed or bleached his hair.

- That time when he was a member of Moonchild he was in a dating relationship with one of the band members, however the disbandment made him break up.

- Had a huge crush on Skwisgaar at the first sight and still secretly likes him. But well everybody knows that except Skwisgaar…

- Always wasted especially after the concert, he’s the one who brings all those boozes with a box. Became more mischievous and flirty than ever when he got drunk(natural bottom energy?)

- Soooooo jealous. One of the default personalities of a moody person.

- Doesn’t like outdoor activities or exercise, the only way to make him chill is a horror movie with a pint of beer. Or some phone calls with Skwisgaar.

2. Natalia (Nana) Berg

Childhood (5-14)

- Born in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil-december 20th 1975.

- Natalia was "made" as an accident by two young adults who didn't feel like wearing protection at a party. her dad was a Swedish tourist , and her mom was a stripper.

- When she was born,Nana lived with her mom till she was 5 in a messy shack in the slums of the city. but she was taken from her after many neighbors report loud crying and screams coming from their house, her mother used to leave her child alone for days to attend funk balls/parties without leaving food or anything for them.

- She was forced to move to Sweden to live with her dad, who was mostly an emotionally absent man,whom Nana would be homeschooled by until they turned 14 and were registered into an actual school.

- But before they were even attending classes, Nana already had a fascination for bugs from any shapes and sizes, and used to play with those in their father's backyard, sparking their interest in biology.

Adolescence(14-18)

- Soon after Nana starts to attend school she starts to get bullied by her classmates for being a quiet(mostly non verbal) and ‘’weird’’ kid,which made them completely change their personality to become more defensive but that only made things worse,as now they would constantly get into fights with her bullies.

- Towards the ending of their highschool years, Nana began to date a guy she met in biology class, she didn’t know how to differentiate between platonic and romantic feelings and ended up accepting his offer to date him.

Adulthood(18-20s)

- like 2 years go by,and Nana at some point realizes she didn’t like him that way, but couldn't bring himself to break up with his partner as they are now living together after their dad kicked them out for coming out as queer.

- And while dating this guy, Nana realized their talent for music and they would sometimes do some gigs here and there to pay their rent. She would sing while her partner would play guitar.

- After saving enough money to move out and finally breaking up with their boyfriend,Nana moves into a shitty apartment next to a bar,in which he would perform almost every night,singing some cheesy and moody blues.

- This goes by for almost a year and a half until he auditions for agnostic Priest as the vocalist.

Skwisgaar leaves and AP breaks up.

- After trying to keep everyone close and failing at it,Nana loses contact with his old friends and goes back to Brazil to get a new start at life. with the money they got while being in the band he’s able to buy a good new house in a good neighborhood.

- Things where going great,he goes to a good university(UFRJ) and starts studying biology like he always wanted to,though he still misses working in the music industry.

- Until he decides to get drunk in the middle of a Carnaval,blacks out,and wakes up in someone’s bed.(9 months later he has a VERY UNEXPECTED surprise!!!)

- Finally after such a long time,Nana gets her biologist degree and decides to contact their old friends again to try for one last time to get everyone back together,luckily this time it’ll work out.

- (They never really moved on completely,just avoided thinking about it all the time.)

FUN FACTS

- Fluent portuguese and swedish,a bit shitty at english,sometimes he’ll forget words and curse in portuguese until he figures out how to speak again.

- Was terrified of thunders as a child,never grows out of that.(the nights where Ocelot sleeps with him helps him chill out in case it’s raining)

- Really wants a pet snake.

- Might not be the best at giving advise,but will def listen to a dear one vent and comfort them.

- Has trouble opening up to people,even those he’s close with.

- There’s bug bites literally all over his body.

- If they’re angry at someone or just wants them to shut up he just stares at them without saying anything until the person gets uncomfortable.

- Forgets to eat for hours until he starts to get a bit dizzy.

- Longs to know what true loves feels like (OH THATS SO CHEESYYYYAUGGHHHH)

AFTER AP

- Kept contact with Skwisgaar for a few weeks until they were asked not so politely to leave him alone.

- considering top surgery after their baby grows up a bit

- Gains a bit of weight,which makes them happy

- Still uses the friendship bracelet Ocelot made him years ago

- Damn i still want a pet snake.

3. Torbjørn “Tobbe” Sørensen

- Born 9 September 1974 - Aarhus, DK. Oldest of 3 children (a younger sister and brother).

- Pretty normal childhood. Parents had an amicable divorce when he was 5 and both remarried. Tobbe and his siblings spent time with both sets of parents evenly.

- Began piano lessons at 7 but wasn't really into playing the classics like Bach and Beethoven. He was good at it despite being bored and continued playing at the urging of his parents.

- Got into hard rock and heavy metal around age 12. He tried learning both guitar and drums for a few years but had no patience for it. In the early/mid 80s, he realized that keyboards had a place in hard rock and heavy metal through artists like Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nocturnus, Faith No More, etc. He swapped his piano for a Korg Krome and began learning lead guitar solos on the keyboard.

- Dropped out of high school at 16 (1990) and moved to Copenhagen with a group of friends who wanted to start a band. They had limited success and performed local gigs at small venues. Spent some time living in a VW van.

- By age 19 (1993), their band had broken up. Tobbe moved to Gothenburg which had a bigger metal scene in hopes of more opportunities to advance his musical career. He played as a session guy with limited success until meeting Skwisgaar in 1995/96(?) and beginning to record demos.

1998

- AP releases its first studio album.

- Current (1998) equipment: Korg Krome 88 key workstation.

- Other musical abilities: Classical piano. Occasionally does backing vocals. Can play very basic chords on an acoustic guitar.

- Current (1998) musical inspo: Jesper Strömblad (In Flames), Stian Aarstad (Dimmu Borgir), Janne Wirman (CoB/Warmen), King Diamond (Mercyful Fate)

2004 - Present

- 2004: Tobbe and Skwisgaar's argument leads to Skwisgaar leaving the band. Tobbe immediately cancels all remaining shows on their tour so the band can re-group and plan what to do next. However, they never find a replacement for Skwisgaar.

- 2005: After Erik leaves, Tobbe officially dissolves AP and ends their contract with the record label. He disappears back to Denmark and has no contact with his former bandmates for several years. He leaves the music industry altogether at this time.

- 2007: Starts one of the only long-term romantic relationships he ever has.

- 2008: He finally gets his student matriculation degree (basically a GED/high school diploma) and begins attending university for a tourism management degree.

- 2009: With social media becoming more popular, he reaches out to those of his former bandmates who he can find online with a long written apology message about how everything ended. However, he doesn't maintain conversations with anyone, still feeling guilty about everything. He marries his partner, which is probably a mistake.

- 2011: Divorces. It's not bitter but they don't stay in touch.

- 2012: Finishes his degree. After this, he moves around Scandinavia and the US for some time, unsettled and kind of aimless. Never really gets into a new career and just kind of works odd jobs here and there.

- 2018: Finally settles in Copenhagen to be nearer to his siblings and his nieces/nephews.

- 2024: Returns to Gothenburg after receiving Nana's call.

Misc. Facts:

- Languages: Danish (fluent/native), Swedish (conversational), English (conversational), Norwegian (very basic)

- He's been bleaching his hair fringes for years…perhaps the bleach has affected his brain…

- Doesn't really like doing interviews - especially if it's not in Danish. He gets nervous.

- His personality is pretty reserved and easygoing. Alcohol makes him come out of his shell a bit more, and on the rare occasion that he gets VERY wasted, he's like a totally different guy (loud and laughing at everything, flirtatious, etc.)

- Health-conscious and likes to be outdoors every chance he can get. Also loves exploring different cities when they have free time during tours.

- Keeps his private life separate from his rock star persona/work life.

- Skwisgaar was one of his best friends before… everything. :c

- Still visits his siblings and parents when he has time. They're quite supportive! His mom has a scrapbook with mementos from all their tours, interviews from magazines, ticket stubs, etc.

- His freckles are more pronounced after a lot of sun.

4. Ziggy

- Born May 29, 1980

- He is grumpy, introverted, and picky. He prefers spending time alone rather than socializing with others, valuing his personal space and time. He doesn't easily show his emotions and often appears aloof, but he is actually warm and sensitive inside.

- His favorite is Drum playing. He has been playing the drums since he was 5 years old and is highly skilled, excelling at creating fast and complex rhythms.

- His hobby is Collecting vintage records. Ziggy has a deep interest in music, particularly vintage records from the 60s and 70s. His room is filled with a carefully organized collection.

- He loves Spicy food, especially Buffalo wings. He enjoys eating spicy food to relieve stress.

- He hates Seafood. He especially dislikes food with a fishy smell.

- He prefers simple street fashion and mostly wears dark-colored clothes. He likes comfortable yet stylish outfits, often seen in black T-shirts and jeans.

- He lives with his parents and an older brother. His father is a mechanic, his mother is a nurse, and his brother is studying engineering in college. Though he gets along with his family, he spends a lot of time alone.

- He has a black cat named Shadow. Shadow is a close companion who understands Ziggy's introverted nature.

- He dropped out of high school after finishing middle school. He attended an arts high school, majoring in music, but left to focus more on actual music activities.

- He listens to Rock, punk, metal. He enjoys playing and listening to aggressive and powerful music.

- His favorite stuffs are Drums, particularly his vintage drum set. This drum set, inherited from his grandfather, holds great significance for him.

- He has a small circle of close friends. He dislikes large groups and prefers deep conversations with a few trusted friends. His best friend is Erik, the band's guitarist.

- He avoids Crowded places and parties. He feels uncomfortable in noisy and crowded environments.

- He loves video games. He particularly enjoys arcade games and often spends time at a local arcade.

- Most Cherished Item: Drumsticks inherited from his grandfather. These sticks are a source of inspiration for him.

- He hates Rude people, noise, overly cheerful individuals. He prefers serious and quiet atmospheres.

- His dream is to become a famous drummer and tour the world. He wants to move people with his music.

- He is actually emotional and sensitive, though he rarely shows it. He struggles with expressing his feelings, which can make him seem cold at times.

- He's fluent in English and has trouble with speaking Swedish but he's perfect at body language so it doesn't matter.

5. Ocelot

(CW: Physical and verbal abuse, drug addiction)

Pre-band - Present (1998)

- Born on August 29th 1976 in Gothenburg Sweden. She was the youngest of four, though with a fifteen year age gap between her and the nearest sibling

- Was generally a pretty outgoing, loving kid up until the teenage years when they started getting verbally and physically assaulted by her parents

- Moved out swiftly the day she turned 18, leaving to Germany for a few years

- Made some friends there and that's when they realized they were a lesbian. It's also where they found their passion for music and was introduced to alternativae bands

- In 1997 she moved back to Gothenburg to hopefully patch things up with her parents, which didn't go well

- Soon after breaking up with her girlfriend she met Tobbe, who practically picks her up off the street. She was one of the last members to join the band in 1998

Post Band

- When Skwisgaar leaves in 2004 Ocelot quickly descends into a deep depression, though trying to pull herself together and keep the band going. She never openly talked about it or expressed it

- In 2005 when everyone breaks up she attempts stability, failing miserably

- From 2005 - 2012 she spirals into a major drug addiction, mainly downers, becoming heavily reliant on heroin and pain killers.

- In 2013 she meet someone who helps her back on her feet and forces her into rehab where she makes a full recovery. She begins focusing on music again and attempts to reach out to her old band mates, though mostly failing

- In 2015 she's broken up with and that sends her into another deep depression where she ends up in and out of homelessness and desperately attempting to not slip into old habits

- 2020, as the world fell into disarray, she gained an emotional dependency on weed

- When Nana reached out in 2024 she was quick to respond and more than happy to regroup

Fun facts

- Languages: Swedish (obviously), German (conversationally), English (conversationally and somewhat broken)

- Avoids any sort of conflict unless absolutely necessary due to the abuse she received as a child

- Wears little cat ears because she thinks they're cute

- Is intensely physically affection, having lacked it throughout her life, quickly growing attached to anyone that gives it to her

- Isn't very emotionally available

- Will drop mildly disturbing facts for no reason, always with a deadpan face

- Her favorite color isn't actually orange, she just really likes how it goes with all the black she wears. She actually prefers purple

[metalcultbrigade]

Björn Gelotte 27/08/1975

[architeuthis3]

🎄 https://youtu.be/xSRUM4P-1P0 Superhero of the Computer Rage · In Flames · Björn Gelotte · Jesper Strömblad · Anders Friden · Björn Gelotte · Jesper Strömblad · Anders Friden

[astralbondpro]

In Flames // Alias

[thisnoise]

It is my reflection but I know it's not me.

[nofatclips-home]

I Am Above by In Flames - Video featuring Martin Wallström

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, September 26: In Flames, “Swim”

Clayman was the demarcation point for In Flames, serving as the bridge between the melodic death metal that won over the underground and the subsequent attempts at mainstream radio rock.  And this didn’t go unnoticed at the time, though there was still enough Colony-style craziness to convince most onlookers that the band hadn’t completely sold out (that would come soon enough, and prove more correct than anyone expected).  “Swim” epitomized this duality: Fredrik Nordstrom’s production slathered on what felt like hundreds of guitar tracks, and that melodic interlude felt both of a piece with Colony and Whoracle and also a touch more accessible, while Anders Fridén’s howling was nonsensical as always but not quite as unhinged.  In other words, it inched towards respectability without fully (or even mostly) crossing over- this still sounded like classic In Flames and played like a logical evolution instead of a wholesale realignment.  

[stoneoferech]

In Flames "Battles"

[sunset-supergirl]

Happy birthday Björn Gelotte