In Flames credit Van Halen with album sound
Frontman Anders Friden says guitarist Bjorn Gelotte took his lead from rock icon Eddie

Anders Friden says In Flames guitarist Bjorn Gelotte brought a Van Halen vibe to their latest album.
Siren Charms, their 11th studio outing, launched last year via Sony, and Friden says Gelotte brought a classic rock feel to the record thanks to the guitarist’s love of Eddie Van Halen’s style of playing.
He tells Yell Magazine: “His main influences are Dio, Rainbow, Deep Purple and stuff. He listens to some new stuff but he’s very old school. He has a very loose playing style sort of like Eddie Van Halen and those guitar players like Ritchie Blackmore – not super technical as I sometimes think super technical players are amazing but there’s no soul in it.
“Niclas Engelin and Bjorn compliment each other very well because Niclas has more of a riffy, picky, attack type of playing, where Bjorn is way more loose.”
Earlier this month, Friden said he missed his friendship with former guitarist Jesper Stromblad who quit the band in 2010. They also recorded two gigs in their homeland of Sweden in November for an upcoming DVD release.
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!

Scott has spent 36 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 11 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.