IN FLAMES’ ANDERS FRIDÉN On Streaming Services: “You Can’t Judge An Artist In 15 Seconds”

Releasing standalone singles is slowly becoming the new norm as streaming services take over. Though if you’re In Flames vocalist Anders Fridén, you couldn’t possibly care less.

In an interview with DJ Force X of TotalRock, Fridén decried the short attention spans of people who judge artists on quick streams of a song or two. Fridén then discussed the importance of still making full length albums, and how he feels those are the best representation of a band.

“That’s how I grew up,” he said. “That’s how I listen to music. I understand, you have to adapt to the situation we’re in, and I understand a lot of people [use streaming services]. You listen to 15 seconds of a song and say, ‘That’s not for me,’ and you move on. But you can’t judge an artist in 15 seconds; you’ve gotta give ’em time.

“Who knows what’s gonna happen in the future, but for me, the album is extremely important. That’s how I want to present this band, at least. And what others do, that’s fine.

“In a way, we work as hard on one song as the next song as the 13^th song, whatever. And you will work on an album, and maybe the 13^th song doesn’t get as much exposure as you would like, because it’s last. But whatever — for me, the album is important.”

Or as Fridén puts it later, “I get why some people just wanna release singles. That’s not for us, at least.” Which is definitely fair – approaching art as you want it is the entire point of making art. Though on the flip side, I can see the benefit of splitting an album up into a handful of EPs to have some of the deeper cuts heard a little more.

In Flames will release their new full-length album Foregone on February 10. Pre-orders are available here, and you can check out the single “State Of Slow Decay” below. It’s killer.