Lunar Strain
| Lunar Strain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by In Flames | ||||
| Released | 1 April 1994[1] | |||
| Recorded | November-December 1993 | |||
| Studio | Studio Fredman | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal | |||
| Length | 36:43 | |||
| Label | Wrong Again, Regain, Candlelight | |||
| Producer | In Flames | |||
| In Flames chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
Lunar Strain is the debut album by Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames.
It is the only album not to feature Anders Fridén on vocals. Instead vocals were sung by Mikael Stanne, who is currently the vocalist of Dark Tranquillity and was a session musician for In Flames at the time. He had sung with this band previously on "Demo '93". Coincidentally Fridén was the original vocalist for Dark Tranquillity and he effectively traded places with Stanne in 1995.
The album is known for its "folky elements" with the inclusion of violins and acoustic guitars.
The songs "Behind Space" & "Clad in Shadows" were rerecorded with the future lineup of this bands' future release Colony - the songs were released on the album, although both songs were renamed with '99 at the end of the titles and both songs ended up on different version of the album with "Behind Space '99" on the standard and "Clad in Shadows '99" on the reissue. "Clad in Shadows '99" was also released on another reissue of this band's future album, Whoracle.
Reissues
In 1999, it was re-released and included all the tracks from once again another of this bands' future release, Subterranean under the title Lunar Strain - Subterranean.
In the 2003 Regain Records version of the re-release, the songs order differs slightly with "Clad in Shadows" being the second track shifting the rest down by one. However, the discrepancy is not apparent in album track listing, being mislabeled as the below. For Example, Track 10 on the original release "Clad In Shadows" became Track 2 on this re-release (this was not shown on the track list) so each track after track 2 ended up being credited as the track before, it, e.g. "Clad In Shadows", Track 2, was still credited as "Lunar Strain", "Lunar Strain" was credited as "Starforsaken", and so on.
The album was re-released, and remastered with bonus tracks in 2004 under Regain Records and in 2005 under Candlelight Records USA with the same artwork but the more modern logo seen from the album Reroute to Remain to Come Clarity. The bonus tracks are actually three songs re-recorded from the band's 1993 demo,[3][4] which contained "alternative mixed versions of the album recordings."
Track listing
All music composed by Glenn Ljungström and Jesper Strömblad (except "Hårgalåten", traditional song).
All lyrics written by Mikael Stanne
| 1994 Original release | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Behind Space" | 4:55 |
| 2. | "Lunar Strain" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "Starforsaken" | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Dreamscape" (instrumental) | 3:45 |
| 5. | "Everlost (Part I)" | 4:17 |
| 6. | "Everlost (Part II)" | 2:57 |
| 7. | "Hårgalåten" (instrumental) | 2:26 |
| 8. | "In Flames" | 5:33 |
| 9. | "Upon an Oaken Throne" | 2:49 |
| 10. | "Clad in Shadows" | 2:49 |
| Lunar Strain - Subterranean[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 11. | "Stand Ablaze" | 4:33 |
| 12. | "Everdying" | 4:23 |
| 13. | "Subterranean" | 5:46 |
| 14. | "Timeless" | 1:46 |
| 15. | "Biosphere" | 5:07 |
| 16. | "Dead Eternity" | 5:01 |
| 17. | "The Inborn Lifeless" | 3:23 |
| 2005 Remastered re-release | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Behind Space" | 4:55 |
| 2. | "Clad in Shadows" | 2:49 |
| 3. | "Lunar Strain" | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Starforsaken" | 3:10 |
| 5. | "Dreamscape" (instrumental) | 3:45 |
| 6. | "Everlost (Part I)" | 4:17 |
| 7. | "Everlost (Part II)" | 2:57 |
| 8. | "Hårgalåten" (instrumental) | 2:26 |
| 9. | "In Flames" | 5:33 |
| 10. | "Upon an Oaken Throne" | 2:49 |
| 11. | "In Flames" (1993 promo version) | 5:49 |
| 12. | "Upon an Oaken Throne" (1993 promo version) | 3:05 |
| 13. | "Acoustic Piece" (instrumental; 1993 promo version) | 0:38 |
| 14. | "Clad in Shadows" (1993 promo version) | 2:47 |
Personnel
In Flames
- Mikael Stanne – lead vocals
- Glenn Ljungström – lead guitar
- Carl Näslund – rhythm guitar
- Johann Larsson – bass guitar
- Jesper Strömblad – drums; keyboards
Guests musicians
- Ylva Wåhlstedt – violins, viola
- Jennica Johansson - vocal appearance
- Oscar Dronjak – vocal appearance
Technical personnel
- Engineered by H. Bjurkvist, Fredrik Nordström and J. Karlsson.
- Mixed by In Flames and Fredrik Nordström.
- Premastered by StageTech.
- Cover art and photos by Kenneth Johansson.
- Earth photo by NASA.
- Additional photos by Henrik Lindahl.
- Sculpture by M. Olofgörs, installed at Näsholmen, Gotland, 1993.
- Layout by Local Hero Music.
- Distribution in Scandinavia by House of Kicks.
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 1 April 1994 | CD | Wrong Again Records |
| Japan | 1999 | CD | Toy's Factory |
| World | 2003 | CD | Regain Records / Candlelight Records |
| World | 2005 | CD | Regain Records / Candlelight Records |