Among the forefathers of Swedish death metal, In Flames have been in the game for almost 30 years. Formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in 1990 as a side project from his other death metal band, Ceremonial Oath, In Flames would quickly become his main focus.

In 1993, Strömblad quit Ceremonial Oath to devote himself fully to his new enterprise. The same year, he recorded the band's first demo with its first official lineup, which featured Glenn Ljungström on guitar and Johan Larsson on bass (although the lineup has changed often since).

Their demo got them signed to Wrong Again records, who released the band's first album in 1994. Lunar Strain was a solid start for the band, giving them a place to start exploring melodic death metal in a real way. A year later, they released Subterranean EP, which gave them some notoriety with its aggressive speeds and soaring melodies — it caught the attention of esteemed metal label Nuclear Blast, who signed them.

On Nuclear Blast, In Flames was off to the races, continuing to release increasingly acclaimed music throughout the ‘90s and ‘00s. With 2002's Reroute to Remain, the band took a left turn and underwent a few substantial stylistic changes, including starting to use clean vocals and employing catchier hooks and choruses.

Their new music had a generally lighter feel, which helped them break through to the mainstream and gain a bigger fan base, They quickly blew up in the U.S. and were booked at Ozzfest. The album peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Independent Albums Chart. Going forward, they continued their new sound and their new music led them to the promised land. They went on to win four Grammis, the Swedish version of the Grammys.