Wikipedia

Sounds of a Playground Fading

Sounds of a Playground Fading is the tenth studio album by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, released on 15 June 2011.[8] It is the first album recorded by In Flames without founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad, who left the band in February 2010,[9] making it also the only In Flames release not to have two guitarists. The album was reissued in 2014, featuring five additional tracks.[10]

Sounds of a Playground Fading
Studio album by
In Flames
Released15 June 2011 (2011-06-15) (see release dates)
Recorded11 October 2010 – 25 January 2011
StudioIF Studios, Gothenburg, Sweden
GenreAlternative metal
Length53:58
LabelCentury Media, Razzia
ProducerRoberto Laghi, Anders Fridén
In Flames chronology
A Sense of Purpose
(2008) 		Sounds of a Playground Fading
(2011) 		Siren Charms
(2014)
Singles from Sounds of a Playground Fading
  1. "Deliver Us"
    Released: 7 May 2011
  2. "Where the Dead Ships Dwell"
    Released: 14 November 2011
  3. "Ropes"
    Released: 5 February 2013
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Kerrang![3]
Metal Hammer[4]
Metal Storm[5]
Sputnikmusic[6]
Earshot.at[7]

Background edit

According to Anders, this album features increasingly wide vocal registers and reduced growls.[11] In addition, some of the album's songs "pretty much go against the hard rock formula."[8]

The entire album was written by Björn Gelotte. The guitar solos, unlike most other albums, were able to be pre-planned out and worked much better according to the in-studio report.

Release and promotion edit

The band revealed the cover art, track listing and first single, "Deliver Us", on their official Facebook page in April and May 2011. Then on 3 June 2011, aol.com streamed the entire album on their music network.[12] In Flames performed the album on their European tour with support from Noctiferia,[13] as part of the "Defenders of the Faith III" tour, with bands Trivium, Rise to Remain, Ghost and Insense,[14] and with Trivium in their North American Tour.[15]

Four music videos were filmed including the lead single "Deliver Us"[16] and "Where the Dead Ships Dwell"[17] both released in 2011 while "Ropes"[18] and "Sounds of a Playground Fading"[19] were also filmed but not released until 2013.

The track "Deliver Us" was featured in the soundtrack to the 2013 video game Saints Row IV.

Reception edit

Sounds of a Playground Fading received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate website Metacritic gave the album a 68 out of 100 based on six professional critics.[1]

Commercial performance edit

Sounds of a Playground Fading debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200 album chart,[20] number 2 on the Top Hard Rock chart,[21] number 7 on the Top Rock chart, and number 5 on the Top Independent chart.[22] It also debuted at number 1 of the Media Control German Albums chart,[23] and at number 12 of the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.[24]

Track listing edit

All music written by Björn Gelotte and all lyrics by Anders Fridén. All songs arranged by In Flames.[25]

No.TitleLength
1."Sounds of a Playground Fading"4:44
2."Deliver Us"3:31
3."All for Me"4:31
4."The Puzzle"4:34
5."Fear Is the Weakness"4:07
6."Where the Dead Ships Dwell"4:27
7."The Attic"3:18
8."Darker Times"3:25
9."Ropes"3:42
10."Enter Tragedy"3:59
11."Jester's Door"2:38
12."A New Dawn"5:52
13."Liberation"5:10
Total length:53:58
Japanese edition
No.TitleLength
14."Deliver Us (Instrumental Version)"3:31
Total length:57:29
iTunes deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
1."Deliver Us" (music video)3:31
14."Darker Times (Eagleclaw Remix)"5:45
Total length:59:43
Deluxe edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Recording 'Sounds of a Playground Fading'" (studio report)27:28


2014 reissue
No.TitleLength
14."Darker Times (Eagleclaw Remix)"5:45
15."The Puzzle (Big Chocolate Remix)"3:43
16."Where the Dead Ships Dwell (Casper Remix)"4:05
17."Where the Dead Ships Dwell (The Qemists Remix)"5:12
18."Where the Dead Ships Dwell (Kristof Bathory – Dawn of Ashes Remix)"4:46
Total length:77:29

Personnel edit

In Flames
Production
  • Anders Björler – filming, editing and directing ("In the Studio"/studio report)
  • Johannes Bergion – cello on "A New Dawn"
  • Roberto Laghi – producer
  • Örjan Örnkloo – keyboards and samples
  • Dave Correia – album cover art

Charts edit

Chart performance for Sounds of a Playground Fading
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26] 50
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] 6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 53
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 12
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[30] 24
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 4
French Albums (SNEP)[32] 47
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[33] 67
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 10
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[35] 24
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36] 82
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[37] 41
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[40] 74
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[41] 6
US Billboard 200[20] 27
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[22] 5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[42] 12
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[43] 7

Release dates edit

Region Date
Sweden 15 June 2011 (2011-06-15)
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway[44] 17 June 2011 (2011-06-17)
Europe (excluding Spain, Italy, Finland, Hungary)[44] 20 June 2011 (2011-06-20)
North America, Spain, Italy[44] 21 June 2011 (2011-06-21)
Finland, Hungary[44] 22 June 2011 (2011-06-22)
Australia, New Zealand[44] 24 June 2011 (2011-06-24)

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  2. ^ Monger, James Christopher (2011). "Sounds of a Playground Fading In Flames | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  3. ^ "In Flames - Sounds of a Sell-Out Review". Kerrang!.
  4. ^ "In Flames review". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ^ "In Flames - Sounds Of A Playground Fading review". Metal Storm.
  6. ^ "In Flames review". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  7. ^ "In Flames - Sounds Of A Playground Fading Review". Earshot.at. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  8. ^ a b "In Flames Signs with Century Media Records". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. 28 March 2011. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  9. ^ Jesper Strömblad; Anders; Peter; Daniel; Björn (12 February 2010). "JESPER STRÖMBLAD LEAVES IN FLAMES". In Flames Myspace Blog. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  10. ^ "In Flames – Sounds of a Playground Fading (2014, Digipak, CD)". Discogs. 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  11. ^ Kim (14 January 2011). "Sounds Of A Playground Fading". Kim bloggar. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  12. ^ Kim (3 June 2011). "In Flames - Sounds Of A Playground Fading - Streaming". Metal CallOut. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  13. ^ "RocBloc | News: In Flames announces fall European tour". www.rocbloc.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Metal Hammer | Louder". Metal Hammer Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  15. ^ "In Flames, Trivium: North American Tour Dates Announced". Blabbermouth. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  16. ^ "IN FLAMES - Deliver Us (OFFICIAL VIDEO)". YouTube.
  17. ^ "IN FLAMES - Where the Dead Ships Dwell (OFFICIAL VIDEO)". YouTube.
  18. ^ "In Flames - "Ropes"". YouTube.
  19. ^ "IN FLAMES - Sounds of a Playground Fading (OFFICIAL VIDEO)". YouTube.
  20. ^ a b "In Flames Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  21. ^ a b "In Flames Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  22. ^ a b "In Flames Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Offiziellecharts.de – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  24. ^ a b "In Flames Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  25. ^ "In Flames - In The Studio Episode #2". In Flames Youtube Channel. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  26. ^ "Australiancharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Austriancharts.at – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Ultratop.be – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  31. ^ "In Flames: Sounds Of a Playground" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Lescharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  33. ^ "Italiancharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  34. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  35. ^ "Sounds of a Playground Fading". Oricon. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  37. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  38. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  39. ^ "Swisscharts.com – In Flames – Sounds Of a Playground". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  41. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  42. ^ "In Flames Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  43. ^ "In Flames Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  44. ^ a b c d e "In Flames: New Album Artwork, Track Listing Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. 13 April 2011. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
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