After 18 years of brutality, In Flames are still going strong and will be heading to WA to blow the socks off crowds at the Soundwave Festival.

The only original member of the band, Jesper Stromblad, said the new album A Sense of Purpose marked a change in the way their music was put together.  Typically the band work as individuals during the recording process, often working in different studios, and only hear the music all together after it has been mastered.  Stromblad said this time the band worked together as a unit from the start of recording through to the end.  "The whole band working together really brought some new ideas to the table," he said.  "It's been very different this time. I'm super happy with the way the new album turned out."

In Flames invested in the help of Toby Wright to mix the tracks on A Sense of Purpose.  Wright has worked with the likes of Slayer and Ozzy Osbourne and took In Flames' new album to the next level according to Stromblad.  "It was a big chance we took but because we know his history we thought it would be a cool idea to give him the album to complete," he said.  "I suppose he was able to listen to it with fresh ears. He did stuff we weren't even thinking of."

The album opens with the first single The Mirrors Truth.  From here we are taken on a wild ride through various themes of melodic death metal, math core and progressive sounds, all culminating in a song which can only be described as epic - The Chosen Pessimist.  Spanning more than nine minutes, The Chosen Pessimist is the longest song ever to be recorded by In Flames and has been described as a deviation from their usual death metal sound into the stratosphere of progressive rock.  "We started writing the song in the studio after we'd already entered into the recording," Stromblad said.  "We were just jamming with it at the time but then the song ended up on record. It's an unusual In Flames song, it's not metal it's like really mellow."

Meanwhile In Flames are touring around the globe and are gearing up to impress the crowds of Western Australia.  Stromblad said fans could start anticipating a new album once the touring for A Sense of Purpose had settled down.  "I have some ideas in my head," he said.  "When we get back home we will probably go back to the studio and start sowing the seeds for a new album."

Catch In Flames when they hit the Bassendean Oval in Perth for next year's SoundWave Festival on March 2.

- Nikkita Dixon