The Jester Race

The Jester Race
Studio album by In Flames
Released	20 February 1996[1]
Recorded	November 1995 (Studio Fredman)
Genre	Melodic death metal
Length	40:12
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Fredrik Nordström In Flames
In Flames chronology
Subterranean (1995) The Jester Race (1996) Whoracle (1997)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Chronicles of Chaos	[3]

The Jester Race is the second studio album by melodic death metal band In Flames. It is the first album to feature Anders Fridén as the band's vocalist and Björn Gelotte as the drummer. A video for the song "Artifacts of the Black Rain" was also released. It was also the first album to feature the Jester Head, the band's mascot.

After releasing The Jester Race, the band then toured with Samael, Grip Inc. and Kreator.^[4] The album was the band's second full-length album released following the more mainstream success of the 1995 EP, Subterranean. The Jester Race was recorded at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström, who also contributed keyboards for the album.

This album ranked #79 on the website Metal Rules' list of 100 Greatest Metal Albums.^[5] It is also considered a classic album of the Gothenburg style of metal,^[6] along with At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul and Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery,^[7] exhibiting the dual guitar leads, growled vocals and acoustic sections typical of the genre.

There is a remix of "Moonshield" that is on In Flames' future release Trigger.

Track listing

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Moonshield"	Jesper Strömblad	5:04
2.	"The Jester's Dance" (instrumental)	Strömblad, Johan Larsson	2:11
3.	"Artifacts of the Black Rain"	Strömblad, Björn Gelotte	3:17
4.	"Graveland"	Strömblad, Glenn Ljungström	2:48
5.	"Lord Hypnos"	Gelotte, Strömblad, Ljungström	4:03
6.	"Dead Eternity"	Ljungström, Strömblad	5:03
7.	"The Jester Race"	Ljungström, Strömblad	4:53
8.	"December Flower"	Strömblad, Ljungström	4:12
9.	"Wayfaerer" (instrumental)	Strömblad, Gelotte	4:42
10.	"Dead God in Me"	Strömblad, Ljungström	4:19

Bonus tracks

2002 and 2008 re-releases (These tracks are from Black-Ash Inheritance)
No.	Title	Music	Length
11.	"Goliaths Disarm Their Davids"	Ljungström, Strömblad, Gelotte	4:55
12.	"Gyroscope"	Strömblad	3:23
13.	"Acoustic Medley" (instrumental)	Strömblad	2:32
14.	"Behind Space" (live)	Ljungström, Strömblad	3:36

Japanese Edition (Some tracks are from the 2007 re-release of Subterranean)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dead Eternity"	5:03
2.	"The Jester Race"	4:53
3.	"Graveland"	2:48
4.	"Moonshield"	5:04
5.	"The Jester's Dance" (instrumental)	2:11
6.	"December Flower"	4:12
7.	"Artifacts of the Black Rain"	3:17
8.	"Dead God in Me"	4:19
9.	"Wayfaerer" (instrumental)	4:42
10.	"Lord Hypnos"	4:03
11.	"Dead Eternity" (demo)	5:02
12.	"The Inborn Lifeless" (demo)	3:22

Personnel

In Flames

• Anders Fridén − vocals
• Jesper Strömblad − lead guitars, acoustic guitars & keyboards
• Glenn Ljungström − lead guitars
• Johan Larsson − bass & backing vocals
• Björn Gelotte − drums & lead guitars

Guest appearances

• Fredrik Nordström − keyboards
• Oscar Dronjak − vocal appearance on Dead Eternity
• Fredrik Johansson − lead guitar on December Flower
• Kasper Dahlqvist − keyboards on Wayfaerer

Production and composition

• Produced by Fredrik Nordström and In Flames.
• Lyrical concept and song titles collaborated by Niklas Sundin and Anders Fridén.
• Lyrics on Dead Eternity by Jocke Göthberg.
• Engineered by Fredrik Nordström and Patrik Hellgren.
• Mastered by Staffan Olofsson.
• Logo by Glenn Ljungström.
• Artwork by Andreas Marschall.
• Photos by Kenneth Johansson.
• Layout by M&A Music art.

References

1. http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/In_Flames/The_Jester_Race/187
2. "Jester Race - In Flames". Allmusic. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
3. "In Flames - The Jester Race". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
4. [4]
5. "The Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums". Metal-Rules. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
6. "In Flames". BNR Metal, Version 3. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
7. "Melodic Death Metal". About.com. Retrieved January 2, 2012.

External links

• The Jester Race album details
• The Jester Race information