Former In Flames Vocalist Henke Forss Talks Decade-Long Battle for Songwriting Royalties

Henke Forss was the vocalist on In Flames' 1995 EP, 'Subterranean,' which was released right after the band's 1994 full-length debut, 'Lunar Strain.' Forss says he has been trying to claim his rights to the songs he co-wrote for the past decade, and in a recent interview with EMP Rock Invasion (see above), current In Flames guitarist Bjorn Gelotte was asked about the issue.

"Stuff like this happens all the time," Gelotte says. "'Cause in the past In Flames wasn't really a band, it was more of a project. And if you know our history, you know that we had a couple of different singers. Mikael from Dark Tranquillity was one of them, and Henke Forss -- I don't know where he was from, but he was another singer."

Gelotte continues, "And Anders [Fridén] was in Dark Tranquillity at the time. So it was all a big inbred circus, basically, in Gothenburg. And so, members come and go, and some people are content with what they did, and some are not. It's interesting [that Henke would come forward 20 years later with these claims]. If he did that, that's kind of… I don't know."

After Gelotte made those comments, Forss contacted Blabbermouth with the following statement:

"I'm not surprised Björn doesn't realize up on his high horse that I've been trying to claim my rights for the songs I co-wrote for over 10 years. Due to shifty record company CEOs and misleading advice from various people, nothing has really happened until recently when I saw that In Flames once again made a re-release of the 'Subterranean' album."

Forss continues, "Anyone in the music business is painfully aware aware that four death metal songs (which, in my case, I co-wrote) won't make anyone financially set for life. It just boils down to right and wrong. And I've been trying, like I said, for many years set things straight. It's no big secret that former original members have fought In Flames for 10+ years to get their right as well..."

In Flames will embark on a North American tour with Opeth and Red Fang beginning Dec. 3 in Chicago. For a chance to win a backstage video game session with band members, click here.

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