Swedish metal band In Flames rolled into House of Blues San Diego last Wednesday on a heavy tour featuring other acts such as Demon Hunter, All Shall Perrish, and Battlecross.

In Flames formed in 1990, and any metal band that has sustained itself for over twenty years in today’s musical climate is clearly doing something right. At the show, the five-piece ripped through sixteen songs of melodic metal featuring several cuts from their most recent album, Sounds of A Playground Fading. The band mixed older songs into the setlist, too, and listening to these heavier songs made it clear how much the band has evolved, while still creating music that fans want to hear.

Many casual metal fans may know In Flames from the song “Take This Life,” which is featured in the 2006 video game Guitar Hero 3. The band didn’t disappoint, playing that song along with several others in an encore that spawned crowd surfing and several mosh pits on a packed floor. Brilliant guitar riffage, intense screaming vocals, thundering bass, and some intricate technical drumming made for an awesome night of heavy music.

Photos – In Flames at House of Blues