In Flames - Breaking The Mold Page 4
By Martin Popoff

"The thing is, first off, with all of Anders' lyrics, he never tells anyone what they mean," explains Gelotte. "He just paints you a picture and you are free to interpret it your own way or put yourself in the same situation. And all of the lyrics on this one are much more personal. They aren't on a global scale, or anything evolutionary or about the human race. I think the song 'Pinball Map' is about being in a situation that leads you to the next situation without being in control. You're bouncing between different happenings over which you have no control, and from one bad thing to the next bad thing without being able to understand how you got there in the first place. 'Square Nothing' is just a play on words. You have nothing or you are back to square nothing, the place you are even before you start. They are very personal. There is emotion and gut feeling all over the place."

The title track underscores the theme of the record. "That is more or less the concept of the album. It's about being shaped by certain circumstances or people or by society from the day you are born. People tell you what you can or cannot do. Then you grow older and laws start applying to you and you have to abide by them. And the different laws are not very important. Circumstances just tell you what to do instead of making your own mind up. And then all of a sudden you don't know who you are, you don't have an identity, you're not an individual anymore. You just act because you are supposed to act that way. You're being shaped. It's a negative shaping. I think what Anders wanted to say is that it's important to try and not be shaped in that way. Of course if you want to lead a normal life you need to be shaped in some way, but to be shaped too much, which I think many people are these days, is not good. All of the songs are along this theme. They are situations which Anders found himself in, situations where he felt he had no control. I think it's a desperate cry for help."

"He's a pretty complicated person," concludes Gelotte, answering to a question about Anders' personality. "Whenever he picks up the pen to write lyrics - I don't know if he write poems or whatever - whatever he writes or says usually has multiple meanings. And it's almost always something important. He never opens his mouth unless he has something important to say. He's a very literate person, although when we talk it's usually about music or movies so I have no idea what he likes to read."

In Flames - Breaking The Mold Page 5