During the band's early years, In Flames had a varying group of musicians recording with them, including many session musicians. By the release of Colony (1999), the group had established a stable lineup. Their sixth studio album Reroute to Remain (2002) showed the band moving toward a newer style of music that moved further away from melodic death metal and closer to alternative metal. This decision was criticized by fans of the group's heavier metal sound; however, it increased the band's mainstream audience and bolstered their album sales. As of 2008, In Flames has sold over two million records worldwide.
Since the band's inception, In Flames have released thirteen studio albums, three EPs, and two live DVDs, their latest release being their thirteenth studio album I, the Mask in 2019. In Flames has been nominated for three Grammis Awards. They won two of these nominations; one for Soundtrack to Your Escape (2004) in the "Hard Rock/Metal of the Year" category, and one nomination for their following album Come Clarity (2006) in the same category.
Darker Times
In Flames Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every insecurity reminds you
Who's at the helm?
Darker times
With fear in the eyes
Who's the man in charge?
Invented isolation
Struggle with words,
That make sense in time
Yet waiting for someone to enter say "I have a better plan"
Never have to worry
For all that we know
The truth be told
As we lay down low
Walking the thin line
Let the happiness in
For now it's fine
We're living the lie
When light breaks
Another way to matter
All questions somehow answered
When life comes crushing
At the early break of day
We've only come so far
Never have to worry
For all that we know
The truth be told
As we lay down low
Walking the thin line
Let the happiness in
For now it's fine
We're living the lie
"Darker Times" by In Flames is a song that explores the emotions of fear and insecurity that come with uncertainty and isolation within the context of wider socio-political issues. The song starts by acknowledging the beginning of a new season, alluding to the cyclical nature of time and how, despite change occurring, insecurities remain. This is followed by the questioning of who is in charge amidst the turmoil and uncertainty of these darker times.
The next verse talks about the invented isolation that one can choose to embrace in the face of such insecurity. This isolation can be seen as a metaphor for the ways we might retreat into our personal spaces in order to escape the world’s problems. The lyrics mention the struggle with words, which could suggest the difficulty we have in expressing our feelings or in finding the right words to articulate our concerns. The final part of the verse, “waiting for someone to enter, say ‘I have a better plan’”, indicates that even while in isolation, people might still hold on to the hope that there are individuals or solutions that can help us out of our current predicament.
The chorus of the song talks about the idea of “living the lie”. This could refer to the ways in which we sometimes pretend things are going well when they are not, either to ourselves or to others. The lines “Let the happiness in / For now it’s fine” might suggest that we try to find small moments of joy in order to distract ourselves from the harsher realities of the world. In the end, the song says that we’ve only come so far and that we’re still living in a time of darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
September's here again
The beginning of fall, marking the year's end
Every insecurity reminds you
All doubts and fears come back to haunt you
Who's at the helm?
Who's in charge of our destiny?
Darker times
Life is getting harder and more challenging
With fear in the eyes
Nervously, with anxiety and apprehension
Who's the man in charge?
Who is responsible for leading us out of this?
Invented isolation
The idea of self-isolation is not a natural part of human nature
Alone and safe inside
Feeling secure and protected by staying isolated
Struggle with words,
Finding it hard to express ourselves
That make sense in time
As time passes, what we say will make more sense to us
Yet waiting for someone to enter say 'I have a better plan'
Hoping someone comes with a solution to our problems
Never have to worry
We don't have to be concerned
For all that we know
As far as we're aware
The truth be told
Being honest and candid
As we lay down low
As we wait, we take a break and reduce our expectations
Walking the thin line
Balancing our life as we tread lightly
Let the happiness in
Allowing ourselves to be happy
For now it's fine
Everything is ok, at least for now
We're living the lie
We're not being honest with ourselves, pretending everything is alright
When light breaks
When a new day begins
Another way to matter
Finding a new purpose or meaning in life
All questions somehow answered
Suddenly all our questions seem to have answers
When life comes crushing
When reality hits us and we're overwhelmed
At the early break of day
Early in the morning, just as the sun is coming up
We've only come so far
We haven't made much progress
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Anders Friden, Bjorn Gelotte
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind