Swedish heavy metal band formed as a side project of Ceremonial Oath in the early 90’s and became a band at the forefront of the Gothenburg sound. Since then they have gone from strength to strength, releasing their thirteenth album this year (2019). We sat down with bassist Bryce Paul to chat amps and finger style playing.
Hi Bryce Paul here, bass player from In Flames and I play Orange amps.
I come from pretty diverse backgrounds of music, not just playing heavy metal but in the early days I was playing in Indie rock bands. So someone like Colin Greenwood of Radiohead, was very influential for me and I fell in love with the challenge of playing aggressive music with finger picking. Who do you go to? That is Steve Harris which is a great segue to my amp choice now which is the 4 Stroke series and the 4 Stroke 500. That was kind of part of the decision making and part of getting the right amps to use on the road. So we gave it a shot and it has been awesome ever since.
My demand is just some options, we play different rooms from an arena to a festival to a smaller club sometimes, and that comes into play, the room and the vibe and what you need in the mix. Playing with your fingers vs a pick style, you need to still cut through because it is going to be a warmer, a different tone. So that is something definitely always take into consideration, the 4 Stroke with the four band EQ, I am able to be pickier about certain frequencies and get the tone that fits my playing style best.
My experience to describe Orange gear, I’ve toured a lot with the AD200. Durability, it lasted many, many miles, never had any issues with it, it’s pretty straightforward rock n roll, plug n play and that is how I like it. I like things simplified but I need options at the same time.
I would say Orange amps for our sound, for heavier, heavy metal, heavier rock bands, it gives you the tools necessary to give you the tone that you need. You can have a great clean tone, it’s so warm but then overdrive, you are cutting through the mix and its going to be great.
I have two 4 Stroke 500s on this rig, one is the main and then I have a backup in case anything disastrous were to happen, because it happens. Then as far the cabs itself, I have an isolation cabinet, we mic that so we can have a few different sounds and then everything else is direct. So it’s pretty simple and it works extremely well.
Just to be associated with a brand where it is truly loved by so many heroes of mine is amazing. Because of the show, the quality and the respect that Orange has, it is awesome, I’m super stoked!