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 Q: Now that the new album is
completely finished and ready to be released, what's your thoughts on it thus far? Are you excited?
A: Oh yeah, it's been about two years since the first album. We really want to get
out there and play songs from the new one too.
Q: That's cool but I understand that for awhile it was doubtful as to whether or not there was actually going to be a second Haunted
album. I know I read in one of your previous interviews Earache wasn't giving you the much needed push you guys deserved. So I'd imagine that's partly responsible for the lack of touring, correct?
A: We were all frustrated and that's what led to Peter and Adrian leaving the band.
Q: Yeah, I kind of figured that. So he basically lost interest?
A: Yeah, it's been frustrating. That guy is so talented that it's a waste to just having him doing nothing. So he quit the band in November of 98 and right now he's writing songs like
a maniac. He's on the Swedish National radio every other day just him and an acoustic guitar. So he's doing very well right now at the moment.
Q: That's good to hear although it is a shame he's no longer
with the band because it was his performance that really shined through and made the first album what it really was.
A: Well, he put a very aggressive tone on the first album but
even if he had been in the band on the second album there's no telling how more aggressive the songs would sound now since we got Marco. You know what I'm saying?
Q: Yeah, kind of. How did you go about settling on Marco as the next obvious choice? Were there certain qualities in him that you were looking for all along?
A: Well, Peter is a great stage performance guy. He's absolutely top rank and so we were looking for someone with that kind of stage presence too not just somebody that
could do well on an album. So we tried quite a few people and then Adrian suggested Marco to us because At the Gates had done a tour with Marco's previous band Facedown in the
UK and he said that this guy is totally crazy. One time he even counted in a song by smashing the microphone 4 times to his forehead. He was that kind of crazy attitude we
wanted in somebody and now that we have played live with him we know that he's Peter's equal onstage.
“I believe, the children are our future (thank you!). Teach them well and, let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess
insiiiiide. Give them a sense... of pride! make it easier...”
Q: That's good to hear but I have to admit that when first I learned about Peter and Adrian leaving the band I
immediately felt it would never be the same. I mean the debut, at the time, was in a class by itself. Never have I heard an album that combined the best elements of Dark
Angel, Slayer and AC/DC, and might I add make it sound fresher than it did 10 years ago.
A: Ooh, thank you very much.. well I can see why you say that. A lot of bands that try to play thrash nowadays, they
just tend to be retro bands but we never set out to play thrash. We just set out to have fun and play what we wanted to do and automatically it just turned out to be
thrash because that's where we come from. That's what we grew up listening to. So I guess without being so focused on becoming a thrash band it's sort of helped us stay away from that retro kind of feel.
Q: I have to say there's a big difference in the second album. Whereas the songwriting tended to be a lot more technical and included more way-out guitar soloing, the newer
material seems a little bit more subdued, yet grungy in that Motorhead sort of vibe.
A: Well on the "Haunted Made Me Do It" album, we wanted
songs that were slightly heavier than the ones we had on the first album because we noticed that when we were playing live all of our songs were just fast. I mean our live set was
just "Da Da Da Da.." and it was over. So we needed something to diversify the kind of material that we have to perform with. And solowise, I've been twisting Anders arm
really hard because he's the one that does all the solos. I just like to riff and write songs, that's my thing. Anders doesn't like to play solos but he knows how so I've been really
forcing him to try and take his soloing a step further maybe. And as for what you said about us uh.. (trying to remember)
Q: (helping him out) being laid back and bluesy?
A: Yeah, well I think the bluesier kind of approach comes from our bass player Jonas because he has contributed a lot to the songwriting process on this album whereas on the first
album it was mainly me and Anders. So that's where all of that came in. It was more of a natural progress. Jonas is a great songwriter. He and Anders wrote almost the whole
entire "Slaughter of the Soul" album for At the Gates. So both of them come from that kind of listening backround. They listen to lots of Trouble and bands like that whereas
maybe I would listen more to older Heavy Metal like Motorhead or AC/DC. But I get that out of my system with my other band Witchery.
Q: Speaking of Witchery, at one time it appeared that you
were more heavily involved with that project releasing like album after album. However, it's ironic how supposedly Witchery was only supposed to be a fun side project while
the Haunted is actually your full time commitment.
A: Well it is my first priority. The thing was that nothing was happening with the Haunted because we weren't getting the
support from Earache that we needed. So that's why I had so much time on my hands. With Witchery I could just tour or do albums all over. So that's the reason, I never took
time that was supposed to be Haunted's time if you understand what I'm trying to say.
Q: Oh yeah, of course.
A: Nothing was happening. Peter left the band and Adrian left
the band and I got out all of my frustration luckily because I had Witchery. So maybe if I hadn't had Witchery I would have probably left the band too. It was that bad.
Q: Man, that's terrible. So then if you don't mind me asking, why are you still with Earache if they're not doing such a good job?
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A: Well, uh.. We didn't choose to stick around with Earache. It was on contract. We never chose Earache in the first
place. Three members of the band were from At the Gates which means that a majority of the band is still under contract with Earache. So when the Haunted began we had
to continue under the old At the Gates contract which means and upsets me is that the Haunted has to pay off all the At the Gates debts. I mean the first album isn't even recouped
yet because it has to pay off all the U.S. tours that At the Gates did. And I wrote 60 percent of that album but I was never even in At the Gates.
Q: So then I take it that the Haunted is simply an obligation
than a project to have fun with at this point, is it not?
A: Yeah, well we feel that we don't get the support that we need and we get dicked around all the time. So that's not
good for inspiration or to feel enthusiastic about with something, you know.
Q: Oh definitely not. I would have to agree with you on all accounts. However there will eventually come a time when
the contractual obligations will have been fulfilled I'm sure. So by the time you sever your contract with Earache (which I'm assuming you'll be doing) will you still continue with the
Haunted and possibly try to take things a step further? Or perhaps you're just filling in to help some old friends ease their debts?
A: No, no. I have no interest in helping Earache recover the
money that they put into At the Gates. They're in the business and they know that even though they put a lot of money into a band they can lose it all. I mean that's the part
of the business that they're in. So they understand all the risks and also by far have recouped the money that they claim hasn't been recouped from the touring and so on. But
that's also another downside to the business which is you never get the true stories. It's always strange numbers showing up and blah, blah, blah. But as far as the Haunted
goes and when we have delivered the last album of the contract which would be the one after this one, we'll be free to go wherever. And everybody has been playing in bands
ten years or more so we're not going to make the same mistakes as the young guys in At the Gates did when they signed the Earache contract.
Q: It really is a shame especially knowing when your
imagination and creativity has diminished down to nothing because of it.
A: Yeah, exactly. It absolutely kills inspiration. It's not fun everytime you go to rehearse and somebody has something
new to tell about the latest development with Earache and blah, blah, blah. I mean have you heard the latest news about a band called Misery Loves Co.?
Q: No but please do tell.
A: Well they split up just a few days ago. In fact it was just announced last Monday and it was due to Earache and financial issues.
Q: Actually that doesn't surprise me because they've lost a
lot of good bands because of this. Yet this is the very same label that at one time dominated the industry with such heavy hitters as Carcass, Entombed, Napalm Death, and
Morbid Angel. Then again it seems that at least 85% of the industry's labels are like that these days. So then it becomes a matter of "damned if you do, damned if you don't," so to speak.
A: Yeah, but now we have the reputation to get a good management that'll look after us. You know we can't even get a good manager now because we're on Earache. It's
impossible because ya know management, they're out to make money too, the good ones. So there's no point in having us because there's no way of getting any money from Earache. And the reason to why they were so big
during the Death Metal boom of the early 90's is because Shane from Napalm Death and what's his name, Mick the original drummer? These two guys were the ones to tell
Digby which bands to sign. They said, "Sign Carcass, sign Entombed, sign Morbid Angel!" So Dig just signed the bands that had no clue. I mean Entombed were so young when
they signed the contract that no body was over 18. So one of the guitar players' Mom had to sign the contract and that's how you rip a band off.
 Q: Wow, this is actually the first time I'm hearing this.
A: Well, it's that ugly. They got ripped off so badly.
Q: Damn, I just don't know what ot make of that. Well to get back on a more positive mindset, you're new album proudly bares the title, "..Made Me Do It" and judging from the cover artwork it
seems to convey somewhat of a homicidal theme of sorts. Were you trying to go for a certain concept?
A: Well there's absolutely no homicidal issue to it. It's more
like, first of all the Haunted "Made Me Do It" is a good Metal title. Heavy Metal has always been accused by society of creating all these problems like kids committing suicide and
so on, like the Priest and Sabbath trials and all that. But then if you take a look at society, it's society that educates young men, thousands of young men every year of how to kill and
blow people up in the military. And in the U.S. if you go in and buy a shotgun or a huge bowing knife and get the receipt it'll say, "Thank you and have a nice day." Now that's a contradiction there.
Q: Oh I couldn't agree with you more. I mean I don't know it is where you live but here in the United States we have huge franchises like Target and K-Mart selling hunting rifles out in
the open where children can see them yet they contribute literally hundreds and hundreds of dollars each year to anti-violence campaigns that try to put the NRA out of business.
A: Yeah, double standards all over.
Q: Of course, and now that it happens to be presidential election time again here in the states it appears that one of
the most talked about issues has been gun control yet the United States government literally spends billions of dollars each year on new assault rifles and handguns. Of course, I
can see one of the reasons to owning a handgun if it's to defend yourself or your family from intruders breaking into the home but then again there's the issue of children finding
access to it. I don't know, what's your opinion of all this?
A: Well, you know it's kind of hard for a European to understand why or what reason to allow people to have
guns all over. I mean of course I understand also the motive to defend oneself but putting so many guns and shit on the market just makes it easier for the criminals to get them,
right? And correct me if wrong here but I think more people are killed by gun accidents, you know kids shooting each other or whatever than they actually do good by defending them from burglars or whatever, right?
Q: Right, I can see that as a logical argument.
A: Yeah, so it's stupid. You know that law is something like a dinosaur thing still there from the wild west period. It would
be like when we had knights in shining armor here. It would be like we had the right to wear big fucking swords here to protect ourselves. It's the whole law that should be outlawed.
Q: Well, I could probably say that I agree with you on that thought alone but there's just too many pro's and con's to have to wade through before coming to a rational decision
so I won't conituing lingering on it. Anyway, I'd take it that the album's title would then serve its purpose as a direct poke at conservative society, that is the ones that always
use Heavy Metal as a scapegoat for things, right?
A: Yeah, always, always a scapegoat.. so that's why we put a little blood splatter on the logo or on the cover, "The
Haunted Made Me Do It" too. It's kind of a scary thing now with the presidential thing coming up. You know Tipper Gore?
Q: Oh how could I not?
A: You know she has that Washington wives thing?
Remember that?
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Q: Yup and she was also the founding member of the PMRC.
A: Oh she did? (sounding a little surprised)
Q: Oh yeah! She's actually the very same troublemaker that started pushing the music industry to put little warning stickers on album covers.
A: Oh man. Well, what's going to happen? Is she still out
there to get all Rap and Metal music banned? I mean, what's going on with that?
Q: Yup and get this.. She's using her husband Al Gore, one of the candidates up for presidency as a puppet to make a big
deal about it in his speeches and such. Yet when you think about it, what it really boils down to is the Catholic church trying to use politics as a means of influencing our lives.
A: Well, that's the whole thing behind calling it "The Haunted Made Me Do It." It could have well been a Rap album like "Dr. Dre Made Me Do It," or whatever. It's exactly what we want
to go against with this Tipper Gore thing, you know banning music or using it as the scapegoat instead of actually targeting the problems that cause all this violence.
Related Links:
www.the-haunted.com
Earache Records
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