THE HAUNTED : SHOUT OUT THE DEVIL ?

-Peter : I don’t think I really left any of these stuffs, I have accepted the fact that I can’t do as much, because you’re very busy when you’re in The Haunted. But, as soon as I get back home in Sweden I’ll be finishing the vocal recordings of ‘Bring the war home’, which used to be my solo project, but after five years touring, I've decided we’re a band and not a solo project, and then we’ll wait to do some more recording sessions in Spring before going with The Haunted on a larger tour. We have to plan, it’s very important to plan, and as I’ve always told and told everyone around us, The Haunted is the main project. I’m really happy to be back, everyone around me encouraged me, my family, my other bands, people and other musicians I work with really congratulated me and say that it was so cool that I came back !

-When you left The Haunted, you were in a pretty catastrophic situation, both financially and socially?

Peter : Yes, in every ways : emotionally, all was pretty corrupt, I just worked out. I basically ran away from home when I was about 15 ; both my parents are alcoholics, and my mother is a drug addict, and actually even mentally ill! I left as soon as I could, I finished school by myself, I worked on week ends and so forth, and then when I saved up money, I sailed to the US, I hitch hiked around, I studied some there, I worked a lot and after two years I went back to Europe and for a while I worked in different kinds of things, a lot of music, a lot of art, and finally I found myself playing in Mary Beats Jane on vocals. I was a street musician basically, with a part time job as a cook and the rest of the time playing guitar on the streets ! I played before this in other bands, in many festivals, and someone asked me if I wanted to play in a hard rock band, which turned up to be Mary Beats Jane. After that, we went on tour from day one with Mary, and suddenly, the band was no more, in a couple of days, and I found myself in The Haunted ! I went on and on and on and never made any money !Because there was all work and no play, like ‘The Shining’ ! I found myself pretty worn out, too much drug, too much alcohol, emotionally drained. I had a place to live... between the freeway and the motorway ! Places with no warm water, no shower, and I realized that it wasn’t working out, I stopped for a while and tried to figure out what the fuck to do with my life. That’s basically what I’ve done in this time. It’s gone well, it’s gone really good !

-Adrian Erlandson left for Cradle of Filth, replaced by Per Möller Jensen too...and Anders left the band too in 2001, but came back later : so it’s the original Haunted back on the trail today ?

Peter : I think definitely, except for Adrian, who is very comfortable in Cradle and it’s working good there, he has a lot of space to express his ideas and stuff. He came very early in The Haunted and he’s an incredibly fine musician, a nice guy to see around. He’s a hard man, a really hard man, he really doesn’t talk a lot, nothing unnecessary, and mostly growls, really dissuasive, but it’s a really good man.

-Your previous singer, Marco Aro, left in 2003, as you did before: was the future of the band uncertain after that or were you decided to go on anyway as The Haunted ?

-Peter : No, I don’t think there has ever been any uncertainty about the future of the band. One thing is, when you’re in The Haunted, it’s larger than any one individual, it’s a larger than life thing itself : we just only play, we go along for a ride, which is cool, we have a really good time, but it feels like being a part of a band which is bigger than what we are : we make and play the music, but it feels very safe, it’s a situation where we feel very safe in.

-After ‘One kill wonder’, you left Earache for Century media, after the end of your contract ; Anders, had an experience, as well as Jonas, with Earache for At The Gates too : what is the main problem with this label : lack of money, swindle or lack of ambitions ? (Napalm left, as many bands did, so did Morbid Angel recently)

-Peter : Digby’s not a dreamer, he’s an asshole, and it’s not even a question of him being a dreamer : he’s a control freak, and I think he’s greedy and mean, he wants to hold on the money, he’s very scared of using the money. Personally, I don’t like capitalism, but we live in a capitalist world, and selling records is a capitalist business, that means that you have to take financial risks to sell things. But I think he has misunderstood the concept of capitalism because capitalism is when you take from here, you take a risk here and hope to make money here, it's maths. But he thinks that you can just rob, so he’s more of a robber than a capitalist guy. Every band that I know, The Haunted, Napalm, Morbid, he owes all these bands hundred of thousands of pounds, when you put it all together, it adds up to millions. And they lie when you call them: he’s not here, just out of the office! I don’t think the company will survive... I think he’s a deeply confused human being. He’ll be ok, when he reaches sixty or seventy, he will give it all up, he will understand that he'd better be a hot dog salesman around the corner, he will be content with life and everything will work out fine. He’s a mixture between a fool and a monster !

-And today ?

-Peter : We’re very fortunate this time, because we’re in a completely different situation than we’ve ever been : we can make our own decisions, we have a strong management which is really professional and cool people as well ; we’ re a priority there, and the same thing happens with Century Media, where we’re a priority, and it feels really really good, very good to work with people who are focused, who are there for the good reasons, they’re a record company, they like to sell music, we’re a band, we like to play, which is perfect, because we really want to bring our stuff to a larger audience.

-I remember that for your first album for Earache, you had great reviews, but the album wasn't available anywhere ! And what are for you the main changes with ‘One kill wonder’ ?

-Peter : I think the main difference is the sound : we stripped the sound clean, in a way, it comes closer to what we deliver live, which is really a cliché, it makes us sound like Spinal Tap, but it’s what we’ve done : we decided that the production on ‘One kill wonder’ felt almost too dense, it was too much, and we wanted to concentrate more on really good songs, without thinking too much initially about the impact or the power which came naturally, and instead try to concentrate and write as many good songs as we possibly can, because it’s really what the band is about, why we started the band : we come from five completely different ways ; I come from a more industrial experimental background, and some other guys come from death metal background or jazz. So we realized, as we were talking about it, that it didn’t matter what genre but the main thing was to have good songs, efficient and good simple songs, that’s what we wanted to do, so that’s what we did and, as we were doing the pre production, we realized that it sounded better with fewer tracks, fewer dubs and stuff, so it’s just two guitars, bass, drums and basically one vocal, so it’s a pretty straight recording. There’s also more mid tempo songs. But also a reason why we dared use all that was that in the beginning we weren’t very sure, mostly me, that my vocals were holding up to that, but it was, and I feel really happy and really proud of it, so I think it worked, it sounds good so why not use it, it is ridiculous, why not if it brings good songs, so that’s how it all came about, as far as this album goes.

-What strong themes can we find in ‘rEVOLVEr’ ? No more serial killers on the run ?

-Peter : I don’t think we had serial killers motives : what we had in common was the fascination of violence and the culture surrounding that. Who’s that ? (showing the character on the cover of the promo Lp, someone in suit with the head black and only the mouth open with those terrible teeth...) It could be anyone who could act on violence, the monster inside us all, the well dressed monster of power and greed...but not Digby: there are worse monsters, he’s pretty wimpy ! The character is not even affected with that, he’s kind of laughing. The artwork reflects very much on the lyrics on this one, but it’s a very usual misconception when it comes to the Haunted. We have chosen a really strong artwork around our music, it is provocative, we’re aware of that. With the first album, it was more about the nightmarish side of humanity, about alienation, to a certain extent, and on it there were two songs about direct physical violence, which are ‘Choke hold’ which is kind of a stalker or rapist point of view and then the other one is ‘Three times’ which is about self defense, but most of the other songs are about human condition, it’s not straight edge themes, but it’s really themes about self-destructiveness. And that kind of mode, the artwork that we chose for ‘One kill wonder’, I wasn’t here on the album but I can talk about it because we’re friends, that was all a kind of comment on some facts like Judas Priest or Ozzy or Slayer were blamed for driving people to suicide, it’s so ridiculous, and most of the songs on "Made me do it" are about the human mind, how twisted we can be and even in the most shallow waters, there are scary faces ! That’s kind of gone along, it’s become our trademark, we flirt with the insanity surrounding violence, we’re really very fascinated by it, as people we're very much anti-violence. We’re not pacifists, but truly we don’t agree with the use of violence, it’s completely useless. Everyone who has been close to violence, and one or two of us have been much too close to violence, but that’s why it make us so fascinated, when you use violence or when you grow up in a violent environment, it really kind of numbs you, there’s nothing good about that. It leaves you drained emotionally, and the more violence you're presented to, the more violence you get, you just still get even number. It’s really strange how it psychologically works, but it’s not a good thing. We wonder if the artwork has a life of its own, and on this album only two songs that really work with the theme of violence, outwards. All the other songs are inwards, the violence you exert on yourself emotionally, a demon within you that can be turned on children, or your loved one, your friends, or the people you work with. Of course, we’re coming with new angers because it seems that for us it’s a giant perspective maybe we have a lot to work with! In a way, I think that it’s a good thing that we do it, because it feels good to scream it out and do it with people who seem to understand, and I guess the Haunted fans understand, there’s a very fine line between seriouslessness and just having a good time, and they know it’s not about creating riots, it’s about going to a show or playing the record, really cranking it up and kind of scream and get it out of your system and especially on the new songs, which are probably the heaviest, darkest and maybe most morbid songs we’ve ever written, ‘My shadow’, which is the last song of the record, and if you take a quick look at the lyrics of this song, I might be perceived as a very gloomy thing, very dark, self-destructive, but it’s one of those songs which is a good crier.

-At the end of the record, there’s this heavy song, This song, ‘My shadow’, which is, you said, a bit of the following of the ‘forensick’’ which closed your first lp : so today, it’s a bit like there was no gap between those two albums and your different line ups ?

-Peter : Yes, it’s related to ‘Forensick’, but I really think there’s a continuity between all the four (albums), but I think of it as a line, really, truly and absolutely.

-Fredrik Nordstrom produced ‘rEVOLVEr’ once again...

Peter : No, he didn’t, but I know it’s on the information sheet: they were just studio engineers, they recorded it, they helped us with bringing sound the way that we wanted it, and, from then on, we produced it, the whole band, because this time we were so well prepared that there was nothing really to do : we just went in and recorded what we wanted to do, and then when it was done, we sent the stuff to Tue Madsen at Antfarm and, after one day, he presented a couple of mixes and it was amazing, so all we could say was : ‘Go ! GO !’ He’s an incredible sound technician and it’s amazing, the work they have done, it’s really cool. We’re really proud of this record, all five of us !

-Where does the name of the band come from ?

-Peter : It originally comes from a song by the band Seance, which was the band of Per Jonson, our guitarist, before he started The Haunted. But I don’t know who the Haunted is ; probably one of us or one of our fans ! Life can do that, life haunts most of us in some ways I guess and that’s what it is about. But I don’t think that anyone can be this guy (on the cover), Mister Smiley, but everyone has the capacity to be Mister Smiley !

-Musical influences ? Nick Cave, Ian Curtis...

-Peter : Yes absolutely, they are my absolute icons, definitely. As I said, I don’t come from the traditional metal background but more from Industrial, as I love Einsturzende Neubauten, because they have an emotional nerve so much stronger than a lot of bands surrounding them ; they were the first, they’re still there and they’ve invented the expression in a way. I Love early Skinny Puppy, but I think that unfortunately they have degenerated. I really love Coil, Godflesh, Torture Garden, it’s all amazing stuff. But I think that, with extreme music, it’s very necessary that you have the emotional content : if you don’t, it’s just a pose. Anyone can create the surface structure of certain sounds, because hard music is so built out of extremes ; but if you have not the emotional backing to it, then it won’t function, it’s not gonna work, and that’s something to strive for, always. One of these days, you’ll achieve something incredible, that’s my hope and my dream, that’s my driving force anyway.

-Would cover one of those bands ?

-Peter : We talked about that, and the problem is that we’re a bit scared of that. A very wide spectrum of ideas came about. I wanna do a Haunted version of ‘The mercy seat’, or even ‘100 years’ by The Cure.

The Johnny Cash cover is very good, as well as the NIN song, ‘Hurt’. A good song is a good song, and a great performer can always play a good song.

-And ‘Personal Jesus’ by Marilyn Manson ?

-Peter : Yes, I think it’s ok, but it’s too close to the original. That's what we've discussed in the band regarding covers, if you’re gonna do it, you have to add something new to it, give it a new life. The thing I’m really enjoying with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is ‘Kicking against the pricks’ : to me, that album opened a whole new world to me, musically. When I was a kid, I heard the other stuff, I was really into Birthday Party, but when I heard this record, I couldn’t believe my ears, because I heard that it was really cheesy songs, like music for old people, but it’s so cool !How can they do that ! If you’re gonna cover someone else’s music, you have to be able to add something strong, something new, and I think we’re a bit too scared yet, we’ll find more confidence in a year or two.

-But you would prefer to cover these kind of songs instead of Slayer or Metallica ?

-Peter : Absolutely, and we talked about ‘A love supreme’ by John Coltrane, because it's got the build up, because that has that groove which would really easily translate into something very dark. Really positive song, but if you take that twist to it, it gets scary !

-What do you listen to today ?

-Peter : The last Cure album : Ross Robinson, who did Slipknot, did a incredible job producing this album. And I listen to early nineties hardcore, like 108, H2O, bands that never grew very big, but they had something very strong, very personal. I don’t really listen to a lot of music because we play a lot, so when you’re rehearsing, writing music several hours a day, some much time is spent in the studio or in rehearsal room that I’ve come to a moment of my life where I don’t listen to music as much anymore. It’s a natural progression, and I’m very happy with this, I tell you that. You know what my best thing is walking around in the forest with my kids, my daughters, that’s the best, that is the absolute best of the world, as good as playing, I really enjoy that : I’m very un-rock’n’roll ! ! !

-Some albums which changed your life at one moment ?

-Peter : ‘Zeichnungen des Patienten OT’ by Einsturzende Neubauten, ‘Radio activity’ by Kraftwerk, ‘The top’ by The Cure, ‘From her to eternity’, by Nick Cave, and ‘Nail’ by Foetus, which was a very large moment for me because I'd listened to heavy metal but I really didn’t take it into my world as hard or evil, I always thought Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, and the other bands I’ve heard were just pop acts : it wasn’t hard or dark or anything, it was good pop songs, to me that was all it was. I enjoyed it and listened to it often, but it wasn’t such a big experience. And then I got at the same time ‘Hole ‘ and ‘Nail’ by Jim Thirlwell, Foetus : I put those records on, and I swear to God that it was a huge experience which flipped my head inside ! Can you really take all those different things and put them together into one thing that’s so angry ? And it felt so good because it was what I was feeling, that’s how it felt like ! It was the same for "1/2 Mensch", it was a voice for my emotions. Same for ‘From her to eternity’, that incredible album which is outstanding : I still listen to it today like one of the best albums I know because the sound has a rawness to it, it’s almost vulgar ! I think all these bands have really influenced my view on songwriting, my approach to it. Songs that reach into your head.

-Any videos in the future?

-Peter : Yes, we’ve done a kind of fun video for the song ‘All against all’ on this record. It’s more a metal /rock/pop song, really, but the song itself has a double twist to it, it’s the most sing along kind of song on the album, but the lyrics are very hard and the vocals are fierce : it’s a song about how we let magazines, TV, everything from porno magazines to fashion magazines influence us on where we walk, how we talk, how we work our bodies, how we have sex and instead of having real lives, we walk around acting out these parts. I can understand it if we are aware of it, sure, playing parts can be fun, but when we aren’t aware of it, and we do it just because we try to be normal, we’re in trouble then ! That’s what the song is about. It won’t be on the record, but you can watch it on the website. We called up bunches of friends and fans to jump around, headbang, act crazy and have a good time. We were hoping to do something more dramatic, but it costs a lot of money to make a video ! It’s as simple as that : if we want to do more, we have to wait and tour much more I think !

-If The Haunted was a movie ?

-Peter : I’ll have to mix some : you know this Australian film, Bad boy bubby, a guy in a basement with his mother, really bizarre and scary and this French movie, about a butcher (‘Seul contre tous’, "I stand alone"), which is terrible, monstrous, mixed with another French movie, in black and white, with two guys who run round all night in Paris, and one of them ends up getting shot. It’s one of my favorite movies !

Interview by Jean Paul Coillard and Mister X, September 28th, 2004.

Translation : JP Coillard and Marie Lecocq.

Photos : JP Coillard et DR.

Thanks to Valérie Reux from M10

www.the-haunted.com