[pictures of the haunted @ graceland 04/28/2001 courtesty chris slack]

The Haunted have had some line-up changes from your first album. Can you tell me why the member changes and who is in the band know?

What was the time span for this?

Marco: About half a year. He (Peter) was a very creative guy. He had his foot and fingers into everything. He just got sick and tired of waiting around. Adrian got another offer as well. We could have matched that offer. Fortunately, I joined the band and we got Per (Moller Jensen) instead of Adrian and we could not be happier.

Who is in the band now?

Marco: The Björler Twins, Jonas (bass guitar) and Anders (lead guitar), from At the Gates; Patrick Jensen (riff guitar); me (vocals); and Per M. Jensen (drums).

Is this The Haunted's first tour in America?

Marco: Second--we did one in 1999 with Testament.

How is this tour going so far?

Marco: We actually saw from the Testament tour that the audiences have grown, they are a lot bigger now. It really worked out nice for us, that tour. We did Portland, Oregon yesterday, and we never played Portland before. It was probably one of the best gigs on the tour.

Are there any unique experiences that you would like to share with us?

Marco: No, just that every gig is unique in its own way because there is always some crazy guy who makes it unique.

How do you like America?

Marco: I like touring here in the sense that you have all the climates represented. You just can't pack shorts and think you are O.K. (laughter). It's been nice. Sometimes you have culture clashes that you have to cope with--otherwise the tour's going well.

How would compare and contrast the music scenes in Sweden with what you have seen here in America?

Marco: From what I have experienced, the music scene here is pretty much image-based. You see bands like Korn and stuff. I wouldn't really call them a band--I call them a theater group. The bands in Sweden, for instance, they do not go for image, they just go for the music because that is what is most important for them. They just don't worry about messages, they just go out and play.

Marco: Yeah, great bands. Many great bands, but nowhere to play. Things keep getting better now. We just did a Sweden tour three weeks before this tour. It was just overall... I had nightmares over that tour. Weekends always work in Sweden, but on this tour we had two weeks with a gig every day. We were like, "This is not going to work." The tour premiere was Monday night in a small, small town. In Sweden, who would expect 250 people to show up? From that, we were fairly convinced the tour would turn out. The music scene is picking up now as far as gigs and places to play. However, most bands like to go abroad for their outlet.

This tour maybe hard to judge by, but your sound is a good mix of thrash and hardcore. What type of fans normally come out to see you?

Marco: It is quite a variety of people. You see these guys [points to some people], Dimmu Borgir fans--they cannot help themselves. After a while they are in the crowd banging away like everybody else. I guess our kind of music is a bit more universal because we haven't locked ourselves in a small box. This is where we want to be. So, I think we have something for everybody.

This is your first release in over a couple of years. Why so much time between releases?

Marco: Just label bullshit and member changes.

Does this also have to do with members being in other bands?

Marco: Yeah, not that much. It has never clashed at all. So, this works out fine. People know where their loyalty lies, and where their priorities are. So, it is no problem at all. Because, we have more or less other bands that we work with on the side.

Marco: The band morale will not change a bit because we are all in the same boat--so there is no one to blame. There has been some tough times where we've been ready to quit, but you know you have just done an excellent album and you also are recognized by the record label and that is the way you wanted it to be. That was the story on the first album. We didn't get any promotion--didn't get anything. The second album they actually made an effort. There are some things that could be a little bit better, but still they are out working it.

You feel they are behind you?

Marco: Yeah, they're behind us.

The cover of The Haunted Made Me Do It looks like something other than a metal album, more like a hardcore album. What were you trying to convey or how do you want the band to be viewed?

Marco: The thing is, first and foremost, we are not a political band. This was just to...the whole thing about The Haunted Made Me Do It, and all the serial killers stuff, is just an ironic statement in a sense. Many people understand it, but many have not.

Thing is, serial killers are a product of society. If you have a 16-year-old son who is locked up in his room for two weeks, and he finally comes out and starts shooting people they start blaming Marilyn Manson. It is so stupid. You should actually check the problem before it gets out of hand. The whole thing is just an ironic statement. We didn't really want to go with a typical metal album cover. That would just blend with everything else, and we would not be outstanding or anything like that.

Were you trying to get people to own up to their actions? You know, blaming others instead of taking responsibility for their own actions and to see how they can cause their own problems?

Marco: We just want people to think. People are gifted with a brain, and our fans are not stupid. They are not stupid, but people around them can be. So, we just want people to think about their actions and take responsibility for them.

On the album the sound is very aggressive and hard hitting, yet it doesn't sound strained by complexity. What were the ideas and concepts you wanted for this release?

Marco: Actually, we didn't have any clue of what we wanted. Despite the member changes we still have the main songwriters. We didn't have any finished format that this was the way we wanted it to sound. The album was written in three months, we were pretty stressed out and as it turned out there were a few things that could have used more time. There wasn't a conscious thought like, "Hey man, let's go out and make a very different album," it just turned out that way. Fortunately, people still liked it, because the second album is very critical.

The Haunted was recently awarded a Swedish Grammy for Best Hard/Metal Album. Did the band appear in person to accept this and what were the feelings of the band about this?

What were the feelings of the band about winning the Grammy? Is this a very big deal in Sweden?

Marco: Yeah, it's just like the Grammys here in the U.S. because it is the music business' biggest prize it can give you. The Grammy is universal in the sense that it is a big deal for everyone. I would rather have a prize that the fans voted for--that would mean a lot more to me. The thing about this award is that it will help other bands in our genre as well, because now the music industry has accepted the music by awarding us the prize, so hopefully it will be a lot easier for those struggling bands because there are so many talents in the rehearsal rooms that don't even get the time of day. Hopefully, for them it will be a small relief.

So the band wanted to be present for this?

Marco: Yeah, we were fairly convinced we were not going to get it because we stood up against some hard competition: Entombed, The Hammerfall, and The Hives. The funny thing is that The Hammerfall were convinced they were going to win it. They were out on tour as well, and they hired a comedian to accept the prize for them.

From reading the lyrics one could get the impression that the band is angry and pissed off. What drives your lyrics?

Marco: The thing about the lyrics is we write about stuff that either makes us happy or pisses us off. They are about the experiences that we have experienced, or don't want to experience. We write that way to leave them open to interpretation. It makes it fun when you are out on tour and some guy comes up and says, "Hey man, those lyrics mean [this] to me," and it is completely different from what I thought it was going to mean. We're not delivering any message or anything. We are just trying to keep it real--plus keep it real for us.

Why were The Haunted still under the old At the Gates record contract and did you pursue legal advice about getting out of this with Earache?

Marco: The thing is, that whole cluster-fuck is At the Gates because they used the legal advice the record label handed to them. They would say there are no problems with this contract. We inherited that contract because at the time Jonas, Anders, and Adrian were personally signed to the label. So what we are looking at now is that we only have one more album left on that label. After that, we will sit down and discuss what we want.

Could you just release an album of covers or live album to get out of the contract?

Marco: No, we tried that. We mentioned a live album and stuff. Their reply was that we would just be cheating the fans. So, I guess Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden cheat their fans when they fuckin' put out live albums... It is just stupid.

What interests do you have outside of music or other band member's interests?

Marco: We actually never see each other outside of touring. This keeps the friendship going in the van I guess. This year is we have been touring a lot, and this tour is what we call our world tour. It spans from late last year up 'til now, and then we play a number of festivals this summer...festivals every weekend. Two of the guys go to school, and I am married with a kid and so have a family at home. I also work as a blacksmith. Otherwise, we just chill out with friends and have a few beers.

Do you have anything that you want to say?

Marco: To our fans: if you catch us on a bad day, come see us again, because it is worthwhile. Every dog has his day.

On the web:
The Haunted

Inside Earpollution:
The Haunted Made Me Do It album review