Samir: How are you doing?

Anders: I'm just fine. It's typical Swedish summer outside. Cloudy and occasional rain. Just what you need to write music.

Samir: How come you named the band "the haunted", what's the story behind that name?

Anders: The Haunted was just a temporary name early on. We all came up with ideas, and we treated the whole thing more like a joke. I think Jensen came up with "THE HAUNTED" and another one. Was it: "Dead ½" (Dead and a half = i.e "more than dead"). Anyway the name THE HAUNTED stuck with us. At first we didn't think much of it, but we later got used to it. I think the name loses meaning after a while and you just associate it with the band / sound.

Samir: Who designed The Haunted's logo?

Anders: And old friend of Jensen named Diaz. He had just finished a major design school with top grades. We were all surprised what he came up with. Really cool. Original, simple, powerful and to the point. I remember that we talked about doing something movie-like. Like a slasher movie with an unknown killer.

Samir: What did you guys do differently on "rEVOLVEr"

Anders: Well, I guess the music basically is rooted in the same old THE HAUNTED tradition. The biggest difference is that Peter got back to the band, and that he started writing songs. His voice is also a little more dynamic which helps when you're trying out stuff that goes beyond the regular growling stuff. We always wanted to do clean vocals with Marco, but either he didn't want to, or he'd pretend he couldn't, hehe. Just to lead us off. A major change on rEVOLVEr is that we jammed together as a band again. When Marco was in the band we rarely saw him since he lived like 500 km from us. He didn't spend too much time in the rehearsal place. On rEVOLVEr we could try stuff instantly without sending ideas by mail, and await an answer a week later.

Samir: I hear a bit of a hardcore influence in your music.anyone was a hardcore fan in the band?

Anders: I guess the only thing hardcore is Peter's vocals. He's the only one with a punk background

Samir: How would you define your style of music?

Anders: Just metal will do fine. I'm kinda tired of all the labeling. I'm not happy with the label "thrash metal" since we're not only thrash metal, but so much more.

Samir: Where do you see "The haunted" going in the next few years, 5 or even 10 years?

Anders: I guess just putting out albums and tour the world. Just like we do now. But you never know. Anything can happen.

Samir: How do you feel about downloading music?

Anders: I do it, but not very often. It's mostly when I can't find what I'm looking for in a store. The internet is a good tool for rare and hard to find stuff. But I recommend people to buy the album if they like it. Or at least support the band / label in some way. Maybe attend a concert, or buy a shirt?

Samir: What can the fans anticipate when The Haunted hits the stage?

Anders: Untamed aggression

Samir: Do we have to wait a long time for the next The haunted album?

Anders: No. It's already recorded actually. It will be out on CENTURY MEDIA worldwide october 2006.

Samir: Do you see there as being a difference between commercial metal bands and underground metal?

Anders: Yes, underground bands stick to their true identity no matter what. Some of the commercial bands do as well, but some of those bands have a business strategy, to play easy accessible music that sells a lot of records. Wether you are an underground band or not, the music should always be the most important.

Samir: What's the difference between the Haunted of 1998 and the haunted of 2004?

Anders: We have developed both as humans and musicians. I think our compositions have matured.
In the past I think we were too eager too impress people. Now we can just relax and do what WE want to do.

Samir: What do the lyrics of The HAUNTED deal with?

Anders: They are personal. Peter writes about things in his own life. Experiences, thoughts, ideas, that passes through his mind. It makes it more trustworthy somehow (and true). I mean we’ve never been great story tellers in the gothic or genuine metal tradition. We don’t want to express stories about the devil or dungeons and dragons mysteries. It’s much more interesting to talk about things from real life. Sometimes very scary things.

Samir: What can fans expect to see and hear at the show?

Anders: Loud metal accompanied by a madman ranting prohecies of doom.

Samir: Do the members of the band play in other projects? Or is The haunted your only and main goal?

Anders: Jensen’s got Witchery. Peter has his other project called BRING THE WAR HOME.But it’s more pop/rock. There are a couple of projects I want to be involved with, but the main trouble is that you never have any time left for anything apart from THE HAUNTED musically.

Samir: Did you hear something about "kreator" when they played here in morocco front of 20 000 persons ?

Anders: I heard some rumors, but not the whole story.

Samir: If you 'll be invited to playing here in morocco, do you accepte about this invitation?

Anders: We would love to come. We have played South Africa, but never northern Africa before.

See you there hopefully!

Samir: Any last words?

Anders: We hope to come to Morocco very soon. Keep the metal movement alive!

Samir: Thanks a lot for your time in answering these questions.

Anders: Thank you!

Members :

Peter Dolving - Vocals (Mary Beats Jane, The Peter Dolving Band)
Patrik Jensen - Guitar (Witchery (Swe), ex-Satanic Slaughter, Seance (Swe), Orchriste)
Anders Björler - Guitar, backing Vocals (Terror (Swe), Infestation (Swe), Liers in Wait (Swe), At the Gates)
Jonas Björler - Bass, Backing Vocals (At the Gates, Terror (Swe), Infestation (Swe), Demolition)
Per M. Jensen - Drums (color=orange]ex-Artillery, ex-Nightrage, ex-Konkhra, ex-Invocator, ex-Daemon (Dnk))[/color]

Discography:

The Haunted 1998
Made Me Do It 2000
Live Rounds in Tokyo Live2001
One Kill Wonder 2003
rEVOLVEr 2004

Links :

www.the-haunted.com
http://www.myspace.com/thehaunted