The incredible The Haunted have just released a brand new album, so Metal Imperium Webzine decided to stop by and say a “hello” to The Haunted’s guitarist Ola, so that he’d let us know all about “Strength in Numbers” and what is going on with The Haunted. Check it out:
M.I. - Wow, guys! Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you on your ninth album, “Strength in Numbers”, which was released on August, the 25th. What is the meaning of this title – which is also the fifth track of this brand new record – and how did you come up with it? What’s the story?
Thank you so much. “Strength in Numbers” can mean a lot of things, it can be political, it can be religious, it can be anything you want it to be. It could be that enough idiots together form a force that could potentially be dangerous, or it could be that, for The Haunted, this is the ninth album.
M.I. - By the way, why the choice of releasing “Brute Force” as the first single out of this record? Does it hold any special meaning to you guys or is it because of its notorious brutality that makes anyone want to bang their heads?
I think it just makes for a good opening song, both as a single and as a first song for a live show. So yeah I guess you could say it's because of its notorious brutality.
M.I. - You recorded this album at the “Parlour Studios” with the well-known producer Russ Russell. Tell us all about this experience: why did you choose Russ to produce “Strength in Numbers” and how was it working with him?
It was great working with Russell. I wasn't that familiar with his work before the recording but I'm a big fan now. Very easy going and we just had a blast recording with him. I would love to record with him again in the future.
M.I. - And how were the recording sessions carried out? Did you guys all meet at the studio and help out or did you record each instrument separately – in a sort of “one at a time” scheme –, due to the usual difficulties that bands face in gathering regularly? How long did it take?
Me, Jonas and Adrian went over there for the drum recordings and stayed there for a week. Then we recorded the guitars and bass at my place, vocals in a rehearsing room together with producer Jocke Skog. This is just a great and efficient way for us to work. If we would've mashed all the separate recordings together I think it might've taken… 2 weeks maybe…? I don't know.
M.I. - What was the biggest difference between the compositional process of “Strength in Numbers” and of your previous albums? And, since we are on this matter, how is this creative stage usually carried out? How do you turn an idea into a The Haunted’s song? And how do the lyrics emerge?
I can only speak for the past two albums, but the formula would be that me, Jonas and Jensen write songs on our own ends and then we present them to each other and with that start poking into each other’s songs. Makes for a really great and dynamic setting for the songs that everyone is contributing. I definitely got to take a bigger part of the writing for this album. We all write lyrics but Marco and Jonas are the main guys.
M.I. - You guys have been around for about two decades. What do you believe has grown to be the biggest challenge for a metal band in the music industry nowadays? Do you struggle with any particular difficulties?
I think now it's hard for bands of our size the fact that it's getting expensive for us to tour, so we have to be very cautious about what tours to take or do. It has to make sense for us and for the other members who would need to take time off their jobs, etc. It's a catch-22, basically we need to tour to keep our selves relevant, but it's too expensive for us to tour. But, what is really wort,h is that when we do tour and play live, we have an awesome time together, there's really good chemistry and we just feel like we’re a part of a really great and awesome gang.
M.I. - Well, in two decades and with nine albums, it must get pretty hard to keep composing brand new songs, with new approaches and dynamics, but still making it sound like The Haunted, right? Those who have listened to “Strength in Numbers” have been spreading the word that it is probably one of the best albums of 2017! How do you manage that? How come after so many years, you guys are still kicking ass with new songs and records?
I think it's because we still love what we do. We know what we want and we know where we want to go next. I think that if we just continue to write music for ourselves, I would imagine the fans would believe in what we do and hopefully also support us in our future path.
M.I. - Last but not least – “spoiler alert” –, what are your plans/goals for the future: short-term and long-term, of course?
Working on getting more tours done so we can come out and play the new album for you guys. And thankfully we're going to Portugal early next year so I can't wait for that! Also maybe this time we won’t wait three years before our next album. Who knows…
Questions by Evie
