Chad Bowar: Did you approach the songwriting on Versus any differently than previous albums?
Peter Dolving: Yes, this time we acted as if we’d actually done this before. And lo and behold, it made a difference! Honestly though, I think confidence is important when it comes to doing this. For us, there’s always been so many worries in the process. We figured out that we can’t try making other people happy, it’s our band, our music. We like it, and if you don’t, fine, (screw) off.
You worked with Tue Madsen again. What is it about his style that works so well for The Haunted?
He doesn’t try to produce us. And he’s very down to earth. As a band, and everyone who’s worked with us will testify, we are a weird group of people. Extremely opinionated, and very, very dry. I mean, we are often funny, but hedonistic lifestyles don’t really go down real well for us somehow. Also we're ridiculously self sufficient. People who work with us find there’s not a lot of room to breathe if you’re the kind of dude who’s looking for constant acknowledgement. We’re sorta The Black Ops of metal. Are we socially handicapped? You bet. And that’s perfectly fine for us. As far as Tue goes, he is as much a great psychologist as an amazing sound engineer, which is a perfect combination for us.
What inspired your lyrics for Versus?
You know, everyday b.s., being a human being in an inhuman society. See, for me I think it’s a question of trying to translate the emotions that the music evokes in me to words that somehow describes them. Like drawing a picture.
Will you be touring in the U.S. any time soon?
Well, I damned well hope so. Really, I can’t see why we wouldn’t. So far we’ve toured the U.S. on every album since 1999. We are the Rolling Stones of hardcore metal. You can hate us, but you can’t get rid of us.
What are your favorite and least favorite things about visiting the U.S.?
I think this needs to be clarified. We don’t visit. We go to U.S. to work, OK? We work and pay taxes in the U.S. for what we do in the U.S. For me personally it’s great because I get to see my family, half of them are rednecks from Oregon and Oklahoma. I was raised American, what can I say? We should just just get green cards instead of our work permits. It’s a hassle that we keep having to take care of every album.
It’s not like we try to hide our opinions and you always know where to find us if you think that’s important. But good and bad in the U.S.? I love the fact people are mostly friendly. I don’t like the macho b.s. that a lot of American men have got going, that’s just old veneer. But mostly there’s a positive attitude that I can understand, no matter what mood I’m in. Sure, the occasional (jerk) crosses our path every once in a while, but mostly it’s up to me as a person or us as a group to set the mood of the day.
Where haven’t you played live that you’d still like to get to?
North and Middle Africa, New Zealand, Vietnam, Jamaica, Iceland, Ukraine, Belarus, Israel, Libya, Syria, and China. There are loads of places we want to go that we haven’t played yet.
You’re also in Bring The War Home. What type of music do you play in that band?
I think the only bands that kinda make the type of music we do are Wilco, Arcade Fire, and TV On The Radio.
I understand they also have an album coming out soon.
Yeah, it should be out through our MySpace page in October or November. We can’t make up our minds on whether we should actually print a CD, vinyl, or just sell a .rar file with artwork and music. If you’re a label A&R and you’re looking for a great band, check our stuff out!
The U.S. presidential election is coming up soon. As someone who is not American, but has a strong interest in world affairs, what do you think the impact will be if McCain wins, and what will it be if Obama wins?
Wow, that’s a really hard question. I think in most ways it won’t really be that different. The reason is, of course, the fact that both dominating parties in the U.S. are simply two sides of the same coin. They’re fundamentally capitalist and there’s only so much you can do when you share the basic view of how things should be solved. There is of course a great deal of diversity in U.S. politics, but it doesn’t get much attention in world media, hell, any media. I honestly don’t think there’s going to be that much of a change. The Wall Street crisis and the sudden Obama/McCain unity in the matter gives a good preview of this. Perhaps Obama could push a slightly more populist system on domestic politics, but I really don’t know. I feel like U.S. democracy has lost all credibility, too many professional spinsters are pushing issues in D.C., and big money has too much influence for the system to function, at least to pass as a democracy.
What’s the biggest problem facing the world today?
Apathy and resignation amongst ordinary people is the biggest problem, without a doubt. Maybe not so much in countries like the Phillipines, Argentina or Poland, but definitely in the U.S., Europe and Australia. We need to start getting off our asses and act on what’s going on, no matter what political views we sympathize with. We need to get up and go. You know, I think much of it has to do with a basic misconception that this means you have to lay your life to waste in getting organized and engaged. It’s not like that. The cool thing with actual democracy is how it functions through tiny steps and wide participation. Watch the news, act as respectfully as your capacity allows you each new day. A little bit of care goes a long way. Apathy however, kills it.
