UN: I have to admit I was more then ecstatic when I heard that Peter was returning to the band. In my opinion, the debut album showed a lot of promise for a band to combine melody and thrash like it had never been done before. The next two albums were amazing and much more brutal, but lost some of that melody. Do you think that rEVOLVEr somewhat picks up where the debut left off, bringing in even more melody?

Jensen: Maybe... I know that Anders sees this album as the natural follow-up to the first album... However, I don't know if "bringing in more melody" should automatically be seen as the natural thing to expect when the next album is released.

UN: While each album has had similarities, they have always each had unique qualities. Do you think that ideally rEVOLVEr is the sound that you guys had in mind for the band all along? Essentially, it isn’t much different. It has the speed that you guys are known for, but it also has more melody and the most diverse set of songs yet from you guys.

Jensen: I actually don't know what makes the Haunted "The Haunted"... Honestly, I don't... We just show up, start putting things together, and all of a sudden it sounds like us... I think the way we individually play our instruments has a major role in the making of our sound. I think the diversity comes from everyone letting the individual songwriters do their thing and let them keep the initial vision of a song intact, instead of everyone having to have a say about every song.. I might not immediately understand everything that Anders comes up with at rehearsals, but I trust him as a skilled songwriter... and if he says he really believes in something he has come up with, them I'm more than willing to see it all the way through up until when we choose amongst the recorded tracks for the album.

UN: Was there anything in particular you wanted to move away from or keep the same from One Kill Wonder? Looking back, did you need to get a heavier album out of the way before making a more diverse record?

Jensen: No, as I said, we don't have any plans when we go into the studio... All five band members used to be the main guy in our previous bands... that means there are a lot of ideas and visions involved when it comes to a new album... So, it’s a lot easier to just create, and see what we've come up with after we've finished recording.

UN: Was Peter your main choice for the vacant vocalist position? After all, he did leave the band for personal reasons and if he didn’t want to come back, you’d need other people to look to. But like I’ve said many times to many different people Peter is the best possible vocalist for The Haunted. There just something special that happens between his voice and the guitar work.

Jensen: Of course Peter was a name that came up pretty quickly when we discussed the vocalist situation... However, Marco had left the band due to wanting to be with his family more, and Peter had since he'd left the band in -98, gotten both married and kids. So, we didn't want to put us in the same situation we had just experienced with Marco.. Peter left the band mainly because of Earache.. we were ust going nowhere and it was very frustrating on all of us... No, when we asked Peter, we were off Earache and on Century Media...a label that understood the need to financially back their bands up if they wanted them to grow... Anyways, turns out that Peter had regretted leaving the band just weeks after he split all those years back... So, he was absolutely thrilled over us asking him to join the band again

UN: One thing that really stands out about The Haunted is that they seem to appeal to just as many hardcore fans as they do metal fans. Not that it was intentional, but do you think having Lou from Sick of It All on a song gives the hardcore fans an extra bonus? Do you think it’s cool that your music appeals to different people? Any fans of extreme music, regardless of sub genre, can find elements of The Haunted to enjoy.

Jensen: Damn right I think its cool! I mean, hard, heavy and aggressive music is good, whatever label people have put on it! Actually, its even more simple than that; good music is good music! We have some big hardcore fans in the band, so asking Lou to do some vocals was more a treat for the band than a marketing strategy... and I think our diverse individual musical backgrounds in the band is a huge asset, compared to a band where all the band members only listen to, and love, Metallica...

UN: I was pretty surprised to read that Earache basically forced you guys to release the first three records with them. Did you ever consider possibly getting in touch with a lawyer and seeing if they had the grounds to do this? I know that you guys have members of At the Gates, but that shouldn’t make it this bands obligation to finish the contract.

Jensen: Believe me...its was horrible... I formed the band, but earache hi-jacked us... I wrote the majority of the first album, but any money that album produced went to pay off At the Gates US tour debts... thanks... Unbelievable. I have so many stories... We tried, with the help of the manager we had then, to cancel the contract at least once every week, but to no avail... Up until now, it feels like this band has been rowing upstream, WITH an anchor dragging behind the boat...People ask us how it feels to be one of the first bands to play thrash/melodic/whatever metal and see bands come after us with the same idea and grow way past us... Well, I haven’t given it much thought...cos I'm happy that there was an interest in this kind of music after all... But trust me when I say this; there won’t be any stopping us now...

UN: Your latest album is being released by Century Media. Did you notice a big difference working with Century Media right from the start? They have made big name players out of many bands and I’m sure that they will take The Haunted to new levels.

Jensen: Excuse me? Noticed a difference? haha Putting out albums on Earache is like masturbating with a pair of scissors... nuff said

UN: Does it seem like Century Media is putting way more effort into promoting the new album? I read that you guys only did like 19 shows for the debut, but with the new album hardly even of the shelves you are already touring the states with Damageplan and Shadows Fall, two of the biggest metal bands in the US right now. Would it be safe to say that you guys are finally getting the support that you deserve?

Jensen: I don't know about "deserve", cos that a matter of opinion and musical taste, but at least we have a label that is genuinely interested in growing their bands, rather than just collecting a tad more money off every invested $ than a normal savings account would produce.

UN: The Swedish influence is popping up all over the place these days. There really isn’t an overt Haunted influence, but the melodic approach is becoming somewhat common for a lot of US metalcore bands. Do you guys find it a bit flattering that your previous band, At the Gates, really seems to be inspiring so many people? Not to bring up old bands, but I can’t even believe how many times the name comes up when bands are talking about who influenced them to play music.

Jensen: Well, I wasn't in At the Gates, but there is certainly no denying the impact that last album had on the scene... Sometimes it can feel like a stigma to us, cos people always mention them in our interviews *nudge* hehe But then again, I’d rather have that album out there, than the opposite... It’s a fine metal classic, and the more bands that are influenced by that album the better... Though the break-up of the band did help to promote that album... Anders has expressed his view on the whole thing about a reunion thing like "Why didn't people come and see the band while we were still around? When the band still toured the album no one cared". I suppose the cry of horror throughout the press, with the news of ATG's demise, gave the media coverage needed to project that last album into becoming legendary, though a well deserved status, of course.

UN: One thing I’ve always found remarkable about the Haunted is the sheer proficiency of the guitar playing. The riffs have a lot of nuances, but everything is dead on. I also noticed that a lot of bands hide behind a wall of distortion, but you guys have always had a very clean guitar sound. The distortion is there, but it’s not overpowering. Do you think it’s important for the guitars to ring through perfectly? Is it tough at times to not have that safety net of distortion to hide behind? It must make even the slightest mistake stand out. I’d imagine laying down the guitars takes a lot of takes!

Jensen: Hmm, well, I guess it just came out of having already done that whole super-distorted thing in our previous bands. Me with Seance (just listen to the last album "Salt rubbed Eyes" and the last ATG album (I think Anders told me there are 2 or 3 serial connected distortion pedals before the amp...!!! Having a lot of distortion ruins the attack of the guitar too.. Also, we fooled around with tuning down on One Kill Wonder. On the first 2 album we tune to D# (that's one fret down for all you disco lovers), but we noticed that we couldn't go any further down than D (2 frets down) without losing that "Haunted" attack and clearness of the guitars...So, both OKW and rEVOLVEr are both recorded in D.

UN: I was pretty surprised to read that you guys have won a couple of Swedish grammys. I was curious to ask what exactly the Swedish grammys are? Obviously it must be much more open minded then the North America awards. I don’t even think they have a hard rock/metal category anymore! Although with heavy music gaining more steam in the US right now it could be back.

Jensen: It’s basically the music industry patting each other on the back, and about getting their bands in the press again... I personally value a readers pole higher than a jury appointed award, however, it did help us getting on national tv etc, which in turn led to more people becoming aware of this kind of music...This led to more "extreme" bands being taken seriously, and getting on larger shows, festivals etc due to a growing interest and acceptance of the genre on the whole.

UN: Do you think that rEVOLVEr will do better then your first three albums in the US? I’m sure that you guys have sold a ton of records, but with Headbanger’s Ball being on now, and just a general bigger interest in metal right now, this seems like the ideal time for you guys to reach the next level within the US.

Jensen: I think with the sole help of a dedicated label (CM) we will out do our old numbers by far... We have always been up for touring, but haven't been able to get on any bigger tours to expose our music to larger numbers of people. This has been changed radically since we got on CM..so, we will be back in the US so many times on this album that people will probably grow sick of us haha.