1. Hi! I have to smile when thinking how accidentally I got to your album. I just can feel grateful to Firebox. The main thing which caught my eye, was about the birth of the album. It had to be tough right?

Well, I did invest a lot of time and emotion in the album in order to try and create the vision I had for it. It was tough indeed and especially to let it go one day and consider it finished even though I knew it could be so much better. Still, having released a couple of albums I’m starting to get used to that feeling.

2. After I listened to “Six waves of woe” more frequently each day, I have found out, that there can´t be a person who doesn’t like this album. There is also a commentary in similar sense under my review. Do you realize that you managed to get the album stuffed with unbelievable amount of catchy riffs and moods? Was this an intention?

First of all I’m more than certain that there are a lot of people who doesn’t like the album or at least claim not to, even among my own fans. There is always this group of people who only like the very the first albums and see all new attempt to evolve the sound as going mainstream which ofcourse is nonsense. Still, I can’t blame these people since I think the same about many bands. What I believe these people see as mainstream is what you refer to as catchy riffs and moods and well yes I would definatelly say that it’s intentional. I don’t want to make catchy music but if you can make a riff or a melody sad and dark and at the same time very catchy it will have a much deeper impact on the listener, at least that’s what I think. My ambition is to make music that drills deep into the heart and soul of the listener and I’m willing to use all means necessary.

3. If the music on “Departure” could be classified as Doom metal, I would say that “Six waves of woe” is crushing any classifications. How would you classify the music of Forest of shadows now, in the year 2008?

I wouldn’t say that “Departure” is a typical doom-metal album but it sure has doomy elements. Just like “Six Waves of Woe” has. With both albums I have tried not to restrict myself to a certain type of music but instead just do whatever sounds good. I guess that results in music that is hard to typecast. If I have to put a tag on my music it would probaby be dark-metal or post-metal (whatver that may be). I guess the boundaries for both doom- and black-metal are to narrow for me to work within even though I’m a great fan of both types of music.

4. One of the nicest aspect on the album are the clean vocals. Very clean, balanced and heart-felt. Sometimes it feels like that you are more interested in different form of vocalization than in black metal vocalization. Hasn´t your attitude towards this interpretation changed through the years?

I have always liked the idea of mixing clean and screamed vocals since it makes the vocal expression so much more dynamic. In the beginning I didn’t really know how to write good song melodies and how to arrange the clean singing as compared to the screaming that is mostly just done by heart. With every new album I have discovered more and more how to execute the clean singing and the more I learn about it the more I want to use it. Still, the contrast with the screams is so powerfull that I can’t let go of that style as long as my voice can handle it. Also, I get more credit for the screams than my clean sining so it kind of motivates me to continue having it in there.


5. Because you have written the album during 3 years it includes several spontaneous moods from different periods. When listening to the novelty do you feel the difference between those life periods, or do you view it as a compact piece?

Well, one of the songs is almost 10 years old so I guess that a song that brings me way back in time. The rest of the songs focus around more or less the same period of my life since they were somewhat written in parallell. So, to conclude, apart from “moments in solitude” I do look upon it as a compact piece influenced by my latest 3 years.

6. I also find lyrics very personal. For example “Detached” is musically really melancholic and lyrically even sad. Are you writing lyrics unwillingly or do you insist on music accurately following the theme you’re trying to sing about?

I always write the music first and then try and make lyrics that fit. It’s a quite weird way of working since it would be much more easy to do it the other way around. I guess the easy explaination is that the music comes first to me while the lyrics are something I have to work with quite a lot. I’m just not a very natural writer.

7. Can we find some concept or compact story on “Six waves of woe”? If yes, what is the album about?

Not really. It’s just six sad songs that have no relation to each other apart from being sad.

8. I would like to return to “Detached” again. This song perfectly shows how the gradation can be important in music. Radical and unexpected changes in music are also important. There is almost everything in that particular song. Even the noticeable influence from different musical genres. Are there any, which you could name? Also, is there a something that changed in your approach to composition?

That’s an interesting view. Personally I find it a quite straightforward song with a rather dynamic composition. I can’t find that many musical genres hidden inside it but maybee I’m blind to it. No matter what I didn’t compose it as a cocktail of genres. I just did it by heart and ear.


9. You have played with other musicians before, now you act alone. How do you feel about this change? What are the pros and cons of it? Do you think that it is better for your music?

I really like to compose by myself since I’m a controlfreak with a strong will. I hate compromising and I guess that was the main reason I ended up by myself in the end. Music to me is way to personal and emotional and if I can’t do it 100% my way I rather don’t do it all. At least not when it comes to the music of “forest of shadows”. I could settle with just doing music for fun or just jamming with friends but that would be somehting totally different from what I do with “forest fo shadows”. The bad thing about being alone is when finalizing the production since it’s hard to tell when it’s good enough. You really need a second opinion from someone else every now and then and someone who can tell you that it’s good enough for shipping. I can also be a good thing to team up with a good musican so you don’t have to master all instruments by yourself. I guess the later is only bad thing I can see about being alone in the band while the rest is just positive.

10. I think that “Six waves of woe” could be easily soundtrack for this winter, what do you think? How is the winter developing in Sweden?

It’s horrible. We did have some snow like a month ago but right now it’s just cold, grey and wet. Still, that would be an optimal backdrop for the bleak music of “six waves of woe” so yes it could definatelly be a soundtrack for this winter.

11. I am at end with questions. Many thanks for everything. And most importantly, thanks for the best 2008 album!

You are more than welcome.