1.        Hello, Johan! How are you? What are you doing now?

 

-Hello Blaze! I´m fine here. Sitting and writing lyrics for the third Army album which we will record in june this year.

2. Let's start from the very early days of The Crown. As one of the band founders, you can, possibly, remember something about the beginning. Who brought the idea of starting the band? Why have you chosen such brutal music to play? What groups inspired you to start The Crown?

 

-Me, Magnus and Janne went to the same school and it was Magnus and Janne who came up with the idea to start the band. I was asked like an hour later, hehe. The reason for starting to play really aggressive music is based on wanting more and more extreme music. It all started with metallica and went to be way more brutal in the end. Some guy always provided us with new extreme music and around the period of “Altars of madness” with Morbid Angel came the idea to do the same as our heroes in that band and in other bands like Death, Sepultura and Slayer. We were like the only ones in this school that listened to the really hard stuff and it feels pretty cool to be one of the first death metal bands coming from this small town of Trollhättan. Now there´s plenty of them.

3. Before recording the first album has the band performed its music at the stage? Have the musicians had any experience of playing instruments?

 

-Yeah, we did a couple of shows before the first album cause the first album were not recorded until ´95 and we started the band 1990. We were kind of starting to learn to play at the same time be created the band. Nobody was good so it took a long time to learn new songs and rehearse them, but we were really hungry so we learned fast.

4. What was the first stable line-up?

 

-Johan Lindstrand-Vocals, Magnus Olsfelt-Bass Janne Saarenpää-Drums, Marko Tervonen-Guitar, Markus Sunesson-Guitar

5. In 1995 'The Burning', your first long-play was released. In my view, this album is very interesting, not ordinary and rather powerful. Can you tell us about the process of writing songs and recording them? What was the reaction on it from metalheads all over the world?

 

-This album contains songs from both our first demos as well as a couple of new ones. So the writing mode had been going on for a lot of years before the recording, but it was really cool to finally recording them in a really good studio and releasing it on a real label. We felt like kings when we were done with it. I mean, we were like 18 years old or something and ready to take on the world. Black Sun records was a very small label but it helped us getting our name out and I guess that people liked the album and I´m proud of it even if I don´t see it as a masterpiece.

6. The next was 'Eternal Death' (1997), it was the continuation of the previous release but with sound that changed to heavier, music became more wicked and aggressive. Some people say that 'Eternal Death' is the darkest and the strongest death metal album from all times. What do you think about this album now from the point of your nowadays experience?

-Yeah, it´s much more extreme and dark but I can´t stand the sound today. Never did, haha. It sounds like shit but there are some good songs on it. More inspired by the black metal scene compared to The Burning.  But this was a step in the right direction cause we had more knowledge about everything and we started to be a name and we also got our first tour when this album was released. A tour which gave us the contract with Metal Blade records after I had thrown a beer from the stage that landed in the head of a guy from Metal Blade, haha.

7. How has the line-up changed during the early years of The Crown existance? What was the reason for it?

 

-Robert Österberg left the band after the first demo because he didn´t wanna play this music anymore. After that we were stable until I left after Deathrace King.

8. For sure, after releasing 2 albums you have performed a big number of concerts. What can you remember from the huge tour life? With what bands have you played on one stage?

 

-We only did one tour after Eternal Death and that sucked big time but we learned a little bit about how things work on tour and we also did one good show in France that made Metal Blade interested.

9. The next two albums ('Hell Is Here' (1998) & 'Deathrance King' (2000)) showed some style differences from previous releases, some developments of sound, it became rather modern, but not so heavy and sharp, and even ordinary. What was the reason for it? And how did your fans react on it?

 

-I think that fans appreciated the new sound which was more of an extreme death rock sound. Don´t know why it became like this but it was Magnus that pushed in this type of sound in the band but I think that Marko and Magnus had a good mixture of songs throughout the whole carer. A good variation of the sound.

10. Before a record session of the next album you left the band. Why did it happen? The reason was in creative disagreements or something private?

 

-It was private. We toured like hell after Deathrace King and we didn´t get one single cent from doing it and that was kinda hard on the economy back home so I was getting tired of coming home with an empty pocket all the time. I was also a bit tired of playing at that point but after only 1 or 2 moths I started to miss it.

11. Long-play 'Crowned In Terror', which was released in 2002, was recorded with the new vocalist Tomas Lindberg, who is a important person on Sweden metal scene. What do you think about his work on the album? And what do you think about this man himself, his bands, projects, where he took part?

 

-His work on that album is great in my opinion. There are good songs on it and sounds very extreme and brutal with Tomas vocals. Yeah, he is an icon in the Swedish death metal scene but he has never been my favourite as a singer and I was never a big fan of At The Gates either. I have no opinions on the man himself even if I have met him a couple of times. I only know what the other Crown members has said about him and that is something I don´t wanna talk about. But I guess he´s doing good now and I wish him good luck in the future.

12. Maybe, you don't know about this fact, but I'll ask you anyway: the last song on the album is "Death Metal Holocaust", one of the most brutal, agressive and angry tracks from the whole band history, it is very different from not only songs on the album but also different from everything you've created. Who is the author of this song? Why it was written in such aggressive mood?

 

-Magnus wrote this song and it is basically inspired by old Morbid Angel and bands like that. You can also hear it in the beginning when it fades up. The intro is a tribute to the old school and “Immortal rites” particularly.

13. Brutal and anti-religious (and rather difficult) lyrics Of your songs always make me happy! Were you as the vocalist responsible for it? And is this only traditional - to write songs about blood, death, Satan, killings (brutal music - brutal lyrics), or are you really such angry and dreadful persons? :)

 

-Magnus was almost always resposible for the lyrics and the satanic stuff as well. We were never that dreadful but Magnus was a bit inspired by the dark side and that was reflected in the lyrics. I can only speak for my self when I say that I don´t personally relate to that kind of lyrics that mostly was written. It was Magnus world and I only sang them and gave my voice to the band. Now when I write lyrics for my new band it´s nothing like this.

14. The Crown has some videoclips. Were they really useful for the promotion of the band? There is only a small number of TV programms for brutal music.

 

-The first 2 videclips from the 2 first album we not that much shown on tv but when we did the clip for “Face of destruction…” we had entered the dvd era and that meant a lot of cool dvd compilations and good promotion.

15. The last album The Crown 'Possesed 13' was released in 2003, and after it 'Crowned In Terror' was re-released but with the new sound and your vocals. Why did you do the re-release? What was the reaction on it from metalheads and musical critics? And how were songs for the new long-play created? What do you think of it now?

 

-The reason for re-doing that album was both a favour to Metal Blade records as well as doing it for the fans that wanted me on all the albums. Now when I look back on it it was the biggest mistake in The Crown history. I mean, it was cool for some people to have it with 2 different singers but for those who thought it was sacred and not meant to be touched again blamed me personally and started to do comparisons between me and Tompa and it was a ridiculous time because I felt like the black sheep and we all know that Tompa has a lot of fans that supports him so it just became weird and stupid, and when I look back today I think it was an unnecessary thing to do.

Possessed 13 is a good album but not in the same league as “Hell is here” and “Deathrace King”

16. I won't ask you about the reasons of band's split up, I think you are totally fed up with this question. I will ask - what The Crown has given to you personally? Do you regret now that The Crown is "dead"? And can ordinary metalists and your fans wait for the resurrection of death metal legend The Crown?

 

-The Crown has given me everything. Without that band my new band “One man army and the undead quartet” would never had been formed. I was very pissed straight after the split up but now I´m greatful that we ended that band while being on top and I´m extremely happy that I was able start over with this new band . No, The Crown will never be a band again. Not with me as a singer anyway. All the old guys are busy and happy with what the´re doing now.

17. Do you have a communication with the former band members? Do you know what they are doing now? Are they somehow connected with metal music?

 

-Sometimes I talk to them and yes, the´re still doing music. Marko has Angel Blake, Marcus has Engel and Magnus has Stolen Policecar but I´m the only one doing brutal stuff.

18. What's up with your group One Man Army And The Undead Quartet? Don't you think that its style is not very different to The Crown's one? A little bit slower but also heavy and aggressive swedish thrash/death metal... But it is only my opinion. How can you describe your music to a person that haven't heard it before?

 

-The reason for me to continue to play death metal is because I love it and it feels more special now when I´ve  had the opportunity to form it myself. Now I am both a songwriter, frontman and the face towards media. That wasn´t the case with The Crown where I never did interviews, lyrics or songs. I was a frontman in the background if you know what I mean?  Our music is not unique but it has a quality that crushes a lot of other similar bands out there. It´s like Metallica meets a more extreme version of Slayer. I´m very happy with our music.

19. Is your new band popular with death metal fans around the world? Did metalheads like your new album?

 

-Yeah, we are pretty well known and we have done a lot of touring since only 2,5 years back with acts like Children of Bodom, Soilwork, Amorphis, Hypocrisy and Gorefest. And we´re also signed to Nuclear Blast which makes the promotion of One man army very wide. Metalheads really liked both our albums.

20. Does your new concert life differ from your former bands'?

 

-Not that much except that I`m more experienced today and feel more comfortable while being on stage.

21. Do you have any other music projects?

 

-Nope, but I´m thinking of doing something completely on my own in the future.

22. What are your plans for the future?

 

-We will enter Black Lounge studio in june and record our third album which will kick ass. This will be the best Army album so far cause finally it feels like a red line going through all the 10 songs which will be recorded.

23. And finally - the last words for metal fans all around Russia. Great thanks for the interview!

 

-Thanks for the interview Blaze. Well, sorry that we never came to Russia with The Crown but hopefully we´ll come with One man army and the undead quartet. Thanks for your support!!!


Interview: Blaze


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