Rockezine.com interview with Falconer on Apr 19, 2005

with Stefan on Apr 19, 2005


		Your new album “Grime vs. Grandeur” will be released on the 2nd of May. What are your expectations concerning the album and what can the fan expect to hear? Our expectation is that people will realize that our last album was just a temporary low. Now we`re back, stronger than ever. People should expect very melodic metal once again but with some more attitude and a more intense feeling.
		A lot has happened since the release of its predecessor, “The Sceptre Of Deception”; do you feel that Falconer has grown stronger as a band as a result of the line-up changes and if so in what ways? Oh yes. The new line up feels very confident; both Magnus and Jimmy have been the ones to push us to rehearse more. It feels like there is more will in the band nowadays, everyone is pushing in the same direction. Rehearsals have gone very smoothly with old songs and the making of the new ones. So I feel very fine and content with how everything is working at the moment.
		How do the new additions (Magnus Linhardt and Jimmy Hedlund) fit into the band and how did you find them? Magnus played in another band with Karsten, more of a reason for some guys to get together and talk. So he was quite easy to get since he was interested. Jimmy we found through advertising in papers and on web pages. Jimmy can now take care of all the solos since he knows how and he really likes to do it. Then I don’t have to do them because I`ve never liked it anyway. Magnus is more of a “real” bass player, thinking like a bassist and not like a guitarist. I think all spots in the band are filled with competent persons, we don`t lack anything.
		Do you feel that this new Falconer line-up will last? Is there a certain chemistry in the band now? We feel like a group of guys moving in the same direction so I can`t see anything dark on the future horizon. A very fine chemistry. I would be a bit surprised if this line up will not be the longest in Falconer’s career.
The only thing I am not pleased with in our career is “Sceptre….”		The band must have gone through some rough times and I’m happy to see you guys are still going strong, but did you ever have the feeling of just quitting and starting something completely from scratch? No, not really. I have always felt that if I`m still here and wanting to do music there will be more from Falconer. The only reason why I would quit Falconer is if fans would lose interest in what I think is fucking great or if I wanted to do some other kind of music that wouldn`t fit under the name of Falconer.
		When I first listened to “Grime vs. Grandeur” it struck me that most of the songs are much more ‘accessible’ than on its predecessor. They seem to be much easier to listen to; was this done intentionally? Last album was sometimes a bit hard to get into because they followed the lyrical themes. They were supposed to back up the lyrics you could say. I think that some songs are a bit too strange or too progressive. For this album I wanted to do normal songs again, some a bit more complex and some really simple in structure. So in a way I wanted it this way, and I don`t see anything that I would have wanted to do differently. The only thing I am not pleased with in our career is “Sceptre….”
		The cover of the album is also grimmer and seems to steer clear of the swords and knights in armor type of cover. Are you consciously trying to break away from the clichés that are so prevalent in the epic power metal scene? In a way yes. I am not that eager to sing about sagas and fairytales now, I get more from writing about things where I actually have an opinion of, or something to say about. It`s more rewarding for me. You could say I`m getting a bit bored with all these dragons and holy warrior themes in metal. I can`t really take it seriously. So that of course shows in the cover too, although the cover is a bit historical visually but the lyrics are not. But then again I think it would be odd to have a Falconer cover with a digital monster or something like that.
		Singer Kristoffer Göbel is now also responsible for writing some of the material. What songs did he write and are you satisfied with the way you shared the song writing duties on this album? Oh yes I am; it gave me more time to concentrate on the music. He wrote the entire song “Jack The Knife” and then the lyrics for “The return”, and then did parts of the lyrics to about 4-5 other songs. I think his lyrics fit our band and the song he did by himself really sounds like a Falconer song. So he really proved that he will write in the future too, although I will still continue with lyrics too but it`s not my main goal.
		When looking at the album cover and reading some of the song titles it appears to me that there is a certain concept behind the lyrics. Could you tell us a bit more about the lyrics and this concept of “Grime vs. Grandeur”? There’s not any concept behind it. Some lyrical topics are about: Swedish prison system, overdosing pity and humanitarian acts, personal happenings and feelings. Scared people hunting animals who don`t understand that people are more dangerous than a bear for example, greedy politicians and the dangers and regrets of drugs. So they are more social and society filled topics than before. The only historical lyrics are “Jack The Knife”.
		What is the best thing of being in Falconer, and what is the worst? The best thing is the feeling you get when you write something good and you get goose bumps from it or the feeling when you rehearse new material with the whole band for the first time. The worst thing might be that you often do things with the band for free, and that can sometimes be hard to do when you have a job for a living. For example being in the studio for a month or going on tour. You have to take free time to do it but you won`t get much in return so you got to save money sometimes to be able to actually do this with the band.
		What is your favourite song on “Grime vs. Grandeur”? “Humanity Overdose” and “I Refuse”.
		Thanks a lot for this interview and I wish you all the best with the release of “Grime vs. Grandeur”. Is there anything left unsaid? Thank you for the interview. The only thing that didn`t get said here is the fact that we will record a music video for “Emotional Skies” later this spring. We`ll see what the result will be; hopefully it will be shown somewhere. Apart from that we hope to go on tour towards the end of this year. Hopefully as an opening act for something bigger. Thanks a lot and cheers to all the fans, make sure that you get a nice tan this summer and eat a lot of ice cream so you can be really metal and true!!!
		(Frank van de Voorde)