Håkansson, Michael (Evergrey) (August 2002)

Evergrey's Master Plan

Marcelo interviewed Michael Håkansson for Progfreaks.com in November 2001; the live pictures are from their performance at ProgPower USA 2.0 taken by Stephanie Sollow. -ed.

I know you're probably sick of me writing this every time something has to do with the power metal scene, but one thing is undeniable: it's crowded like all hell. Except most of the saturation comes from the Euro power metal trend; a melodic, relatively upbeat and epic branch that has its better known exponents amongst the likes of Helloween, Angra, Rhapsody, and Stratovarius. You can breathe a sigh of relief now, because Evergrey is not part of that cumulus, displaying instead a morose style of power metal that has drawn praise from many in both the metal and progressive worlds. The band has labeled its style dark romantic metal at one point; others say that Evergrey is a progressive power metal act. At any rate, it's certainly making waves right now, and with the band scheduled to play at the ProgPower USA festival this very weekend, I couldn't help but talk with bassist Michael Håkansson (who became part of Evergrey last year) about the band's music, expectations, and beer-drinking habits.

Marcelo Silveyra: Now that your new album In Search Of Truth is out, there is a particularly interesting aspect in the way that the band's lyrics have matured. When passing through The Dark Discovery and Solitude * Dominance * Tragedy to this album, one can see how it all has evolved into a whole conceptual thing. Can you tell us something about this concept and why you guys chose to use it for this album?

Michael Håkansson: Well, actually, [guitartist/vocalist] Tom [Englund] and me read the book Abduction [Probably means Communion (1987)-ed.] by [Whitley] Streiber a couple of years ago and were both really fascinated by that story [Great, there goes one of my other questions - MS]. Tom wrote a song on the first album called "December 26th" and had that same theme on a song from In Search Of Truth, and he also wrote "The Shocking Truth" on Solitude * Dominance * Tragedy. I mean, he had a lot of ideas on that stuff, so he wanted to get them all out on this album.

MS: And regarding the lyrics' development, do you guys have any additional input to what Tom writes?

MH: Well, basically Tom has written all the lyrics to the songs on this album. It just happened, and he happened to have all the ideas done already. But I mean, there are some songs on the other two albums where some of the other guys also had some input.

MS: Another interesting aspect of Evergrey is the fact that the music is kind of morose; it has that Swedish kind of darkness to it. It's actually a curious thing, because although death and doom metal bands have that on their sound, bands with a more "traditional" metal sound usually don't. Looking at the surroundings of Evergrey, Tom at one point was interested in the occult, hypnotism, etc., and you all live in icy Sweden, so to speak. How important is this all to the sound of Evergrey? Would it be possible to find a sound like that outside of Sweden, for instance?

MH: I think so, I mean, the songs we create and our music really come from within ourselves; not from the place we live in or the surroundings there. It definitely has an influence, of course. But the music is not like that just because we're Swedish; if we lived in New York it would probably still be the same sound.

MS: Talking about Sweden, the band comes from Gothenburg, where there's been a new wave of death metal for a while now in the form of more melodic bands such as In Flames and Dark Tranquility. How does all the hype regarding that movement affect Evergrey? Is it good for publicity or has it had practically no effect on the band?

MH: Of course Gothenburg is a great place for bands that play metal. I actually don't know that much about it, but it's a good place to live in if you're going to do music; there's a really good scene going on.

MS: I've always heard about the metal scene in Sweden and how there are a lot of great bands playing in it, but metal's still pretty much underground there, isn't it?

MH: Yeah, it is. It doesn't get that much publicity and media, but it's there ... I mean, Hammerfall made it to number one in Sweden and that opened a lot of doors, and other bands have also opened up a lot of doors.

MS: Now, on another matter entirely ... Evergrey is a band that has had a lot of lineup changes, and just a couple of days ago it was announced on your website that keyboardist Sven Karlsson is the latest member to not be part of the band any longer. How hard is it to find people who are actually willing to give their hundred percent to the band?

MH: It's hard to know when you need a new member ... if he doesn't work, that's all and period, you can never tell ... but I mean, our new keyboard player [Chris Rehn] is very cool; really good. Most of the guys are new right now, so I feel confident that this lineup will stay together. I really hope so.

MS: As a relatively new member of the band, what do you think of the musical evolution that Evergrey has gone through when you look back at the changes that transpired between The Dark Discovery and Solitude * Dominance * Tragedy, and then those that happened up to In Search Of Truth?

MH: The first album was very experimental. The guys were trying out a lot of different ideas and then on the second album they were getting on the right path of what they wanted to do. Now, In Search Of Truth is a wider album and three new members of course make a difference in the development of material; basically three guys with new ideas.

MS: Do you think that your contribution will see itself augmented on the next album and that you will be able to participate in making more changes to the Evergrey sound?

MH: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Hopefully on the next album we'll play a greater part, I really hope so.

MS: Now, with the ProgPower USA festival just around the corner, and Evergrey to play in it, what are you guys expecting from the event?

MH: To have a hell of a time! (laughs) I mean, we played at ProgPower in Chicago [February 2001] before and we had a really good time there, but now we have our first release in North America, so of course the audience now knows who we are ... it'll be really good for us in Atlanta.

MS: Are you guys planning to break any beer-drinking records or something?

MH: Yeah we are! (laughs) We have to live up to our reputation; it'll be better now! [laughs] Actually, we'll have a competition and anyone can be there and join in a beer-drinking contest with us!

MS: Trust me, I certainly wish I could bet there ... Now, with the participation of Evergrey in several festivals already, opening for the Crimson Glory and Kamelot tour, wide media acclaim, and three albums in the band's history, what are your expectations for the future?

MH: Yeah well, the record's doing really well, so we have a good start here now. Hopefully we'll be able to tour North America, and South America, too, would be fantastic! There aren't any plans yet, but I hope we'll be able to. Next year we'll find out something!

Evergrey live at Progpower USA 2.0 (l to r): Michael Håkansson (bass), Tom Englund (guitar/vocals), Henrik Danhage (guitar) and unseen in the background, Patrick Carlsson (drums) and Chris Rehn (keyboards)

[In 2006 Håkansson left Evergey -ed.]

Discography:
The Dark Discovery (1998)
Solitude*Dominance*Tragedy (1999)
In Search Of Truth (2001)
Recreation Day (2003)
Inner Circle (2004)
The Dark Discovery - Special Edition (2004)
Solitude*Dominance*Tragedy - Special Edition (2004)
A Night To Remember - Live 2004 (2005)
Monday Morning Apocalypse (2006)

A Night To Remember - Live 2004 (DVD) (2005)