Pic courtesy of: Johan Lindstrand "The period after the recording until the release date is crap, hehe. You just want everyone to hear it immediately cause you have worked so long with it"

CR: You guys seem to have a lot of fun during all this tours, is this really a job for you? What’s the coolest thing about hitting the road?
Johan Lindstrand: Yeah, we’re having a blast when we’re out on the road. It’s what this is all about. You can say that it’s a job but so far we’re not hitting the big cash but we’re working our way up real hard so we can stop doing these shitty day jobs that pay our bills at home. You’re more motivated to write great music if you don’t have to think about other shit outside your band.
The coolest thing on the road is to hang out with all these other great bands that you meet and of course to meet all your great fans.

CR: 21st Century Killing Machine your debut full length, did you had some previous expectations before the album was officially released, I mean what goes through a musicians brain once all the recording is done and you are just waiting for the album to be released?
Johan Lindstrand: Well, I had some expectations of course because I thought it was a great debut but you never know how your album will sell. It’s all about what the metalheads will buy and I mean, there are hundreds of new albums coming out at the same time and you just have to hope that your album is a better option for these record buyers. The period after the recording until the release date is crap, hehe. You just want everyone to hear it immediately cause you have worked so long with it.

CR: I have to be completely honest; since I got the promo CD I have been listening to it almost three times a week, its simply great, heavy catchy and ….hell catchy one more time, it really sounds like you guys had fun writing and recording this work, how long did it took you guys to finish?
Johan Lindstrand: Cool, it makes me real happy that you like it. I wrote like 6 songs between the summer of 2004 until the other members came along in the beginning of 2005. Then I wrote 4 more and the other 2 guitarists wrote 1 each. So you can say that the whole process from writing, rehearsing and record took about a year. It was really cool for me to write this many songs cause it was a new thing for me. I didn’t write that much in the past before the Army was created.

CR: Some label 21st Century Killing Machine as thrash metal, others as melodic death metal, does the band has a label that you feel fits you better, at least in order for people to know what we are talking here?
Johan Lindstrand: I say pure and simple that we play death metal cause that’s what’s in my roots. I growl on 99% of the music and even if it’s catchy music it still has aggression and heaviness which I like to label as death metal but saying that this is thrash metal isn’t completely wrong either. Sometimes I also say to people who doesn’t know us that much that we play heavy metal with death metal vocals which isn’t completely wrong either for that matter, hehe.

CR: I really loved the “natural”, organic, how ever you like to call it; the sound of the drums is so precise, so aggressive and thick…hell I’m getting all exited just by talking about it!! Jejeje, well the question is: in order to reach the “groove” that the entire album has, how much brutality should a band sacrifice, or is there a perfect point in which both elements can coexist?
Johan Lindstrand: Hehe, cool to see you so exited about it. Then we have succeeded I think:-)
The thing is that being in my previous band The Crown was mostly all about blasting the shit out of the speakers you know. The Army is more about mid tempo metal and everyone in this band is focused on playing slower and catchier. It’s not about sacrificing a certain element in the music just to give more room for the other. It’s about what we want to do and sometimes people dig this kind of shit we do just like you do, hehe.
I also think that all elements within metal can co-exist. Why does a band want boundaries? We love all kinds of shit within metal so why not use all your influences?
It’s all about making the song good. In my opinion there is good and bad music, nothing else.

	Pic courtesy of: Metal Blast "There are hundreds of new albums coming out at the same time and you just have to hope that your album is a better option for these record buyers"

CR: The album has some nice segments of guitars solos, how important do you think these segments are for a band like One Man Army?
Johan Lindstrand: It’s very important. I knew what I was looking for when I recorded the first demo. I can’t think of an Army song without a solid guitar solo. That’s like hearing an Ac/dc song without an Angus Young solo.

CR: What can you tell me about the lyrics; I loved the intro part “The beast is rising…” great intro for an album, it also sounds very close to the sort of image the band wants to create for the listener, you know like a massive attack on your senses with out loosing any “class” on the process; is there any specific goal you wanted to achieve with the lyrics, any sort of message?
Johan Lindstrand: The opener is a great line I think. Cool that you like it. It’s definitely what this band is all about. We rise from nowhere and take over the world. We’re the band of the future. Even if it sounds corny it is straight up lyrics right there. No bullshit. Just a massive straight forward attack and the attack haven’t stopped yet. We’re constantly in focus and hitting you with new shit all the time.
Ok, back to the lyrics, hehe. The other lyrics are some depressive shit which I’ve dealt with in the past but also shows my return as a front man ready to show the world that I’m alive and kicking harder than ever.

CR: Is it true that you guys recorded the album with the equipment in which they recorded the music for the Star Wars I movie? How much do you think that helped with the final product?
Johan Lindstrand: Yeah, it’s true. The thing is that it’s exactly the same soundboard where episode 1 and 2 were mixed on. It was bought straight from Lucas sound.
I mean, of course it didn’t mean a shit to us other than it’s an extremely cool thing, hehe. Star Wars or not. It’s a great sound board and studio wise it’s probably the best sound board in Sweden.

CR: So far people seem to really like your album, how does the “approval” or liking of the public affects the development of a future album from One Man Army?
Johan Lindstrand: It helps a lot. I mean, it’s not a funny feeling writing material that nobody wants to hear. Yeah, there are some people that say writing music is only for your own sake and you shouldn’t give a shit what other people say. Well, then I have a great answer for these people. Stop releasing albums then dickheads.

CR: Does your record company give you guys the number of copies that 21st Century Killing Machine has sale so far, or is that “confidential”?
Johan Lindstrand: Yeah, we have a number but I don’t wanna go into numbers now. It can always be better you know but both us and the company are quite happy with the result considering it’s a debut album.

CR: You guys have a video for the song “So Grim So True So Real” why did you picked that song in particular? Will there be more videos for this album?
Johan Lindstrand: We choose this song together with Nuclear Blast. It’s a song under 4 minutes and the other tracks are way too long to make videos on. There will not be any more videos from this album but we would have wanted to do one more for Hell is for heroes but it’s a matter of budget. I had a great script for this song but hey, life sucks and then you die:-)

CR: How many songs did you guys wrote for this debut?
Johan Lindstrand: We wrote these 12 songs which can be found on the official release and not the promo.

CR: Do you think One Man Army could become or at least reach the level of “following” that The Crown achieved in its entire career?
Johan Lindstrand: Sure, but I definitely think that the Army can reach a higher level than that. The thing is that I don’t wanna limit my self to say that I’m satisfied with reaching the same level as The Crown. I want more. Not to say that I’m greedy but I want to reach a level where things have a more smooth flow and we can concentrate ourselves only on this band and not any other shit outside such as working 9 to 5 to pay your bills. And I’m quite certain that it will come true.

	Pic courtesy of: Metal Nyheter "The period after the recording until the release date is crap, hehe. You just want everyone to hear it immediately cause you have worked so long with it"

CR: Did you guys had any problems convincing people that One Man Army was not just a The Crown clone, just how much pressure or lets call it responsibility did you guys felt after putting a band like One Man Army out there knowing that the first thing everybody was going to said was a “Johan Lindstrand” project?
Johan Lindstrand: I didn’t have any pressure at all. The thing is that people are comparing both bands just because I was in The Crown of course but also because I still growl.
Other than that there’s no similar stuff in the music. In the beginning there were more of that shit but now we have proven both to ourselves and the audience that we are a great band that can stand on our own feet.

CR: Give me a name of one band that really “Sold out” any band? (Just trying to get you in trouble!)
Johan Lindstrand: Don’t really know hehe. Not just to keep away from trouble but I don’t have that kind of view into the metal scene:-) A lot of people say Metallica but hey, I say, why do the same shit over and over again? Even if I don’t like their work since the black album I still have major respect for them. They deserve every success in the world.

CR: What would happen to Sweden if there was no metal music?
Johan Lindstrand: Then people would start their own boybands:-) My band would be called "One man army and the undead quartet", haha.

CR: What’s up with the fascination with the King? What do you think Elvis would say about metal music?
Johan Lindstrand: I don’t know what he would say. I think he would have liked some metal music but not the antichristian stuff though, hehe.
I love him as an entertainer and vocalist. There will never be someone like him again. The greatest of all times.

CR: A question a little outside the topic, what do you think of this new war between Israel and Lebanon, sorry between Israel and Hezbollah? Should the rest of the world be concern about this?
Johan Lindstrand: It’s sad that a lot of civilians have to suffer as usual but I really have no opinion about it at the moment. All I can say is that it’s not fun to have war around the corner all the time.

CR: OK, what does the future holds for One Man Army And The Undead Quartet? (Man did you guys picked one long name, cool dough!)
Johan Lindstrand: We are going to hit the studio in the beginning of September to record a Christmas single called "Christmas for the Lobotomizer" which will include one brand new track along with 3 or 4 live songs from previous shows. It will be limited to 500 copies only. After that we will hit the studio again in October to record the follower to "21st....) which hopefully will be released early next year. 10 new tracks.

CR: Well man thank you very much for your time it has been a pleasure, if you have anything else to add, please do so.
Johan Lindstrand: Ok, thank you Carlos. Great interview:-)
Well, to all of you who wonders who we are. Check out www.onemanarmy.tv for more info and check out the album "21st century killing machine" if you’re looking for some new and cool music.
Cheers!!