The Gauntlet: What led Mathias [Blad, vocalist] back to the band, did his theatrical schedule lighten up?

Stefan: No, his schedule is as busy as it was before. We realized that to make the albums as good as possible, we needed to have Mathias back, and we knew that when we were going to return to the folk metal roots on Northwind (2006) that to bring out the best of that material we needed to have Mathias back. We also knew that we would have to sacrifice the ability to go on tour. The first priority with Falconer is to make the album as good as possible. Being able to go on tour is secondary to the album, so I don’t really see it as a problem.

The Gauntlet: Most of your songs are about some pretty obscure historical topics, how do you decide what to write about? Is this all stuff that you already knew, or do you look through books to find stories that are interesting to write about?

Stefan: Most of the stuff I’ve got in my head, because I’m very interested in history. Especially Scandinavian history. I don’t really have to search that much. For this one we tried to base much of the lyrics around the true life and true events of the Medieval days. Not the shining knights and fair maidens and dragon slayers and stuff like that. More about the Black Plague and poverty and stuff like that. The grey and the dull. Real life. I think that half of the songs are based on true events.

The Gauntlet: Are Swedish people generally knowledgeable about their history?

Stefan: No, I don’t think so. I’m definitely half-nerd or something (laughs). I’ve always been very fascinated with history. Be it Medieval days or the Roman days or the Native Americans or whatever.

The Gauntlet: Why the focus on miscreants like beggars and thieves on this album (Among Beggars and Thieves, available August 22 via Metal Blade Records)?

Stefan: I think that they are more interesting than the royal people so to speak. The common man and his hard life is not as documented as the kings and the admirals and the captains and so on. 90% of the population is closer to the poor farmer in the 14th century than the king. It’s not really a glamorous way to think. I think that’s more interesting than the more royal people.

The Gauntlet: Were these people actually bad people?

Stefan: No, but you couldn’t really afford to be nice if you were going to get a good like yourself in the Medieval days. If you could push down someone to make some money you’d probably do it. I think there are enough metal bands that cover the glory days of the Medievals. All the brave stuff. Falconer takes on the more dull and boring things.

The Gauntlet: I know you’re more of a studio band, but will you be touring for the album?

Stefan: Probably not. We’re going to continue being a studio band, maybe playing 5 or 6 times a year during the most important summer festivals. That’s the combination that works, although it’s not economically the best thing to do in this business (laughs). But we do it for the music.

The Gauntlet: Do you get letters from fans begging you to tour?

Stefan: Yea, constantly. If we had the opportunity to tour I don’t think we could cover all those countries anyway. We get a lot of response from South America, and I don’t think it would be too affordable to send Falconer to Brazil (laughs).

The Gauntlet: What do you think is the best Swedish metal album of 2008 so far?

Stefan: I don’t really know any metal albums from Sweden this year (laughs).

The Gauntlet: Are you a fan of Opeth at all?

Stefan: No way. That’s too progressive for me. I don’t understand shit about it (laughs).

The Gauntlet: What do you think of those bands with the growling and grunting vocals?

Stefan: A band like Opeth has the knowledge to make something good, and then they destroy it with death metal vocals. That’s my personal opinion.

The Gauntlet: So you’ve never been into that style?

Stefan: No, and I tried to listen to Porcupine Tree, and it’s way too difficult for me. Bands like Jethro Tull, that’s good progressive music. I don’t really know how to define the different kinds of progressive music, but some is good and some is really crap I think. I’d rather listen to Simon and Garfunkel, good songs that are quite easy to listen to, instead of making it too hard for the listener. I don’t like to be a mathematician to understand the music.

The Gauntlet: Are you still inspired by Swedish folk music?

Stefan: You might think so, but I don’t listen to folk music at all. It just ends up in my music somehow. I don’t really have a good answer for it, but it’s always been the case in my writing.

The Gauntlet: What’s your favorite Swedish dish?

Stefan: Hmm… Swedish (laughs). I would say stewed liver, but I don’t know if that’s really Swedish. That’s something that I love, and other people just hate it.

The Gauntlet: Do you watch Swedish sports like ice hockey and soccer?

Stefan: To some extent, but I wouldn’t really call myself a sports fan. Ice hockey is I think the sport that I love the most. Soccer is just too boring, it’s too much running without any results (laughs).

The Gauntlet: So what’s next for Falconer then? Are you going to start work on another new album already?

Stefan: Not just yet. We’ll take a little time off, and then probably start rehearsing for the potential festivals next year. I’ll probably try not to make new music yet, but I’ll probably do it soon anyway because I’m starting to feel the itch. We’ll see how the new album will turn out.

The Gauntlet: What about a music video for “Among Beggars and Thieves”?

Stefan: We did one for “Carnival of Disgust,” and we’ll see where it’s going to end up. It’s on the first edition of the album, but I think only the European market will get that one. Of course Youtube has a crappy version. Hopefully it will be on Headbanger’s Ball, but I don’t really know how realistic that is. I know that Metal Blade will send it out to everyone they know. Metal Blade has the best resolution on the video so far. Hopefully we’ll play Prog Power 2009 or something in the States. We were over in Cleveland in 2003, but that was almost 6 years ago so I think it’s about time.

The Gauntlet: Why don’t you tour more often?

Stefan: Basically because of Mathias’ schedule. He’s working a lot with theaters and musicals and stuff like that. He’s basically booked up all the time. You can’t really replace an expert on the stage, like you could replace me for example. That’s his job and we have to respect that. We’d rather have him in the band and not tour than not have him at all. It’s a price I’m very willing to pay.

The Gauntlet: Are you good friends outside of the band?

Stefan: No, I wouldn’t say so. We know each other, but it’s not like we’re hanging out in our free time. He lives about 3 hours from me, so it’s not really that easy either.

The Gauntlet: Who do you think is the best guitarist in power metal today?

Stefan: I would like to say Jimmy Hedlund of Falconer, but apart from him I think Nils Norberg of Nocturnal Rites. Or actually I think he left them a couple of months ago. But the lead guitarist of Nocturnal Rites is damn good, as is the vocalist. It almost sounds like I know them personally, but I don’t (laughs). It sounds like I’m trying to promote them. That’s one of the few power metal bands that I really like. Them and maybe Avantasia and Kamelot, of course.

The Gauntlet: What about Hammerfall?

Stefan: Eh, not that much.

The Gauntlet: Thanks for the interview!

Stefan: Thank you, and hopefully we’ll meet in the future at Prog Power!