Band Interview: Faustus

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life bring you an interview with Swedish death metal band, Faustus.

1. How did you get started as a band?

The foundation of the band was formed in 2011 by the two brothers Anton Pärlenskog (guitars), Oskar Pärlenskog (drums) and Mattias Lövhaga (guitars) soon after they met at a local School.

During the first years our main focus was to find a solid lineup, as well as writing material for our first demo.

As a session musician for an upcoming show Nils Hedberg (bass) joined in 2013, and has since been a member of the group.

Since then, we parted ways with our first vocalist Victor to find our next vocalist, Jonas.

Shortly thereafter, we began writing our first album Laments of an Obscure Mind. Featuring 11 tracks and released on all major platforms.

Ludvig Setterlind (vocalist) was in a band called Amentia, friends of ours during that time. As Faustus became in need of a vocalist, having booked some gigs in Sweden we reached out to Ludvig to help us.

After the tour we felt we had found the perfect match and asked Ludvig to join permanently.

2. How would you describe your sound?

In short our music is groovy, dark and complex yet straightforward. It’s written with a big emphasis on groove and dark vibes. With brutal yet cutting vocals paired with catchy riffs and melodies albeit with a lovely zesty twist. It has been described as a, freight-train-full-of-sledgehammers-headed-straight-towards-your-whole-family kind of vibe.

3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?

There are a bunch of bands and albums that influenced us and our music as well as lives. To name a few of them we have Meshuggah Contradictions collapse and Catch 33, Periphery 1, Dream Theater A dramatic turn of events, Metallica …and justice for all,Slipknot Iowa, In Flames Clayman and Jester race.

These albums introduced us to the next step in metal and we learned alot from them such as melody choices for example through these albums, it also brought us closer together as friends due to them shaped our taste in metal.

4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?

For us it has been a crucial part of our marketing campaign since it has made our music available worldwide instantly as it’s been released. it’s proven to be a very useful tool for us and we are yet to reap all the benefits from it. With that said you can always argue that the revenue from the streaming leaves some to be wished for but we find that it’s a somewhat necessary trade for volume. So look stay tuned for what is to come.

5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

Cooking has become somewhat of a gathering point for the band since it’s a way to spend time together outside of the rehearsal space which is important to maintain focus plus the benefits of feeling relaxed amongst all members. And with that there are the mandatory drinks of coffee and Beer, of course.

And also since we’re swede’s a lot of the members try to spend as much time out in nature as possible. And don’t forget the occasional gaming sessions. Both PC games and console games are viable since we want to experience the most and best things in life!

6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?

We are currently looking into getting out to play as many shows as possible and we have started to write and collect some ideas for album #3. So stay tuned!

Links

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