HAMMERFALL - November 2002 - Interview with Joacim Cans (vocals), written by Alina Michelle

 PHOTOMISTRESS: In one word, describe each band member, including yourself.

Joacim Cans: Anders - crazy. Oscar… (laughs a lot) It's hard with one word! Clumsy. Magnus - teddy bear. Stefan… Stefan… I don't want to be rude! It's kind of funny because we have an endorsement for shampoo and stuff, but he doesn't. Well, I'll do myself first. Oh, it's really hard in English OR Swedish! In one word… It could take a couple of sentences! In one word describe me and Stefan! What did I say for Anders, crazy? Stefan isn't really crazy and Anders is insane. Stefan is more humble. Yes, he's Mr. Humble. And I am, not really Mr. Annoying, but maybe a little sneaky? Yes, Mr. Sneaky. You know, lurking around and checking things out.

 PM: How did you land the tour with Dio?

JC: We knew he was about to do a U.S. tour so we called our Swedish agency and then asked the American agency if there was a possibility for us to do a tour and they said yah, of course. So it was just one question and they wanted us to do it. But then we had to turn it down because we had some problems with some things. They said I'm sorry, but you have to tell us yes or no now, so we said no. Two weeks later, we realized we COULD do it, so we called them back and said yah, you know what? We can still come on the tour.

PM: You have a new album out, Crimson Thunder. Since it has just been released today in the States, what does it sound like? I have yet to hear it except the one song they played on the radio already.

JC: I think this is the most mature album we have done so far. It's the ultimate Hammerfall album for the year 2002. The production is, in my opinion, for the first time 100%. I'm talking about the vocals. We now finally found a producer who knew exactly what to do with making it fit with all the harmonies I wanted to add. Usually when I try to tell people what I want they don't really understand. But this guy was, hey I know what you're saying! This album is more mid-tempo compared to the earlier albums. But of course you have the diversity. You have fast songs, an acoustic ballad… But it's more heavy metal than ever before.

PM: I see that it is doing really well on the charts in Sweden and Japan. Did you expect it to do so well so fast?

JC: I think Renegade charted in Sweden at #1 two years ago and now Crimson Thunder has charted at #3, so in Sweden, it's really big. Chart entries are always nice to have, especially for the label. But for us, it's just like a bonus. And the journalists now are saying, oh are you disappointed that you only charted at position three? Hey, how can I be disappointed, we're on the charts! It's pretty good and I hope that this tour will make it happen in the States as well. It was amazing today, I didn't expect much actually.

PM: Why are there so many different versions of the new album available? There's leather, there's digi, there's leather with comic book… Yikes!

JC: Yah, there's also a DVD audio, a DVD single… I haven't heard them yet, to be honest with you. It's kind of a limited edition. The leather edition had about 1,000 copies (made). The comic book edition is also limited. It was a cool thing to do for true fans. Most people only buy one. But the true fans will have something special. The leather edition is REALLY cool. It was sold out before it was released. But the thing is, with the DVD and everything, we just wanted to give it a try and see what it sounds like and being one of the first to do it. That's the only reason we did it.

PM: How long did it take to record and write the record?

 JC: We started to write the songs after the last tour in August 2001. We went into the studio in May or late April 2002 and were in the studio until late July, so for almost a year. But of course, we took a break. When you do a tour like we did for Renegade, you need a break.

PM: The Templar Renegade Crusades Video/DVD was released not long ago. Is it difficult to decide what will go on a video? How long did it take?

JC: It's almost impossible. I have 15-16 hours of material, Oscar has the same… We wanted to have something that started where the first home video ended. We wanted to show something from every territory. Europe, South America, Japan, the U.S. and some stuff from Waffle House. It was really cool. We ended up doing two hours and twenty minutes of material.

PM: What's your favourite song to play live?

JC: Let the Hammer Fall. I love that song. Especially when people know the lyrics!

PM: What's the hardest to play?

JC: At this point, Hearts of Fire. It has really high-pitched vocals in the chorus… It's just really high.

PM: What goes through your mind on stage?

JC: I'm just trying to enjoy the moment of being stage, to interact with the audience. Sometimes, I have a bad day and I want to go home. But, at the same time I know I have to act good to the people who don't realize that I am in a bad mood and having a bad day. So, for me, it's just to enjoy the moment. It's a lot of fun being on stage.

PM: Do you like crowd interaction?

JC: Oh yah, of course! Back home, there are a lot of singalong parts.

PM: If you could have one of your songs on a soundtrack, which one would it be?

JC: Depends on what kind of movie. I mean one of the ballads could be for a Meg Ryan drama. In an Adam Sandler movie, I would want him to sing it, like in the Wedding Singer Part Two. That'd be great!

PM: How different is it for you to play in the States compared to Europe?

JC: How different??? Here, the stage is almost not even there. Back home we have our own headlining tours with a big big production. Last time we had a big drawbridge, we had a castle… we had so many things. On the last tour in Sweden, we had almost 3,000 people come in our hometown. We do really good over there. Here, we are trying to break some new ground. It's harder here. But I really was surprised here today!!!

PM: In a hundred years after you're dead, would you rather be hatefully remembered or totally forgotten and why?

JC: I would probably want to be forgotten. To be remembered for something bad is not good. If there are actually people digging deep enough, they will find out about me anyway.

PM: What is the most embarrassing moment you've had on stage?

JC: I haven't had that many embarrassing moments, to be honest with you. I mean, sometimes I burp in the microphone or almost fall off stage. I would say when we played one of our first headlining tours in Sweden. It was in a small place and it was totally packed. The pressure on the audience was immense. The whole audience came up on stage and pushed me backwards and I just fell over the drum kit and everything just went BOOM. THAT was embarrassing. There were just too many people in the hall.

PM: And what's the favourite moment?

JC: We've done 400-500 shows and every show is special. I think it would be our hometown show on the last tour. We had 2,700 people there. Usually we should have 1,000 maximum. There were SO many people. It's a really good memory.

Official Website:  www.hammerfall.net
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