Interview with Faustus

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Most of us did start to play music when we were around 13 years old in our teenage rooms but one main factor is probably Guitar hero. Maybe not for our drummer boy but for the rest of us! If we had not gotten into music we would probably still be playing guitar hero or maybe even be a professional ice hockey player! A pornstar? A chef? Who knows!  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Cooking has become 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.

It benefits us in the way that it influences our creativity a lot since we get to take a break and come back with a fresh mind.

How long has your band been around?

It depends on how we count since we have the Pärlenskog brothers who have been playing together for as long as they can remember. But the foundation of the band was formed in 2011 and during the first years our main focus was to find a solid lineup, as well as writing material for our first demo. 

2013 joined our bass player as a session musician for an upcoming show and has since been a permanent 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. Jonas had to, due to personal reasons, step down from the role as vocalist and Faustus were left without a front man. During that time Ludvig Setterlind (vocalist) was in a band called Amentia, friends of ours. As we were 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, he kindly accepted.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

The band Faustus originated in Bollnäs, Hälsingland, Sweden (pronounced: HELL-sing-land) is a small town but despite its size there are a lot of musicians and bands located here. The live music scene in this town is unfortunately not the most popular for metal music anymore… But this town has A LOT of great metal musicians! We have a ton of really good bands such as: Morgana Lefay, Tad Morose, Gormathon, Bloodbound, Caedem and of course ourselves Faustus. We all started in this little town in the middle of nowhere!

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

The origin of the name is based on a combination of the iterations of Dr. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Christopher Marlowe. More attuned to the tragic and mystic parts of the character.

In Marlowe's drama Faustus sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and a life of 24 years in success and bliss. But as we all know, selling your soul to the devil might come with some complications.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

I think it was 2013 or 2014 we did a support show together with Entombed and that's not all.

We also played with a really big symphonic orchestra (!!!) and they played our music with us. That show was one of a kind! We will never forget that!

This summer we played at our first festival and the response from the crowd was amazing. That is also an amazing memorable show!

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Festival gigs are always a blast since the audience are (hopefully, unless they’re hungover) in it to really let loose and go crazy. Wacken open air, Sticky fingers in Gothenburg would be a great memory!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Meshuggah for instance would be an honor! And other fellow Swedes such as Vildhjarta and Humanity’s Last Breath. If we could pick any band active or not Pantera with the Abbott brothers would be sick!

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Practice, practice & practice. Just commit to the “grind” and go for it. Also, have fun!

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Stop playing covers earlier and mainly focus on writing your own music. Also, practice more. not just the fun stuff but also the stuff that seems hard since it’ll help you in the long run.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

A really hard choice since all the songs from “Memoriam” are bangers and it would be something like picking a favorite child. But who are we to prime all your thoughts, Give it a spin!

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

All of the new songs are of course more fun since they are fresh so all of the above would be the most honest answer. Regarding the most requested one would be the part where we tune our guitars…  On a more serious note, based on the numbers from Spotify, the most requested song of ours would be 187.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Being together in the rehearsal space always inspires us. Otherwise we bring ideas that we collectively try out during rehearsals that pushes us as well as our music beyond our limits. So in conclusion our recipe is time, mixed with dedication and a healthy amount of fun. 

Also beer and the annual ritual of sacrificing a goat helps.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Mainly societal issues and questions. For instance some lyrics comment on our contemporary day and age and the social climate of the world as it stands. Other than that we write about something real. For example an upcoming song is about being deprived of liberty and it’s about someone that is experiencing it as we speak and will be doing it for a long time to come.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Yeah, there are a lot of times where we want to go different directions. The best way for us to get past that is to be mutual and use democracy. We all know that the teammates in Faustus are great musicians, it could easily be you that are in the wrong.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Well, the release of “Memoriam” is one big thing around the corner, otherwise you’ll just have to wait and see…