PETER DOLVING: Come And See THE HAUNTED 'Once And For All Prove What Metal Is All About'

Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED will kick off a North American headlining tour on Thursday, April 2 at The Glass House in Pomona, California. Support on the trek will come from THE AGONIST and MERAUDER.

THE HAUNTED's outspoken and sometimes controversial frontman, Peter Dolving, offers his thoughts on why you should lay out your heard-earned cash to see his band perform: "Seriously, folks. You could go out and see any of a number of bands in the next four weeks. What you'll receive will, of course, be generic deliverance of generic metalcore by the numbers, and certainly, you won't be more than slightly disappointed. The big one this time around out there being the LAMB OF GOD tour. Which will, according to business-planned management, crawl itself around the North Americas for the next year and a half or so like a big snake. You could dig that shit and think, 'Holy mutherfucking hell! That shit rocks!' Or you could go and see THE HAUNTED once and for all prove what metal is all about. But only if you want to have a good time. Only if you want to feel alive. Only if you like that feeling of actually realizing everything is not fucked utterly and beyond belief. But I guess if you are a sad, self-pitying son of a bitch, you won't go. Oh, what the hell, really, don't go. Most of those who read this don't really give a shit anyway, do you? You'd rather stay in a saline-filled tank fed intravenously with a constant intake of whatever. Whoever carries the biggest gun and wad of dollars has to say wants to feed you.

"You know how fucking sick we are of the bullshit that surrounds trying to tour and survive in a market completely oversaturated. You know there are 50 shit bands out there to every good one. And no, I'm not saying YOUR band is shit. I'm just stating a fact, one we all know is true. I kinda feel bad for everyone who's caught in the middle of it — promoters, PR people, marketers. Sure there's plenty of work, but it sure as fuck must be getting to people. All the horseshit involved with bringing the next ironic bunch of just-out-of-high-school dooods with the right tattoos or t-shirt based identikit to the stage. And when they get there, it's the same shit as the one before. What do I know?! Maybe it will all mutate into something completely new. Something else that the wolves can sink their teeth into and suck empty of lifeblood. Come on, people. Do you think that is going to happen? Of course it will. Hopefully there will be those bands out there that just keep going. No matter what. As far as we're concerned. Fuck it all. We are touring the North America again and we're looking forward to it. If you want a world-class performance and a kick-ass night of metal, come and see us. If not, fuck off."

For a list of upcoming shows, visit www.myspace.com/thehaunted.

Fan-filmed video footage of THE HAUNTED's February 7, 2009 performance in Prague, Czech Republic can be viewed below.

THE HAUNTED recently completed an extremely successful European co-headlining tour with ALL THAT REMAINS.

The band's latest album, "Versus", sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Versus" entered the Swedish chart at position No. 14 and the Finnish chart at No. 12.

The CD was recorded in part at PUK studio in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MOONSPELL, etc),who previously worked with the group on its two most recent LPs, "rEVOLVEr" (2004) and "The Dead Eye" (2006).