Today I release the second single from the upcoming re-release of Memorial for a Wish. “The Haunted” was not on the original release but on my debut EP, The Beginning, and was then sung by Ralf Scheepers. I always thought this song belonged on the album. I wanted to keep the original vocals for the songs but I also wanted to include new singers.
The original Memorial for a Wish was very male dominated in the vocal department and I felt i lacked the female touch. As “The Haunted” in my opinion had strong elements for female fronted metal, kind of in the style of Evanescence, I wanted to explore that idea and replace Ralf’s vocals with a woman’s. To avoid making the most obvious choices I decided to go on a “YouTube hunt” to see if I could find singers I had never heard before and make some new discoveries. It was during this search that I stumbled across the Dutch band Nemesea and their single “Dance in the Fire”. I became obsessed with the song, much due to the catchy songwriting but also their incredible new singer; Sanne Mieloo. Her voice possessed everything needed to tell a dark story; power, softness and mystery.
Upon hearing her voice for the first time, I knew I wanted Sanne to sing “The Haunted” and I’m grateful that she agreed and I love her interpretation of the song. With the new production and Sanne’s intense and extremely catchy storytelling the song morphed into something else than the original. Working with Sanne was a true pleasure and the results became the very highlight of the new Memorial for a Wish.
The guitar solo for this song was laid down by my brother, Tomas Nergård, while the rhythm guitars were played by Henrik Karlsvik, bass by Jon Einar Hektoen, and your truly handled the drums and keyboards. The video as well as the cover art was created by Stig Nergård.
The song is also available in your preferred streaming service.