The first time I played the new Entombed album _Morning Star_ I was mesmerized, not because of the fact that this band still after all these years continues to put out great material and expand their sound with each recording, but because the band is just having so much fun. You can see it in the album cover (look carefully!), the lyrics (listen carefully!) and in the grooves of the music (just crank this fucker!).

The new album is as exciting as going to a Chucky Cheese restaurant all hammered with a group of Frat boys. Hell, maybe even more exciting than that!

Entombed singer L.G. Petrov begins about the good times with _Morning Star_: "I think through all that we have been through these last few years with the changes in what we have done musically, the band [rounded out by guitarists Uffe Cederlund and Alex Hellid, drummer Peter Stjarnvind and bassist Jorgen Sandstrom -- Adrian] is right where we want to be. A lot has happened, one of the main things being Nicke [Andersson, drummer] leaving the band after so many years. He was a main songwriter for the band and we felt his loss. We put out an album [1998's _Same Difference_] that was kind of, well, musically different than what we wanted to do. But we eventually got back to the music that we wanted to do [with 1999's _Uprising_] and things seem to be going a lot better for us now."

He adds about response to _Same Difference_ by saying, "We knew when we made that record that it was going to be a different album, but for the most part we weren't worried about that 'cause it was just another Entombed album. There were a lot of negative voices in the air when _Same Difference_ came out and that just kept us aware of what we were doing and what needed to be done. When bands go off course and make a different record, possibly a record outside of what they have done before, it just gives them the initiative to make the next record better. And that is what we did with _Uprising_. We weren't going to throw in the towel because people hated _Same Difference_. No way! We just kept rolling along and turning our Entombed music."

The new record _Morning Star_ seems to just coast along, a lot of fun and just solid grooves that never seems to slow down. "We have had a lot of records that have been up and down throughout the years, but our fans just seem to like it when we just coast along and keep things heavy and exciting. I know we do when we play", he comments. "There is just this really cool feel to this album and that to me is a much stronger feeling than trying to go all out and experiment with a sound and overdo things. We tried to keep the album pretty basic and have easily written songs."

So what about _Morning Star_ does Petrov like? Each Entombed album must leave a certain impression on him. What does he get out of the new album?

"I just think this is -- and I know we say this with each album --, but this is the best record. We have made some albums in the past that we could have done better and I think we made it up with this album. We got a lot of satisfaction out of making _Morning Star_. It isn't a long record, it's quite short, but it is intense. We wrote it, recorded it and moved on."

He adds, "This album was a very short process for us. Usually we spend a lot of time on an album and we didn't want that. We didn't want to fuss over songs and try to get things right 100%. We just got the right vibe, made sure it was recorded properly and moved onto the next song. There was no need to go all out with this record, it was more about a feeling rather than perfection."

And L.G.'s favourite songs on _Morning Star_ are? "I love "Bringer of Light" a lot", shouts an enthusiastic L.G. down the line. "It is such a great song. When Alex brought the ideas to the band it seemed like it might be hard to do, but it came out perfect. That is such a heavy Entombed song. It is a great song."

"The whole making of this album was so great, I just can't stop talking about it", says the singer with sincerity. "The studio was a fun place and it never got boring for us. Sometimes when you are in a studio and recording it really does make you wish you were not there. Not this time. It was a blast."

Through all the "ups and downs" over the years, this year being an "up" year for the band with the release of _Morning Star_, is Entombed's frontman surprised that they have lasted this long in the music business?

"Not really", comes the reply. "There is nothing else for us to do and we just keep on doing this. This is what we do. We have never thought about leaving the band or going on our own separate ways. Making music is still interesting for us, and it has become easier over the years. We are very spontaneous songwriters and our source of songwriting never seems to end."

"This is far from feeling like a job. It is just a lot of fun all the time and we feel very happy and fortunate that we can do this all the time. Some of us have gotten jobs out of boredom, but for the most part we don't do anything else but be Entombed. It is simple, but fun. I've gotten used to it over the years."

As _Morning Star_ plays on, it becomes quite clear that references of Satan and religion keep popping up here and there. Christ, just look at the cover. What gives, L.G.? Are there any specific subject matters that the band tackled for this album or was it just one big party?

"We have always written about Satan and once again he pops up in the lyrics", he laughs. "But from a lyrical point of view there are no really concrete issues we really have an emphasis on; we just take on whatever comes our way. We just observe and write about it. It is that simple", Petrov says while continuing to laugh. "We take ideas from around us, put our own spin on it and record it. We just laugh at everything around us, really, because the world is what it is. We can't change anything, so why not have fun?"

I can live with that. Keep on rocking in the free world, Entombed. Devil horns till the end!