Special thanks to Johan, Sigi (their road manager), and, as always, Metal Blade Records for the opportunity to sit down and chat, especially with the chaos of a fresh starting tour.

Club: Your music is a tad different than most death metal out there right now, at least lyrically. Rather than singing about impaling bodies, you focus on telling stories through Norse mythology. Has that helped you guys, or hurt, do you think?

Johan: In the beginning I think it may have hurt us, being different, but now, it seems people really are into us being different. We really just want to tell a good story and have the story show our music. In the beginning it was a little bit of a problem. Our lyrics sometimes get confused with being either religious or political when they are not. We are not a political band or a religious one. We tell stories.

Club: Do you see a big difference between fans here in the US and fans in Europe. To us here it seems that the music scene is sometimes so much better over in Europe.

Johan: There really isn't as much of a difference between fans here and in Europe. Fans seem about the same everywhere. We have very loyal fans and we are very thankful for that.

Club: What can you say is probably the coolest thing about being on the road?

Johan: It is very cool to see the fans. Spend time with them. They are incredibly loyal, and that is great, and it is really nice to get to spend even just a little time with them. We can't do it as much as we would like, but that is probably the coolest thing. Looking and seeing them now wearing shirts from our first US tour here and the same over in Europe. Seeing people who have been with us from the start. That means a lot to us.

Club: How was Wacken?

Johan: It was GREAT. We played there this year. 2 am, 30,000 fans and a live Viking stage fight. It was amazing.

Club: I've wanted to go to Wacken since I was young. That had to be amazing. Have you noticed a major shift in the age of the fans? Here in the US for us, we tend to feel like fogeys at the shows, and we are in our early 30s. Have you noticed anything like that?

Johan: We noticed on our tour we just finished in Europe, that we saw a large range of ages. The kids in their teens but we are also seeing a lot of people in their 40s. It's kind of neat to see that.

Club: Have you noticed, at least here in the US, that there is a bit of a difference in sales with satellite radio hitting the market with a force? I have to admit, I first heard you guys on Hard Attack and I am finding more bands than I even remember to check out through what I hear on there.

Johan: We have noticed in the last few years that US sales have really gone up. I'm not sure if it is our being out there more on the road or the radio, but the last three years our sales have really jumped. That's a good thing because it means more people are hearing our music and liking it.

Club: How do you guys handle being together on the road? These are real close quarters and I would think you all would want to kill each other by the end of a tour.

Johan: You have to check egos at the door. There is no room for that here. We have been together for many years, and become such close friends that we do fine. We know how to work together. The biggest thing is you can not be an egomaniac. And you would be surprised how soundproof the bunks are. I always take a week or two off when I get home to just relax. You need that.

Club: What do you do on the road to keep yourselves entertained? What do you do for fun?

Johan: We can get on the internet from almost anywhere. Computer games, resting.

Club: No wild parties then?

Johan: Oh we still party, but we realized that people are paying good prices to come see us. We don't want to waste their money by being drunk when they come. We have been there and done that.

Club: What do you do off the road to relax?

Johan: I actually have a normal job and that is really nice. The first tour I just went home and sat around. But I need to have a purpose, I need to do something. I find it actually relaxing to have the job.

Club: I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to sit down with us. See you tonight at the show.