To start with the music: I liked 'Microscopic View Of A Telescopic Realm' from the first time I heard it, but it took me some runs to get into 'Where Moth And Rust Destroy'. Do you think you changed or developed much musically?

Luke Easter: I think this album is a natural progression from “Microscopic…” . If you listen to our previous albums, there’s always an element of change from album to album, but always with a common thread that makes it apparent that it’s us. In some ways it’d be easy to just keep cranking out the same thing album after album, and I’m sure there are some who might like that, but it’s a lot more challenging as musicians and writers, and much more rewarding as artists to try to cover new ground. We don’t go out of our way to reinvent ourselves from album to album, but we are always trying to grow musically. Hopefully we’ve been successful in doing that with this album.

I think the classical instruments and influences have been limited this time - still the songwriting is complex and sometimes even hypnotizing. Where do you take that creativity from?

Luke Easter: There’s inspiration everywhere. There’s sounds in nature, the different sounds that you hear walking down the street in a city, and there’s music. It all has an influence on us. We all listen to a lot of different music, and I think that comes through in what we put out. Ted writes the bulk of the music, so obviously his influences are a little more prominent, but I think all of us bring something to the table. We all end up putting our stamp on the songs by the time they’re finished, and it all makes for a Tourniquet album.

Did you choose a different studio to record 'Where Moth...'? To me the sound does not catch up to the great production of its predecessor, although Bill Metoyer once again did a nice job as producer...

Luke Easter: This is the first album we recorded outside of the Los Angeles area. We recorded this album in Wisconsin. The album does have a different sound to it, but that doesn’t really have anything to do with the room it was recorded in. We intentionally went for a warmer, “vintage” sound on this album. The last album was mostly Marshall amps and newer guitars with active pick-ups. This album was a 1970’s SG played through a 1970’s Orange amp and cabinets. That is a totally different kind of tone, and I think it made the album sound very distinct. You’re right about Bill. He is a very important part of the “Tourniquet sound”. Bill makes our ideas become reality.

Your music features intelligent, thoughtful lyrics, usually with references to biblic stories. What effects did your believe evoke in the metal scene?

Luke Easter: I think it makes a lot of people stop and think. There’s not that many bands playing the type of music we do with the sort of lyrics and issues that we deal with. There’s some people who dismiss it as not really being metal because it’s Christian, and there’re others who love our music, but don’t share our beliefs. Hopefully they will take the time to think about what we have to say. We have seen a lot of mail over the years from people who made a decision to embrace Christianity, to follow Christ, as a result of listening to a Tourniquet album.

Christian metal bands are rare and sometimes not taken for serious, but you are an established institution by now. Was it hard sometimes and what do you think why you made it so far?

Luke Easter: I think in the past people have not applied themselves enough to their craft. Their lyrics were too simplistic, and their playing was not up to the level of their non-Christian counterparts. As a result, people didn’t take them seriously. We have always tried to be the best we can at what we do. I don’t look at other Christian bands as competition. We are basically after the same thing, making music that glorifies God. We are competing with secular bands for listeners. We have always tried to make good music. We’ve never approached it with an agenda. It hasn’t been about proselytizing people. We’d rather make music with lyrics that reflect our faith and let the listener decide what to do. I think that because we are upfront about our beliefs, and we’re serious about them, and the fact that we are good at what we do has helped give us some longevity.

Could you perhaps give us a short 'in own words' about the nine songs on 'Where Moth...' to ease the understanding or to produce some curiosity?

Luke Easter: The title track is about the futility of materialism. We are not against having nice things, and we don’t believe God has a problem with it either, but there are more important things.
“Restoring The Locust Years” talks about God’s providence, and his ability to restore our lives.
“Drawn And Quartered” uses Nero and the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome to illustrate God’s grace.
“A Ghost At The Wheel” is about someone who has alienated themselves from people who care for them because they don’t want to let those people be honest with them.
“Architeuthis” uses the giant squid, which no one has ever seen alive, as an allegory for faith in God. We have evidence that the Architeuthis exists even though we’ve never seen one alive. The same thing applies to God.
“Melting The Golden Calf” is about priorities, specifically not putting other things before God. It’s easy in this day and age to get wrapped up in things and make them more important than God. God, and your relationship with Him, should be the most important thing in your life. “Convoluted Absolutes” is about relativism.
“Healing Waters Of The Tigris” is about making the mistake of thinking you’re invincible. The Bible says God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The king of the ancient city of Ninevah thought his people had built an invincible city, but the Tigris River flooded and destroyed it. Not that invincible, was it?
“In Death We Rise” is about God’s power in all circumstances. He is more powerful than anything you can think of, even death.

Are there plans for live appearances in Europe this year?

Luke Easter: As soon as we have a new guitar player in place, we will start booking shows. I hope we’ll make it to Europe very soon.

Usually I don't like political questions in interviews, but this time I cannot help touching this topic. Do you think Bush's war agains Iraq is supported by the majority of US citizens?

Luke Easter: Well, the last poll I saw seems to indicate that the majority of US citizens support it. Most of the people I know support it. To be clear, when I say support I don’t mean that anyone wants war. What I mean is that they think that it is the only option at this point. I think war should be a last resort, and I think we exhausted our other options. I think Iraq is a rogue state, and that Saddam Hussein is a butcher who will kill his own people to hold onto power. It’s sad that there will be casualties, on both sides, but I think that this is the only course of action left to us. I just pray that it ends soon.

 No more questions at the moment. I hope we can talk personally sometime. Feel free to add anything more you would like to say to our readers. :) Thanks for your time and good luck for the future!

Luke Easter:   I’d like that. Maybe we’ll meet the next time we’re in Germany. I’d just like to thank everyone for all the support over the years. We hope you enjoy the new album, and We hope to see as many of you as possible in the near future.