Update: You can now download the interview as part of the first issue of Bleeding for Metal TV in the full video edition: B4M TV No 1 (DivX, 140MB)

Thanks for being here. You once said you would prefer nobody would recognize you around the street, so you're not longing for the fame. Is it hard to do the interviews?

Peter: No, no problem for me at all.

I hope you're feeling at least a bit comfortable. I'll start with HYPOCRISY, before we get into PAIN. HYPOCRISY is a well established death metal band from Sweden. In between you had a little low. You put it almost to the grave somehow...

Peter: Yeah...

But now you're completely back in business.

Peter: Yeah, absolutely.

Is there any danger HYPOCRISY might become the sideproject, because PAIN is selling so much more units?

Peter: No, I need both, you know. The aggression and the chaos from HYPOCRISY. The experiments from PAIN, you know. So, for me, I need both of them.

In PAIN, you produce the album, you play all the instruments and you do all the stuff yourself. So you can live out all your dreams that way.

Peter: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I can work in team, but sometimes you just want to do stuff alone also.

So, at the moment, you wouldn't say any of the bands has top priority?

Peter: Well, right now, PAIN has absolute priority because the new album is coming out and I'm on tour with it, doing a lot of promotion for it. Right now at home, we're recording the new HYPOCRISY album, you know. So, there's always time for either of the two. You just need time. Now, I'm gonna concentrate on this.

In your famous Abyss studios, where you also produce a lot of other bands...

Peter: Did.

You don't produce them anymore?

Peter: No, I really don't have time anymore. There's a lot of touring, taking care of ourselves, HYPOCRISY and PAIN and so on.

Okay. Well, the Abyss studios are located in a former mental hospital...

Peter: Yeah, well in the area of it, yeah...

Ah, okay, I was going to ask if there are still instruments from that era left...

Peter: Yeah...

...you're using for your production...

Peter: *laughs* well, not for my productions, but there's still some of that stuff there.

You have a touring line up for PAIN now. Is that a stable line up for the touring?

Peter: Yeah, I hope so, definitely.

Because one of our editors, visiting you in Andernach, said he was very fond of the two "supersonic bitches" you had there on your side. So, they will follow you a little longer?

Peter: Yeah.

The same editor said, they saw you in Cologne last year and they had the impression you were in a rather bad condition on that tour last year.

Peter: In Cologne?

Yes. But this year you feel better on tour?

Peter: Yes, I feel much better. The only problem is always my throat. I get really... fucked in the throat...

Not literally... *both laugh*

Peter: Nonono, of course not. But, I mean, it's a lot of stress on the vocal chords, just trying to do it as good as possible, you know what I mean? It's always easy in the studio to sing, because I can redo it whenever something gets wrong. On stage I scream my ass off every time... but it's getting better, you know, it's getting much better compared to the other tours I've ever done. So I think, now, that I'm playing guitar also, it feels much more comfortable... and everybody says these are the best PAIN gigs they've ever seen, so... also with the line-up and everything, you know. It feels good...

Just on the way from the hall over here, you said you have been sober for some days now. Was that better for your voice? Could you scream better?

Peter: Yeah, it's much better for my voice. Now I got a reason to stay sober on tour... *laughs*

And that's a good reason. About the last album, "Nothing remains the same", you said there are more songs about sex and death, but what about beer and metal then?

Peter: Put that in HYPOCRISY.

Ah, I see. That's the difference. That's the two ways you're going.

Peter: Yeah.

On the last album, you did a BEATLES cover with a classic orchestra. I was wondering... so many bands do stuff with classic orchestras. Is that something like a must-have today?

Peter: No, not really. I mean, I actually recorded the orchestra about 2 years before the album came out, you know... For that Beatles-song, it was necessary I think, cause it has it in the original and it is hard to do the same with keyboards, you know...

And the idea to cover a BEATLES song, where did that come from?

Peter: I just always liked that song, you know, and I just got an idea of how I could do the song and I think it turned out really cool.

There are some people complaining "it does not fit in" or something...

Peter: Oh, it does. Check it out tonight. The crowd loves it, it's really cool.

The new album "Dancing With The Dead" is coming out in March. For you this is some special kind of 'comeback from the dead' almost...

Peter: Yeah...

Would you like to tell us something about your experience?

Peter: Well, there was no real experience, I was just gone for two minutes or so.

It was like your body said 'Calm down, you have worked too much' or something...

Peter: I don't know what it was, because I went to the hospital to get blood samples and stuff, but they couldn't find anything, so...

Did this experience leave any marks, any changes in your life?

Peter: It helped me write about half of the lyrics on the album, definitely inspired me. Other than that, you know, I don't really care - the only reason I care, if I'm alive or not is my son. I don't want him to grow up without a dad, otherwise I don't care.

A few songs on the new album like the title track and 'Don't count me out' care about this topic. Are there other topics, any meaning behind the songs?

Peter: Yeah, eh, let me think... There is some stuff about people who think they know everything better than you, try to change you and try to tell you how to think and stuff like that. It's just regular stuff, I mean, every album I do takes me about 2,5 or 3 years to make it and whatever happens during that period - I write about it. Everything is just what I have in mind, what I've been going through or whatever.

"Dancing With The Dead" is also said to leave more space to the guitars, more riffs, tighter foundation and less techno sounds. Is that a durable change in the direction?

Peter: I started writing for the new PAIN album about 3 years ago and it just became that way. So it was really nothing I was planning. OK, I wanted to make it more heavier, because I think "Nothing Remains..." has too many slow songs and stuff like that. I want a little bit more energy in it, you know.

Have you already begun writing new material for the next PAIN album?

Peter: No.

So now the focus is on the next HYPOCRISY album.

Peter: Yeah.

It is now two hours until you get on stage tonight. What will you be doing until then?

Peter: Interviews? *laughs* And then just take half an hour and block everything out, just focus. Just hope my voice will make it.

Any special preparation for the voice?

Peter: No, not really. Drink a lot of water. Tee and stuff like that is for fags! *grins*

*understands 'fakes' at that moment and laughs* On this tour there are more chicks than usual in the lineups...

Peter: Oh yeah, everywhere...

...does this breed any problems?

Peter: It just spreads confusion in every man on the tour.

So it is more lively on this tour.

Peter: Oh yeah, that's for sure. *grins*

We wish you much fun tonight, have fun and hope to see you again some time.

Peter: Yeah, thank you!