Basti:   First of all let me tell you how much I like NonExists debut "Deus Deceptor". To me as a fan of Arch Enemy, it is just what I had hoped to come after "Burning Bridges", but I have to admit that "Deus Deceptor" is even better than that.
Do you feel like this is already the style that suits you best or are you unsatisfied in any way?

Johan:   Thanks! Cool that you like it.
Well, we are satisfied with the style we have but we don´t want to make the same record twice. Therefor I think our next album will be a bit different. We will always try to develop a bit between each album. But that doesn´t mean that we aren´t pleased with "Deus deceptor" - we sure are, but there´s always room for improvement. I´ve actually already written about half of the songs for the next album.

Basti:   Who wrote the music? Who wrote the lyrics?

Johan:   Who wrote the music? Who wrote the lyrics?

Basti:   Where do the ideas for these songs come from? I mean, I suppose it is pretty hard to write songs, which, on the one hand glow from pure joy and livelyness and on the other hand spread sheer aggression.

Johan:   Don´t know really. I sit down and fool around with the guitar and hopefully something cool comes up. Then when I have some cool riffs that fit together as a suitable unity I do the basic drum-ideas on the computer. Some polishing here and there and voila; there you have a new song! Inspiration from other artists/films/books and life in general is always important for the creative process.

Basti:   You did all guitar and bass parts for this album and I read, "Deus Deceptor" was recorded in 12 days only. Wasn't that pretty much exhausting, especially for you?

Johan:   Yes it was quite exhausting I can asure you! All I did was eat, sleep and record.

Basti:   Would you do such a "power-run" for the next album also or would you rather take more time for recording it?

Johan:   I´m gonna record the next album at home so it´s gonna be a lot more relaxed I can tell you! No considerable time-pressure, which is great.

Basti:   How did this combination of musicians come together? How come, that exactly these people found together as you seem to perfectly fit and fulfill each other?

Johan:   Wez, the boss of New Hawen rec. ,our label, has known Johan Liiva since a couple of years back when Arch Enemy was contracted to his old label WAR-music. When Liiva was fired from Arch Enemy, Wez asked him if he wanted to join NonExist and so he did. Wez also got Matte Modin involved in the band. He simply called Matte and asked him. We never rehearsed before the recordings, I sent the demos of the songs with guitars, bass and programmed drums and Matte learned the songs and recorded them. Really smooth.

Basti:   There are 3 instrumental songs on "Deus Deceptor". Who's idea was that? Despite I personally like them, as they show the great technical abilities especially of Johan Reinholdz and they have great atmosphere, I feel like this is an uncommon amount of instrumental songs für a death metal-album?

Johan:   Yeah, it´s a bit uncommon. It´s cool because I think it gives the listener some breathing space and it makes the album more varied. The brutal stuff stands out more as well. I´ll think we´ll continue with this kinda stuff on the next album as well.

Basti:   I read, that there are already hearings for a rhythm guitarist and a bass player. Can you already tell something about it?

Johan:   No, not much to tell regarding that I´m afraid. No full line-up yet.

Basti:   I also read, that there is a tour scheduled for somewhen spring 2003. Will there also be gigs in Germany?

Johan:   Where did you read that? That´s more than I know! Haha. No gigs scheduled so far unfortunately. But we´d sure like to come to Germany and play, no doubt about that!

Basti:   Are there any bands you would especially like touring with? Perhaps Arch Enemy to show them how melodic sounds and brutality are combined in perfection? *grin*

Johan:   Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! Haha!

Basti:   Are you looking forward to be on stage?

Johan:   Absolutely! We´d love to play live. That´s the most exciting thing about playing music. That direct response from a crowd - there´s nothing better!

Basti:   What are your plans for the near future?

Johan:   Continue to write songs for the next album. I think it will be recorded sometime this winter. It will be a bit more heavy and varied than "Deus..".

Basti:   Thanks for the interview. I wish you good luck and much fun for the future.

Johan:   Thank you for your interest and support!