Intervista realizzata via email con Niklas (21/05/2005). Trovate la traduzione integrale dell'intera intervista su questa pagina.

First of all, thanks Niklas for spending some time answering our questions!
So let's start!

1. What do you search for in your music and what do you feel while playing it?
Tricky question. Sometimes you don't feel anything at all (playing a song in the rehearsal room for the 500th time), and sometimes it can be a very strong experience (playing the same song onstage in front of a good audience). I rarely listen to our own albums at home, so when I hear D.T. music it's mainly when playing the songs. What we search for? I have no idea, ha ha! We're very serious about our music and try to create something with a lot of substance and relevance, but it's impossible to say what THE ultimate goal is, if anything.

2. In the last album, Character, we see that you have extended your sound closing some stylistic elements typical of The Gallery; is that some kind of back-to-the-roots movement?
I guess it's back-to-the-roots in a way, but the way I see it is that we've incorporated elements from both the past and the present. After having experimented a bit with more mellow albums, it suddenly felt interesting to bring back some of the intensity from the earlier years again. In my view, Character contains references to the The gallery era but at the same time offers plenty of new ideas as well, such as the arrangements and electronics.

3. What are, at present, your main musical influences within and outside heavy metal?
I'm pretty tired of music in general right now, so I don't want to listen to anything. Silence is just fine, especially after a five week tour when you're constantly surrounded by noise. The last thing I heard that I really had a place for was the debut album by Swedish singer/songwriter Anna Ternheim, but that's about it.

4. Forgetting about music for a while, what are your favourite hobbies?
I've turned my hobbies/main interests (music and arts) into my work, so there's no time for anything else.

5. Niklas, you are now a great graphic-designer. How did this activity start and what are the influences between it and the music?
There isn't that much to tell, really. I've always been interested and went to art school when I was younger. After I did the Projector album cover, bands and labels began getting in touch asking for album cover design, and it took off from there.

6. Not considering the actual results, do you rather listen to a group that changes rapidly style in a few years, or a group that keeps constantly tied to its origins?
I think that the results are the only thing that matter. There are bands that are great in keeping their sound static during a long time, and there are bands that make their best music by changing with every album, and everyone is free to do what they want. I used to be very sceptical towards bands that follow the same formula year after year, but these days I just don't care. If it feels natural and right to go the AC/DC route, then go for it.

7. What do you think of In Flames and what about their style from 2002 (Reroute to Remain) to today?
Hmm...I don't really like to comment publically on other bands - sorry.

8. Are there any links left between you and In Flames?
Yes, we're good friends and I still do a lot of their artwork.

9. What do you think about the italian audiences? How are the italian tour-dates in general?
We've said this lots of times, but it's not just ass-kissing: Italy has always been totally amazing for D.T. We're always amazed with the response we're getting, and you people are so passionate about the music. Italy is probably my fave place to play in the whole of Europe.

10. Is it true that, as some are saying, for the next album, you are planning a new experimentation with a progressive/polyhedric structure?
It's too early to tell. I might have said in some interviews that I personally hope that the next album will be more experimental and weird, but it's nothing that we have discussed yet. I'm just 1/6 of the band anyway, so one shouldn't put too much importance into this. The songwriting hasn't even started, so anything is possible at this point.

11. What is the secret of your ability to mix aggressive parts with melodic ones? Is there some kind of ''rule'' that allows you to have this effect in such a constant way?
No, there's no rule and no secret tricks either. It's all a matter of hard work, without any special magic formula. We're very self critical and throw away 95% of all the riffs we write, and every song is re-arranged over and over again until everything feels perfect. Perhaps that's part of the reason, I don't know.

12. What do you like most about your new album?
Hard to tell...I like it all; the production, the songs, the playing, but as mentioned I don't really listen much to our own albums after they're released, so I haven't really analyzed it. Out of the songs, I probably like The new build most.

13. What makes it so successful, if we consider the 3rd place in Swedish charts?
I guess it's all about timing, promotion, visibility and of course the quality of music. Record sales in more mainstream music has been going down a lot, while smaller genres still have loyal fans that will support the bands by actually buying the albums, so that's why we see more extreme music in the charts these days.

14. Last but not least: send out a message to the Italian audience!
Thanks for your support and see you soon!

Intervista realizzata via email con Niklas (21/05/2005) - Traduzione