Daniel: Nahh.. When you're kids, you do that.

But you're a big kid, aren't you?

Yeah .. But you have to throw it at someone, you know.. *laughs*

Johan: I think I made like 2 or 3 snowballs this winter.

*nods* We did make a snowman last year. With Léo, when he staid at our place. Last winter was terrible, we had no snow at all. There were just 3 days or something like that that we actually had snow. Normally we'd have it the whole winter, but, well, you know.

So.. Now for questions..

Yeah.. You don't want to hear about the snowman, then? I could describe it in great detail, if you'd like..

*laughter* Yes, I do wanna hear about the snowman. Later. If we've got time later, we'll talk about the snowman.

You've seen our website by now, I think?

Which one is that?

The Pain of Sslvation website.

*nods* Oh yeah.

I'd like to know what you think of that, because I haven't heard anything from you so far.

Oh, you haven't? But I did write something. I saw that Simon wrote something - making fun of our own page.

What do you think of it?

It's very nice! And it's very funny. Of course you should always grasp the opportunity when humor arrives. So I guess, making that site after seeing our domainname being spelled wrong, I think it's a very funny idea.

I have to give Markjuh credit for that. He came up with the idea to register that domain. At first we thought we'd just link it to your site, but at some point, we figured 'what if we make a fanpage?' Because, no offense, but there's like zero info on your website..

Well, I'm making a new one right now. I'm sick of it.

You're making a new one? We'll be looking forward to that. But you're going to get me out of a job, then?

Nah. I don't think so.

Okay, thanks. So.. What's unique about Pain of Salvation in your opinion?

I have no idea. I think it sounds really pretentious if you're saying what's unique about your own band.

But it's true. I mean, you ARE a very unique band, you can't really be put in one of the boxes. So, what is that?

Well, yeah, I think that's what makes us a bit different. It's hard to pin us down, I think. We're not playing this particular music-style because we chose it, but because that was chosen for us by the fans or whatever. You know, the 'progressive metal' label. But we've never aimed to be part of that music style, and I think that's what sets us apart already to start with. Because I think most of the other bands are trying to be something particular. We're not trying to be anything particular, we're just trying to make the kind of music we want to make. I think taking everything serious in music and quality, but still keeping that humorous aspect, is a good combination.

I'm looking forward to hearing the new work.

*grins* It sucks. It's really, really bad. Nothing to look forward to, really.

*laughter* Yeah, I thought so. I'm not gonna ask you about this, because there're going to be a million others asking you about that, so I'm not going to.

I was wondering.. When I first listened to BE, which is by the way the first time I ever heard you, I saw you had a lot of sources that you read..

Yeah, it just grew out of proportions completely. It's an extremely complex story that no one understands, which is really funny. *laughs*

.. I do like it. I've just wondered, did you read all those books and then come up with the story, or the other way around?

It was a mixture. Some parts of the story I already had. I have this folder system in my head of ideas that might turn into something some day. And they might stay there for tens of years sometimes before you find the right form. While constructing the concept I could make use of several of those different folders, because they started to interact somehow, conceptually. And then you have a lot of books in your 'reading bag catalog' or whatever, but as you start to get an idea of where you want to go with this concept, you start to read more books. So some you have and some you add as you go along.

In addition to that, what is your spiritual background? What makes you tick?

I don't know, I feel like I'm on the verge of stop ticking all the time. I guess it's just like a survival mechanism, to keep ticking.

And yours then, Johan?

Let's just say, I'm not really sure. I don't see myself as a religious person, but I see myself as a spiritual person and I try to keep those two things apart. I mean, every human being is spiritual in some way. Everybody has their own explanation about everything. And, of course, you can't be sure if it's right or if it's wrong.

There's a lot of people who think there's nothing, is that possible in your opinion?

I think every human being must have thoughts, otherwise you're a robot.

But, if you look at the Matrix for example. There's a lot of robots out there, don't you agree?

Actually, I saw that movie yesterday, after eight years. It was just as good as the first time I saw it. I think I saw it 2 or 3 times, but like I said, that was 8 years ago. That movie makes me tick, because it's a fascinating thought. You can't say 'it's not like that', well, I don't think it's like that, but I can't prove that it isn't.

I think it's pretty much like the BE-concept. This is not a movie that tries to tell you that this is how it is. It's just a way of making the puzzle work out.
I think that's something that recurs in basically every religion. I think that one of the points I was trying to make with BE is, that every religion known to man must by default be incorrect. There is no way that any human religion can be correct or right. That was my first 'point of departure'. And then that everything goes in circles, the creator becomes the created and the created becomes the creator. All the creation comes from a deep desire to understand the 'self'. So exploring other things is basically a way of exploring yourself.