The future of Ebony Tears seems to be in question now, as Pete elaborates on the changes that have taken place...

Tortura Insomniae is one of the best albums I've heard in recent months.  Were you happy with how it turned out?
Nope, we’re not satisfied with the results.  That’s one of the reasons why we started Dog Faced Gods!

What is the main thing you hope to improve with the next album?
We don’t know if there will be a second Ebony Tears album yet... We’re putting all efforts into DFG!

Looking through the News section of your web-site, at one point you said you might switch labels.  What happened and are you now happy with Black Sun?
We just thought that Black Sun was too stingy.  They turn every penny... So that was the big problem, that they didn’t want to put that much money into our bands!  And we still think that they are the same way... But hopefully we’ll be on a new label for our next CD...

Also, it appears that at one point, Dog Faced Gods was meant to be a name change instead of a side project.  What made you decide to carry on with Ebony Tears?
Well, as I said before... We’re kinda NOT carrying on with Ebony Tears... Ebony Tears is more or less our sideproject nowadays... DFG is our mainproject!

What kind of split will there be between the two bands, in terms of amount of time spent with each?
DFG 200% of our time...
Ebony Tears -200% of our time...

What made you decide to release Tortura Insomniae as a picture disc?
That was Black Sun’s idea... We have nothin to do with that...

The cover art for Tortura Insomniae is interesting.  Was it based on the title or any of the lyrics?
The cover is according to Johnny and Conny very ugly! They told Christian Wåhlin (the artist) what to do, but he didn’t listen... So it’s wasn’t based on any lyrics...

I really liked the use of violin on your album.  Is that something you will be doing again in the future?
We don’t know... Maybe, but I doubt it...

Have you written any material for the next ET album?  If so, how do you feel it compares to the songs on Tortura Insomniae?
We haven’t written any new material, but we’ve started writing new stuff for DFG just recently...

What is the main separation between ET and DFG in terms of lyrical content?
DFG’s lyrics are more depressing than ET’s lyrics...

Is it difficult to be responsible for all the music and lyrics in both bands?  Will the other band members be more involved in songwriting in the future or are you happy with the current set-up?
I can only answer for DFG there... We’re probably gonna continue that race, but as you’ve probably noticed, Richard Evensand has also been a part of the songwriting on Random Chaos Theory in Action...

Now that you've got Evensand in the band, do you feel like the line-up is pretty solid?
Yup!  Absolutely!

The female vocalist on Tortura Insomniae does an excellent job.  Do you plan to work with her again in the future?
Don’t know... Maybe..

From what I gather, Tortura Insomniae has done very well for you all over the world.  Were you surprised at all by its success?
Yup!  I think it sold more than we expected it to...

What part of the world do you sell the most CDs and/or get the most fan mail from?
All over...

Could you explain why DFG is on the GNW imprint instead of just Black Sun like ET is?
Cause GNW’s logo looks much better :O) *hahaha*

The digi-pack packaging for DFG is very nicely done.  Was this the record companies idea or your own?
Our own... I actually made up the whole idea of the cover... :O)

Where have you toured so far (as either ET or DFG)?
ET hasn’t played a single gig, but DFG has played one gig in Holland and one gig in Stockholm, Sweden so far... We’re playing another gig in Stockholm next Sunday with Lost Souls, Carnal Forge and Misery Loves Co.

What has been your best/worst experiences in terms of performing live?
BEST = Vera, Groningen, Holland!!!
Worst = Anchor, Stockholm, Sweden...

How do the songs change in a live environment?
They sound pretty much the same if you ask me...

The metal scene really seems to have come alive again, even here in the US where we always seem to be behind everyone else.  What is your take on the scene as a whole?  Do you have any particular favorites out there right now?
I think the metal scene has gotten a lot better and bigger... My personal favourite bands are Meshuggah and Fear Factory...

The band name - is that from the Testament song?  What made you decide to use that name?
Yup! That’s right! It’s from a Testament song... Conny came up with the idea, and we all thought it would fit the music and our band good :O)

What has the reaction been to Random Chaos Theory in Action, from the fans and the press?
I think the response has been really good so far... Far better than we had imagined actually :O) We’ve gotten massive airplay on Sweden’s biggest radio station P3, and that’s really good since Sweden’s radio stations hardly ever play metal anymore... And what I’ve heard there has been some radio stations in the U.S that have emailed our label asking if they could have a copy of the CD, cause they had heard from other radio stations that the album is a real knock out! :O)

Anything new you'd like to try out on the next DFG album?
We’re probably going more towards the more technical direction... Besides from that I really don’t know...  I’ve only heard some riffs so far, but we’re going to record a demo for our upcoming album in March, so I guess we’ll see what happens to the music then...

Given the choice, where and with who would you most like to do a tour?
Probably with Fear Factory or Meshuggah in the U.S... They are my biggest influences, so I’d think that would be really cool! :O)

Do you handle the design/updating of the DFG web-site?  Do you get more feedback from people via the 'net or regular mail?
Yup! I’m the one that does all the work on the website... I’ve gotten most of the response on email and on ICQ!  We have an official DFG-ICQ number (uin:11833744) were we can be reached there some days of the week...

Have you done any web-design work for other bands, labels, etc.?
Well, I’ve worked as a web-designer before, but I’ve never done any other music-related sites, except for the official Ebony Tears website... But I hope to do more of that in the future, if I have the time to do it...

How did you first get started playing bass?
I started playing the bass in my school band when I was 14 years old... Before that I had played guitar since I was 9 years old... Then when I was 15 years old me and a couple of friends started a metal band called Bulldozer... We played for about 6 years together before deciding to quit the project.. We never got signed so... :O) But then me and the drummer from that band put up ads in local music stores searching for a new band... Then Johnny Wranning called me and said that he needed a new bass-player for Ebony Tears, so I joined them in September -97, and we decided to form another band ‘cause of the differences in the music from the old stuff... That band was DFG! :O)

Who are some of the bass players you look up to most?
Les Claypool of Primus, Meshuggah’s bass-player, Fear Factory’s bass-player, Dean from Toad The Wet Sprocket, Live’s bassplayer + many more...

Any thoughts on the upcoming millennium?  Do you expect any major unrest or not?
Hmmmmm... I haven’t really thought about it actually... Rock n Roll and booze I guess!!! *hahahaha*

What's next in your immediate future?
Recording that demo and finding a new label! Our current label SUX big time!

Thanx for the interview... and good luck in the future with your mag... Take care man!