How long did it take you to come up with the story behind the new album and write the lyrics?
It took some time.  I started on the European tour [for House of God] to work on the lyrics, during the few hours you have now and then to yourself.  It actually goes back about 3 years.  We've always been asked when we're going to do another album like Abigail.  And of course I always said we're not going to do another album like Abigail because that would be going back in time and not progressing in any way.  But it did stir some thoughts in my mine, 'Could the story of Abigail be continued?'  I came up with something that didn't weigh too much on the old one and introduces a lot of new aspects.  So this new one goes much deeper, story-wise.

So why didn't you do the 'Abigail 2' album when you first came up with the idea?
We didn't do it three years ago simply because the line-up…  I don't want to say anything bad because those albums, Voodoo and House of God, I really love those albums.  But when Mikkey Dee was playing drums in the band, there was a certain kind of progressive beat in the band.  The complexity had a special feel to it.  Later, when he wasn't there, there was a different kind of complexity.  In between the House of God tour we did in the States and the one we did in Europe earlier this year, we had some line-up changes and we got a new drummer.  Which is Matt Thompson and he did that tour.  He's from a little north of where I am in Dallas and he was unbelievable because he had that kind of time structure in his body and he can relate to the type of complexity we had in the early days.  Andy and I have had to hold back on the writing for the other albums.  Sometimes you get so into writing a certain way and you're like, 'Wait a minute, I don't think the current line-up would be able to do that the right way.'  So when we got Matt in we were like, 'Wow, we can write anything!'  And he also has so many ideas himself, which is such a nice difference.  Then we got Hal Patino back in the band, the old bass player that played on Them, Conspiracy and The Eye and that was another huge plus.  Finally, Mike Wead from Mercyful Fate became the other guitarist and of course Andy LaRocque [guitar] has been there since the beginning.  Mike is also amazing and his work on the new album is the best I've ever heard him play.

So you finally got a line-up together that you felt could pull off the album properly?
The line-up really got so much better.  I've never played with such a good line-up in my entire career; it is just so solid.  So the writing, Andy and I didn't have to think about the time structures or any of that, it is no problem for the guys to play.  So it felt like the right kind of complexity in the music to do the Abigail thing.  It is a bit daring to call it 'Abigail part 2' because it had better be good.  Now that it is done, we feel that it is definitely our absolute strongest ever, so that feels very very good.  Now we're just waiting to see what people say when they get it.

Can you tell me a bit about how the new album is structured?
There is no break between any of the songs.  There is always something carrying over, whether it is a girl crying or some sound effects, so once you start playing it, it goes all the way through.  There are a lot of different moods in the music.  In general, it is as complex as the early days and some of the parts are more complex.  Definitely more complex vocals than I've done in a long time.  It is more theatric than the old stuff.  We have this girl laughing and crying at different points, representing Abigail.  We had this little girl, six-year-old, in the studio to do the part of Little One, which is Abigail's spirit from when she was stillborn.  She is the mummified infant in the crypt that is now haunting the house.

Regarding your vocal harmonies, do you usually have those in mind before you even start recording?
It's a mix because I have a pretty good idea of the song melodies I want to try to use.  Sometimes they don't always work because when the music is laid down in the studio for real, the whole feel of a riff can change just by how the drums are played.  Probably about 70% of what I have in my head going into the studio stays once we're done, but there is room for a lot of development.  Sometimes, I'm not always sure what voice a melody line is most fitted for, whether it will be a high falsetto or a normal voice with backing or a normal voice on its own or the real raw, deep stuff.  That's never 100% when you go into the studio, that's why you have to try them out and see what gives you the best feel for what you're about to tell.  Every time we're in the studio, we try out all the options we have and there were just so many more options this time.  Because of the music, the way it was written, when it was my turn to sing, I really felt that I had so much more to work with.

What's next for you?  Tour plans?
Hopefully, if things haven't change too much because of what happened on 9/11…  The booking agent we're working with thinks it will be alright and we'll be able to confirm the first shows during the first few weeks of 2002.  The only thing that could hold it up is Metal Blade, if they can't find the tour support.  If that does happened and all goes well, the plan is tour at the end of March and it will be the Abigail story live.  We want to play like 80-90% of those two albums, which is something we've never tried before.  We'll take "Possession" out of the first album, but play the rest of the album from beginning to end.  Then take a little intermission and play some other songs from the back catalog and then do all but maybe two songs from the new album.  That album is just as complex as the old material but maybe a little more aggressive, so it fits in perfect with the old album.  We're about to record a live album - again, if it is okay and the lawyer's can agree on things and stuff like that.  That way you'll get the whole Abigail story live, plus an extra ten or twelve songs from the intermission period, as we're going to exchange which songs we do there from day to day.  We'll see if that happens, but that is the plan for right now.