06/08/2002 Interview with Peter Tatgren of Hypocrisy

Chris: "What do you think of the metal scene right now, do you think Hypocrisy can help bring metal back to where it once was?"

Peter: "I dunno…the only thing know is that it is coming back a little bit but ya know…I have no clue what people think or, it is impossible to say."

Chris: "What do you do to extend and keep Hypocrisy fresh, do you go back and listen to the older records, listen to the music you are rooted in or find new music to take inspiration from?"

Peter: "Nah, we just write our stuff and just as long as we feel it is fresh ya know we just keep on going"

Chris: "What album has the most personal significance?"

Peter: "Personal?...I mean maybe personal for me, the new album cause I wrote the lyrics on it ya know and it's more personal all of it is"

Chris: "How you do you like touring in the states since you have finished your first tour?"

Peter: "It's different."

Chris: "Think you'll come back again?"

Hypocrisy: "I dunno….maybe…if we can have someone ya know that can organize shit ya know that is the lack of it in America; it's not the same as in Europe ya know"

Chris: "Just the general professionalism of promoters?"

Peter: "Yeah exactly…yeah it's totally off the wall ya know."

Chris: "What is the secret to getting that killer guitar sound on the stuff you have produced like Immortal?"

Peter: "Uh…I dunno…it's mixing a bunch of different amps together ya know and uh…yeah and it's fuckin'…fuck with the buttons until you're happy ya know, there is no rule really ya know."

Chris: "How has the response been to your ever changing music as some of it has become more rock and melody oriented over time?"

Peter: "Yeah…It's been good, really been good ya know I mean uh…people know that we write what we want ya know and we're not out to please anyone except ourselves ya know and if people likes it, it's great ya know."

Chris: "Ok, as a producer, is there a time that when producing any of the great albums that you've done that really stands out as a thoroughly enjoyable experience?"

Peter: "Yeah, there's a lot of bands and I'd be very lucky to work with a lot of bands…I really don't want to mention anything because there's a lot of stuff that I done that's been really fun."

Chris: "What ever happened to the Abyss, the band?"

Peter: "Uh…Nah that was just like a two timer ya know, and that's about it."

Chris: "Can't do better than "Summon the Beast"?"

Peter: "No…we don't feel like ya know…we don't even want to try ya know because we're pretty happy with that we got the black metal out of our system ya know uh as far as writing and stuff ya know that was the whole point not to mix black metal into Hypocrisy so we did that band so we could get that out of our system."

Chris: "Sounds good…When Hypocrisy originated, the band was known for playing pretty fast technical death metal however, over the years the music has managed to progress without compromising it's fan base, with that in mind would you still consider Hypocrisy to be death metal?"

Peter: "It's just a big mix of all kinds of stuff ya know, anything from gothic to metal to death metal ya know and uh like I said we try just to write what we are and what we feel ya know."

Chris: "Do you often find it frustrating when it comes to juggling both the responsibility of producer and songwriter at the same time?"

Peter: "No not really, we are pretty uh…we know what we want together ya know and we work together as one on that stuff, we go till we are all happy and if one is not happy we do something else."

Chris: "Have you ever considered making Hypocrisy lyrics available to the public for example on the band's web site?"

Peter: "Yeah we were actually thinking about for the last album but there was no time to do it ya know it was kind of a lack of organization for me and also I didn't think the label wanted everything out so fast ya know so I really didn't have time to do it."

Chris: "How have sales from the new album been compared to past releases?"

Peter: "Good I think ya know…that is what the label says…I haven't seen any numbers of anything like that so I couldn't really tell you ya know."

Chris: "Why did you choose the title "Catch 22" for the album…anything to do with the novel or movie?"

Peter: "Nah…it's just our life basically it's a catch 22 ya know."

Chris: "With the exception of "into the Abyss" you seem to leave death metal more and more behind from album to album. Do you intend to experiment even more with Hypocrisy's music?"

Peter: "I think so ya know…that is what makes it fun ya know…to fuck around ya know definitely."

Chris: "Apart from Kiss, what music are you listening to these days?

Peter: "These days…uh…I'm going back to like 60's and 70's stuff I mean I was brought up on that ya know and always liked it ya know but now it feels like it is coming back for me."

Chris: "What is your favorite Sci-Fi movie ever?"

Peter: "Fire in the Sky is pretty good!"

Chris: "Alright…Anything else that is the end of my questions….?"

Peter: "Nah….I dunno…just see if we can get back here and fuckin' kick some more ass ya know!"

Chris: "I hope so I really look forward to seeing you guys, I've been waiting for years and that is about that good to have you come around….thanks!"

End of interview…