First, can you make a brief history about the band's beginning? Which was your motivation to create the band?

I met Niclas Karlsson in 1990 on my job at the time. We both played in different Heavy Metal bands and we both felt that the other members of our bands didn't put their soul into the music. We were both song writers and we had exactly the same favourite bands which were Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Manowar, Accept, Dio, Crimson Glory etc. We decieded to start a band where everyone should dedicate his life to the band and Heavy Metal. The bass player from Niclas former band joined us and I was very surprised when I found out that it was my old classmate from first to fourth class. We didn't have a drummer at the time so we bought a drum-machine and with it Crystal Eyes was born in 1992.

What are your members' history in music like? Did you play in other bands?

Kutte played in a Trash Metal band called Damnatory before. They actually released a record in 1990 on a small recored company in Denmark. Claes former band was called Sunrise and I made some gigs with them when I played in my former band called Painted Skies. When Jonathan joined Crystal Eyes in 1998 he had never been in a band or been in a studio or played live before. He had just been looked in with his guitar and some Yngwie Malmsteen records for about 15 years, ha ha ha.

Is there any concept related to the band’s name or it's just a name which sounds cool?

Niclas came up with 2 names, one was Crystal Eyes and the other was Artificial Dreams. We choosed Crystal Eyes because it was easy to remember and it was a good Heavy Metal name.

What do you think are the main differences between the latest CD and the previous one? What elements do you think have been improved?

The biggest differences are that the promotion is much better and there are more variations between the songs. We have also grown as a band and the vocals is much better now. Musically it's still the same and I promise that it will never change. Crystal Eyes will always play 100% melodic Heavy Metal.

The cover artwork looks pretty cool... Can you tell something about it? And, by the way, who designed it?

Kristian Wåhlin made the cover. We just gave him a demo version of "In Silence They March" with the lyrics and told him that he could practicly what he wanted with this. I think he made one of the best Heavy Metal covers ever.

How are the composition duties shared in Crystal Eyes? And where do you get inspiration for your lyrics?

I write all songs and half of the lyrics. My best friend Andreas Götesson writes the other half of the lyrics. The other members love my songs and they don't feel any need of writing songs. My lyrics are just made up stories but Andreas gets his inspiration from fantasy books and movies.

How much did you enjoy the recent tour with Lefay? Any anecdotes?

I really like Lefay and we had a great time playing with them. Unfortunatly the singer left the band after 2 gigs and I think this was the end of Lefay, very sad. On the last gig one of our cars was stolen and we played 600 kilometers from our hometown, this was not so funny. But in the end the whole tour became a big success and we are very satisfied.

What bands have you toured with and what ones did you feel you fit in best with?

The tour with Lefay was our first tour ever, before we had only played at certain places. We've played with Blind Guardian, Yngwie Malmsteen, Grave Digger and Candlemass. I think the Blind Guardian gig in 1996 was the best to fit us.

Do you have many contacts with other bands from Sweden? If so, which ones?

We're good friends of the bands in our hometown Zonata, Freternia, Iron Ware, Conviction and Brainwave.

Are there any bands you can recommend in your area or unsigned bands in general?

I can recommend the bands in the former question.

Do you have any side projects bands that you play in too?

I sing in a Judas Priest cover band together with Niclas Karlsson and the former Crystal Eyes drummer. I've also played guitar in an Accept cover band once and the singer from that band is now the singer of Lost Horizon.

Do you have a favorite record of 2000?

I think Iron Maiden's "Brave New World", Helloween's "The Dark Ride", Dio's "Magica", Halford's "Resurrection", Jag Panzer's "Thane to the Throne" and Primal Fear's "Nuclear Fire" were the best records last year.

What are your plans for the near future? Do you already have new songs?

All songs for the third album are finnished and ready to record but there's no way we will release them on our present record company. I think the songs are my best songs ever and I won't give them away to the idiot who runs the shit company. He don't like my music, he hasn't done any promotion to "In Silence They March" at all, he has been lying about the money I should have as a song writer, he has told Kristian Whålin that he will just get half of his money for the cover, he told us that we've done nothing even if we've been working like hell, etc. He's simply the biggest asshole in the Universe. We're signed for one more album but we'll do everything to get away from this. We're hoping to find a new record company before the end of the year.

Any final comments?

Buy our records and remember... HEAVY METAL IS THE LAW!

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