You've toured the U.S. a few times now. What are your most and least favorite things about our country?
Merlin: With 8 band members you’d of course get 8 different answers to this question. I for my part love pretty much everything about it, and coming back is a highlight for me every time. Touring in the US is different, and I personally prefer it to the European equivalent. If I had to pick something I don’t like, I’d say the IRS and the overblown visa and immigration procedures.

You can imagine how much a rock band likes paperwork.
Chrigel: We all like it in the end, I guess. I love the American tour buses! They’re mostly different than the European ones (which are nice too) regarding the floor plan. Also different is that in a way metal shows are usually smaller in America than in Europe – smaller venues, smaller crowds, smaller stages. Of course it’s cool to play in front of huge crowds and on huge stages, where you have tons of space. But also it’s cool to play small club shows, like we usually do in the US, because you’re way closer to the crowd!

Usually I have quite a hard time with the food in America though. At home I basically eat fresh organic salads and vegetables, dark full-grain bread (which is usually quite hard and heavy in Switzerland, completely different than the American breads, even the “full-grain” ones) and tons of Swiss and other European cheese, which again you simply cannot compare at all to what is called “cheese” in America, even what you usually call “Swiss cheese” there.

So, these things are not always too easy to get in the USA, at least not when you’re on tour, where you normally don’t have too much time to search organic stores or even to go to buy food in general. So, mostly you’re depending on the local promoters when it comes to food. That means you’re mainly eating at McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc.

Also we all used to have some hard times with the American drinking laws. After the show you simply wanna drink a beer and smoke a cigarette. But usually you’re not allowed to smoke inside the venue on one hand, but aren't allowed to take your alcoholic drinks outside on the other hand. But all these things you can get used to, so no problem. After all, we love touring the USA.

What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you on the road?
Merlin: Since this is a fresh memory I might say India again. We had no idea what to expect, and ended up being constantly guarded by police and military. Band members were not allowed on the festival site without an armed escort. The whole thing even got a little scary when for the show itself, masked soldiers with automatic weapons showed up around the stage. Everybody survived though, and I must admit I did enjoy the rock star feeling.

Chrigel: Definitely our recent India show was one of the craziest things we ever experienced. As Merlin said, we had no clue of what to expect. We didn’t even know we have fans in India, so we were even more blown away by the fact that there were 20,000 people in front of the stage. But being there finally, we were treated like superstars. Besides the mentioned armed escorts to protect us when we left the hotel, there were also crazy things like a red carpet for us, personal butlers for the band members, etc. After that weekend, we all just sat in our hotel rooms, asking ourselves “What the f*&k was that? What just happened to us?” It was amazing.

What’s the most unusual venue you’ve played?
Merlin: Good question. Nothing really unusual I can remember.

Chrigel: Don’t you remember that strange venue on our last US tour? I can’t remember where it was. Probably in Oakland. No idea what kind of a venue it was, to me it looked like something like a modern but still a bit (screwed) up) congregational chapel or something like that. When we arrived, there was simply nothing inside this venue: no PA, no mixing desk, no monitors, simply nothing, Fortunately we arrived around noon, so we still had some hours to go until the show was supposed to start. In the end our own crew and the local crew somehow managed to organize all the needed equipment.

Are you able to make a living playing music, or do you have a day job as well?
Merlin: We are starting to make a living with it, and we are very thankful. We are far, far away from making good money, though.

What's your biggest fear?
Merlin: Not being able to live off music anymore.

Chrigel: Oh yes. Music is all we wanna do, and for many of us, it’s probably also the only thing we really can do. So, if we couldn’t play music anymore, that would be hell.

What's your worst habit?
Merlin: Smoking? Drinking? Drugs? If those are habits, and define bad.

Chrigel: Breaking countless girls' hearts while we’re touring.(laughs)

What's your favorite hobby away from music?
Merlin: I read books and enjoy movies.

Chrigel: Well, it’s a bit the same for all of us. We all love reading books and many of us also watch movies, especially on the road, of course. But basically there’s not too much time for hobbies beside the band. When I find some spare time, I also love good cooking.