Jon Davis of Korn and Frank Mullen of Suffocation are one of my favorite bands and from that moment, we started a conversation and lead to the song.

So many bands write about the same s - . It gets real boring after a while.

So many bands write about the same s - -. It gets real boring after a while. I want to keep it fresh and sign about things like the birth of my daughter, about seeing the world- things that aren't always said in metal.

It was really different this time, because we did everything in the studio and thought out the writing and song structures. Before this album ["The Black Crown"], we used to just write riff after riff and then worry about the rest of it later.

I try to do things positive on my throat, but a couple things are negative like smoking and drinking heavily. I really don't know. There's no particular thing that I do that's beneficial - it just kinda works. I guess I'd say warming up every day before a performance is the biggest thing.

Everything I write means a lot to me because it is my head on paper.

I think with a lot of producers, they think computers can create the best drum track, or guitar track and it comes off as too artificial.