To a large degree I don't even like most metal music I hear.

I don't make music for any other reason than me enjoying music, and I am also glad that I am able to make a living of this.

Words and ideas can change or influence the mind just like music can - yes, like a spell. Regarding the effect of my "spells" I think it varies; my music communicates with some, and I think it has had a positive influence on the minds of those who like it. I hope it helped them see the world from a different perspective.

Personally I don't understand why the metal press even bother, but I guess it is good they do.

Out of pure spite we pretty much always said the opposite of what the other said, no matter what they said, only to mark distance. That's how we ended up calling ourselves Satanists, despite the fact that we absolutely were not. There was not a single Satanist in the whole Black Metal scene in Norway in 1991-92.

My musical ambitions are not that great. I make music I like, and thankfully - for my ability to make an (fairly...) honest living - at least some others like the music too.

My own growth is a part of a group evolution, definitely. It does feel as if the changes in the group are meant to be, and that I am not as much a catalyst, so to say, but rather a result of this.