Karma: Fair enough. Now in your opinion, why do you consider power metal unflattering? Is it that you find it to be so cliched, passй, and/or oversaturated?

 Nils: I think yeah, oversaturated. With any genre when it becomes popular a lot of bands start playing it and a lot of records come out and it sort of gets flooded out in a rush...I don’t know how else to explain it other than there are just way too many crappy bands and the quality is just, crappy! [Laughs] But you know what I’m talking about.

 Karma: All too well! Well as far as your music is concerned, it’s very atmospheric and seems likes there’s a shroud of mystery, which surrounds it. How do you explain that?

Nils: I don’t know, we’ve when it comes to melodies I’ve always been fond of like you said the atmospheric kind of melodies and the keyboards and all that stuff. We can’t seem to get away from it for some reason. [Chuckles] We’ve never sat down and chose what kind of songs to write. We’ve always started out with every album with a clean sheet, whatever comes out, comes out, and that’s the way the songs end up. I don’t know how to explain it; it’s just us writing songs.

Karma: What have you learn about yourself and your band mates as musicians since the inception of Nocturnal Rites? In saying that, do you feel you've evolved to the fullest of your ability after seven albums? 

Nils: I think so. I mean, when you’re in a band, we started out a long time ago [1990], and I started to play the bass for the band when I was really, really young kid, you know. In was in school and I was thirteen. What I’ve learned is that you should always base music and be in a band on having fun. Not set your goals too high and just have a good time, not get ahead of yourselves. We’ve done so many things over the years that are great. We’ve been on tour; we’ve toured all over the world, we’ve played in front of thousands and thousands of people. I mean I’m living the dream that I had when I was a kid; when I bought albums and listened to the classic old bands. I could never have dreamed that I would actually get to tour all over the world with my music! [Voice fills exuberance] So I’ve learned that music is all about having fun and just living in the now and having a good time.

 Karma: Awesome advice, having said that, Are there any lessons you wouldn't be willing to repeat?

 Nils: Yeah, it’s the whole business part of the band, you know. When you first start out, you don’t really think about money, that’s not an issue. You know, just really being out is cool and you really, really don’t pay that much attention to the money side of it. We’ve taken some tolls on that! We’ve should have done a lot of things differently; you learn as you go along just like with any other thing I guess.

Karma: Congrats, with recent release Grand Illusion, it’s an amazing release! Many lyrics seem to be straightforward yet some subliminal. Would you agree?

 Nils: Yeah! I’m not your average kind of deep guy when I write lyrics but I don’t really like when lyrics are in your face. I think it’s boring to listen to and I’m not a political kind of guy and I don’t want to spread that kind of message with my songs. I think you’re right, definitely. When someone reads the lyrics, I think it’s really hard not to understand what they’re about.