This is my 30th-year anniversary with the band, and I've never enjoyed it more. Everyone is more relaxed, and I think the music is better for it.

When I first started all this, it was mostly music fans that came along, Stones fans. But now, I'm being taken seriously. I've got highfalutin' art collectors and everything!

It's been an interesting year for me but I've enjoyed it a lot.

We enjoyed a record year.

All you can hear today is the increase in the number of "metal bands" daily but no "metal music"!

This is a much more relaxed and user-friendly version of the band. We used to be intentionally jagged and avant-garde, but now we're able to say more with less and in the process bring a wider audience into the fold. In my mind, it's a much higher and more evolved form of expression.