Do you think that recent flood of comparisons will affect how you approach the next album?

One would think so but we've never been huge fans of changing direction, or style, just because of what other people think. That said, we always strive to explore other ways of improving the creative process so as to not grow stale. I'm convinced most people will be able to tell from listening to our previous albums.

Are there any tour plans in the future?

We want to get back on the road, soon, but there's nothing planned as of now. We've been in discussions with some promoters during the last year but we wanted to wait until we had a new album out.

Ville, you’re a promoter, DJ, and logo designer for Tech Noir*. Has that helped your work in RLZ?

I've also done logos and graphic design for Necro Facility, Spetsnaz and, of course, Run Level Zero, so it has definitely had some influence on what we do with RLZ. During the last couple of years we've applied some of the ideas I've picked up from my time as a visual designer onto our website, album covers, Myspace, etc. We developed a kind of visual identity and I even created a small, digitally distributed handbook for our "brand" that we give out to promoters and flyer designers. I'm not sure whether this way of thinking has had any tangible impact on how people perceive the band as a whole but it's a fun way to apply those principles.

What's next for Run Level Zero?
We're already begun working on the next album. It won't take another four years this time, for sure! Other than that we hope to do a lot of gigs and maybe put together a video.

Any idea yet what we might see a video for?
Judging by ratings, reviews and input from our fans it should be either "Black Cinder" or "Hitting Ground" and we tend to agree - they would probably translate well into the visual realm.

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*From the official website:

“Tech Noir is Stockholm’s, and Sweden’s, biggest and most well-known Synth/EBM/Synthpop/Industrial club. We arrange regular clubnights as well as live performances and also organize travels to other underground and alternative events in Sweden.”