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"It's not like one huge mind called 'the internet',” Royal Hunt's André Andersen says. “It's still millions and millions of different opinions. If you're really trying to figure out what people want from you and everybody wants something different,” he laughs. “It could be small things, like somebody's missing a song from the setlist. Or somebody wants the guitar louder on your album. It's millions and millions of requests, so to speak. So you can't just follow it. You have to follow your heart; 'OK, I'm doing the best I can.”

Throughout a career exceeding 20 years, the keyboardist also hasn't taken a great deal of notice of what has been penned about the Denmark progressive metallers. “It doesn't bother me that much, because there's so many people out there and everybody has their own opinion. Everybody sees something in this band that they think is the right thing… The general opinion of the band doesn't matter to me that much, because somewhere inside, you always know when you're doing a good job. You just know. When you finish an album or you've done a good show, you know… And the rest is up to you guys [journalists].”

Self-evaluating, Andersen is most chuffed with A Life To Die For, their 12th studio album. Aiding the creative spark was enhanced chemistry evident since US singer DC Cooper's 2011 return, after more than a decade's absence. “It's an excellent working relationship, and the whole thing just goes very smooth. We've actually had a stable line-up for like the past four or five years or something like that. It's such a pleasure to work with the same people for a change, for a longer period of time.”

Cooper's homecoming is another key event of an eventful career, but one milestone remains a stand-out. “I can't speak for everybody in the band, but for me personally it's still when we released the first album. The first time that you have your CD in your hands, it's unbeatable, that feeling that you have when you see your CD for the first time. It's probably the most memorable moment I've had. But there's also been so many. The first world tour, which we did on our own; it was absolutely amazing. We could probably spend a couple of hours just talking about that, just because there's been so many.”

Andersen does however express fears for the next generation who may not experience the joy of clutching a physical product in their mitts. “I really don't want to sound negative in any way, but I'm very afraid it might be the future. Because you can't get the same thrill out of looking at your created files; it's a completely different experience. For young bands to make a CD that you actually see in stores as we did like 20 years ago today, it seems impossible. So I'm sorry, but I think it will work out in the end. But at the moment it doesn't look great. The entire industry's changed, so we're trying to adapt as much as we can.”