Einziger: We're guilty by association because we've been on tours like the Ozzfest and toured with a lot of bands [in that] genre: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind. People can label us whatever they want.

Boyd: [It's bothersome] when you don't relate to the bands you're being lumped in with. It's frustrating. I prefer the term "metal nouveau."

Lance: Bourgeois metal?

Robinson: As the band has grown from record to record, the sound has become much more ethereal, more sweeping and less "heavy" for lack of a better term. Is that a response to not wanting to be part of that "I got picked on in high school" genre?

Boyd: I think that there is a little bit of that, not wanting to be associated with any bands. Most of our evolutions as a band have been very natural. A lot of what [makes] a band heavy is guitar distortion. I know Michael has been slowly drifting away from that metallic sound, even though we never really considered ourselves to be a heavy metal band. His guitar tones have become a lot more warm, as opposed to crunchy. Also, I think that we've just been getting better at writing songs as a group. We were very young when we started this band. We're still learning our art. [RealVideo]

Robinson: A lot of heavy music seems to come from this angry, God-hates-me kind of place. But bands like you and Staind and P.O.D. are making music that's not necessarily happy, but has more of a positive influence.

Einziger: I think people are tired of that whole genre.

Lance: Most people are not just angry all the time. There's definitely a time and place where a lot of that music can seem relevant in your life. I can go to that place sometimes, but [most] of the day I'm pretty happy. We all seem to be doing OK, so it's hard to be pissed all the time. Sometimes music like that can come across as insincere when you know that somebody else's life is actually going really good and all they're talking about is how it is tough to be them.

Boyd: When I see a lot of [those] bands [I say], "I know you, dude. Why are you yelling at your mom right now? Your mom's a cool lady."

Robinson: Are there any decisions that you have made as a band where you thought, "OK, we should be a little bit more sensitive in light of the September 11 attacks?"

Boyd: We made a video for the song "Wish You Were Here." We spent a lot of money, a lot of days, blood, sweat, tears, and then it was deemed inappropriate by our people and MTV. So we made another video ... very quickly, and some people even like it better. In the original video, we were emulating a scene from the movie "Head" by the Monkees. [In the movie] there were thousands of screaming women and Army people, cops, clowns and photographers chasing the Monkees off this bridge. The only [thing they can do] is jump. We [shot a scene where we're] running away from these people. That part was [deemed] inappropriate — screaming girls, screaming people. Then, our only place to go is to leap off this bridge, and it shows us descending and smacking into the water. Which, before the whole thing happened, we had a great laugh with. Then there were a lot of people who thought the beginning sequence was inappropriate.

Robinson: Was it easier for you guys to go out and play something like Moby's Area:One festival compared to Ozzfest? Was the Area:One crowd more receptive?

Boyd: We were excited but skeptical as to how the crowd [at both festivals] was going to react to us. Neither are our crowd. We were playing for other bands' crowds. We didn't know what to expect.

Lance: I think it's more rewarding to go out there and run the risk of an audience not being there to see you and not really getting what it is you do. Then you have to work for it.

Kilmore: It also shows how we are different from bands who are lumped together. At Ozzfest a lot of bands sound similar. When we come up and we're playing Madonna, they're like, "Who, what, huh?" Same with the Area:One tour. We were the only rock band on the tour. I think it shows our diversity and shows the heavy people that we can be heavy and [shows] the soft people that we can be soft. [RealVideo]

Boyd: The coolest thing in the world is being on the Ozzfest in the middle of the day, with 10,000 sweaty people drinking beer, singing along to [our cover of Madonna's] "Like a Virgin."