When it comes to technical Thrash Metal there are few names more synonymous to the genre than Colebrook's own BELIEVER. After a decade of silence their back with their most innovative release to date, Kurt and Jeff gave us the low down on the new album "Transhuman".

The big news is of course your new album; “Transhuman” was released earlier this month, what has been the reaction to the record so far? Are press reports and reviews you take any notice of?

Kurt Bachman: We are always interested in feedback. It seems that the reviews for this album have been very dichotomous. The reviewers either love it or hate it. We consider that a really good sign.

The subject matter of the album focuses on Transhumanist thought and philosophies. Not your most obvious topic to use as the basis of an album. Where and who came up with this idea?

JK: Julian Huxley coined the term “transhumanism” in 1957. He defined it as “man remaining man, but trans cending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature.” We thought it fit some of the thematic and artistic concepts we had already been discussing. Once we decided to go with it, it helped to shape the rest of the creative process, especially the lyrics.

How much did you already know about Transhumanist philosophies before writing the album, and has the writing of the record changed your outlook on humanity at all?

KB: We knew more about artificial intelligence, neuroscience and medical and genetic technologies from a scientific standpoint. The transhumanist philosophies add a focus on the human condition and helped us to make the subject matter more personal. We now have better understanding of the pros and cons of rapidly evolving technology and its effects on humanity.

Given the subject matter of the album, would you call “Transhuman” a concept album?

KB: Yes, it’s a loose concept album based on the concept of what it means to be human in the age of rapidly accelerating technology. Every song can be linked to this concept in some way. However, we tried to make the lyrics general enough so that each listener can draw their own conclusions.

Did you approach the writing of the album any differently than your previous albums? What is the process the band follows when it comes time to writing, is this a collective or individual process?

JK: It’s a little bit of both. Kurt and Joey get together to write the basic guitar and drum tracks. From there, the rest of the band gives their input and we all begin to discuss and shape the arrangements together. A lot of riffs are changed over the course of a project. Anyone can give their input. The fact that we all have our own studios definitely influences the process. We experiment with a lot of things and make decisions based on a few overall objectives. These objectives might not be the same for every album. For Transhuman, we wanted to focus on the vocals, melody, dynamics and additional layers.

Kurt was forced to take on the bassist duties for the recording of “Transhuman” alongside his guitar and vocal duties. How much more pressure did this put on you guys in the studio?

JK: It really wasn’t any pressure at all. Kurt and I worked on the bass at his studio. We wrote the bass lines together and then Kurt recorded them on the spot. It was a lot of fun and went very quickly, not more than two days for all of the bass tracks on the entire album.

Your come back album “Gabriel” was met with a great deal of critical acclaim, was there any weight of expectations for you guys this time around. Do you ever feel stressed or worried about your music?

KB: Seriously, not many people actually buy our CDs so there is absolutely no financial pressure to play it safe. We are interested in challenging ourselves as musicians and expectations kill creativity. We do not place any expectations on ourselves, other than we need to be happy with what we put out. We do not worry about album sales, whether the fans will like it, etc. when we are working on a record. We literally do not care.

This album has a great deal of vocal harmonies, more melodies than on previous Believer releases. Where did this new direction originate from?

JK: Kurt was bored with his vocals on previous albums and wanted to try something new. He had lots of ideas about how he wanted to layer his vocals and so that’s what we experimented with. We recorded lots of tracks and then picked the combinations of vocal layers that seemed to fit the material the best.

Given the band has been around for many years, even excluding your 16 year hiatus, what music do you find influences you in 2011? Who brings what influences to the band?

JK: We listen to a variety of music, from metal to prog, jazz, classical, electronic, ambient and even pop. We have a huge reservoir of music listening to draw from, and we’re not always aware of which influences are being expressed in the music. One of my roles in the band is to provide some atmosphere and melody. The rest of the guys have the heaviness and technicality covered. We just have to keep Joey away from his Hilary Duff CDs during the writing process.

What plans do you guys have to tour in support of “Transhuman”?

KB: We all have jobs and responsibilities, so we will not be doing a lot of touring. For a band our size and with our level of record sales it’s not possible to sustain a tour in the current economy except for rare situations.

“Transhuman” is the second Believer album to be released via Metalblade Records, how have you found these guys in terms of their support of the group?

JK: Metal Blade has been great to work with and they have supported everything we want to do. We are obviously not one of their money-makers, but they are genuinely interested in heavy music and have given us nothing but positive feedback.

KB: It is not a black and white issue. It has devastated some aspects of the music industry and revitalized others. It made music more accessible and easier for fans to find. However, it has affected the economic stability of many engineers, producers and musicians. Bands our size are spending even more of their own money in order to keep their music careers going.

The band was and still is often compared to the likes of Pestilence and Cynic, do you think the comparisons are fair, and how do you describe your sound?