Matt Hensch of Thrashpit.com: Awesome show earlier tonight. Thanks for taking time out of your schedule to do this interview. How's the tour been so far?

Michael Keene: We got stuck in Texas for a bunch of days on the way to the tour, which totally sucked and we missed the first few dates; it's probably one of the sh*ttier things that has ever happened to us on tour, actually. Then once we got on it, things started to turn again. We actually acquired this allegedly cursed unicorn painting, and our luck got progressively worse the longer we held onto it. I'm the last person to believe any dumb sh*t like this, but it was hard to deny after a certain point. It was unbelievable what was happening: we went through two vehicles, four trailers, and not to mention we had two tours cancelled before this. We missed forty-nine consecutive shows in a row while holding onto to this unicorn painting. The day we got rid of it, everything seemed to turn around. It's hard to deny at that point, but yeah, it's been fun. The Dillinger guys are awesome, and it's a slightly different tour for us compared to what we've done a lot of. I like the diversity.

Thrashpit.com: Regarding the lineup, the first time I saw you guys was in 2008 with Cannibal Corpse, and now The Faceless is touring with The Dillinger Escape Plan and Royal Thunder. It's pretty cool The Faceless has that versatility to cater to different audiences.

Keene: Yeah, totally. 2008 and 2009, that timeframe was very much where we sat in the mix of things, and now we're trying to do some different things and be more experimental, sort of fulfill some new urges. It makes sense to do stuff like this.

Thrashpit.com: Last August, The Faceless released "Autotheism." Now that you've had time to reflect on the album, how do you think it has aged so far?

Keene: I feel really good about, man. I listened to it recently the whole way through and I'm still really stoked on it. Initially there were some people who were a little jarred by it because it's a little different, but now that it's settled in with people, the response at shows is undeniable; it's been awesome how people have reacted. It's also our highest selling record to date by quite a bit. It has been well-received and it's something I'm really proud of it. It's sort of opened the gates for us to further move in any direction we want to.

Thrashpit.com: I remember hearing the title to "Autotheism" and having the title stick to me much more than the title of an average death metal record. What exactly does the title mean and how important for you was it to come up with a proper, gripping title like that?

Keene: The term itself is the concept of the record, summed up in one word, really. There's no other singular word that can really define the concept of the album better than that. The whole record revolves around this idea that the only thing worth calling a god is the power that you hold to create your reality, because beyond that, what really matters? Why worship something that's not real? Might as well worship something that is real. Your reality is real to you, so be in control of it.

Thrashpit.com: What about the experimental aspects of the album, such as the saxophone solo on "Deconsecrate?" Were they planned or did they just happen?

Keene: I love the saxophone; it's one of my favorite instruments. The guy who played it is one of my best friends, Sergio Flores. I've played music with him for a long time. All the experimental stuff is definitely something I've always wanted to have.

Thrashpit.com: How do you think the success of Planetary Duality affected the writing process of Autotheism? Were those expectations stressful?

Keene: You know, not really. I didn't really care what became of it. I was really happy with the record, and ultimately, as an artist, that's all you can do is just make music you like and hope other people enjoy it. As soon as you start making music based on what you think a critic is going to say or how your fans will react to it, then I promise you that's when you stop making good music. You have to make music that you would like, and hope other people will like it. Luckily, in the case of "Autotheism," in terms of press and media, it was by far the most well-received record of the three; it got a lot of good reviews on the internet with all the big metal sites and stuff, so that was really awesome. If that hadn't happened, I kind of wouldn't care; it's just an added plus that that's the way it worked.

Thrashpit.com: Last week, Jeff Hanneman of Slayer passed away. What are your thoughts on Hanneman's influence on you?

Keene: Slayer and Sepultura were the first two metal bands I ever listened to. It's definitely super sad, and kind of the end of an era, really.

Thrashpit.com: What is one obscure band or album that influenced you as a musician that hasn't gotten much attention?

Keene: Oh man, there are so many. I guess in terms of a metal record, I'd say Extol's Synergy or Gorguts' From Wisdom to Hate–those are two big ones. There are influences from all over the place that people never reference. One of my biggest influences on my songwriting has always been Depeche Mode. I listen to a lot of industrial music and a lot of different things. But in terms of metal, those are two really big ones.

Thrashpit.com: What do you guys have planned after the tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan and the following year or so?

Keene: We're working on a covers album right now; it's about a third of the way done. We also have another really awesome tour coming up that I don't believe I can talk about yet, but it'll be really cool.

Thrashpit.com: Want to tell me anything about the covers album?