Interviews

MR: First of all, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us.

Gus: My pleasure! :-)

MR: It amazes me that you can be in 4 different bands at the same time Dream Evil, Firewind, Mystic Prophecy and Nightrage). How do you do it.!!!!

Gus: You can just say I'm a workaholic!!!! I love playing music and I love all my bands, so it feels natural to me to be so active.

MR: Firewind is still your main band is it not?

Gus: Yes, it is.

MR: Do you ever see a time when a decision will have to be made as to continue with all four bands especially as Firewind and Dream Evil continue to grow in popularity? With the demands of recording and touring, do you ever see a conflict on the horizon?

Gus: There have been conflicts with the schedules, but everyone understands that Firewind is my No. 1 priority and live with that. If the time calls for me to quit some band at some point, then that could happen too. But everything's cool for now.

MR: Have you performed live with Mystic Prophecy or Nightrage? If not, are there any plans to?

Gus: I've done one European tour with Mystic Prophecy last November. We supported Death Angel and bands like Mnemic, Disbelief and Darkane were also on that tour. It was a lot of fun! Mystic Prophecy will also play Wacken festival in a couple of weeks. I haven't played with Nightrage live yet, but I plan to do so with the 2nd release of ours.

MR: Sticking with Firewind, what were the circumstances leading to Stephen Fredrick's departure from the band.

Gus: Yes. Stephen simply didn't want to tour. When I first started working with him, he told us that he would be available for tours. When the time came to do the Japan tour, he came up with all the excuses of the world for not doing that tour. He also didn't want to play on the video of "I Am the Anger". This was very disappointing for me and the band, as we all felt we had no singer. At the same we had to "deliver the goods". So, we decided to move on without him. Stephen is one of the world's best singers, but it's pointless to be in a band with him since we wanted to be a live band from the very start.

MR: How did the Japan tour go with new vocalist Chity Somapala?

Gus: It was a bit sad, because Chity had a heavy job. To replace one of the best metal singers. He was very stressed about it and we also ended up getting sick on the plane on our way 2 Japan!!! Chity felt very bad about not being able to give 110% of his abilities, but he actually did very well. I heard the tapes the other day, and he sang with a lot of balls, considering that he was so sick. Our best performance was @ Rockwave festival in June though! The band was in really good shape.

MR: How is the recording going for the new album and what positive things do you think Chity will bring to the band?

Gus: The recordings are moving on and the new album sounds great!! I think Chity brought more "feeling" to the band, as Stephen couldn't really sing soft and more emotionally on some acoustic parts. He was too "one dimentional" after a while, if u know what I mean. Chity on the other hand has a more "commercial friendly" voice, while maintaining a roughness in his performance with FW. He brought more "Dio" and "Tony Martin" elements in the band, and we really needed a voice like that. I feel that we will appeal to more fans from now on.

MR: I see that you recently did a tour of Japan giving guitar clinics. Do you enjoy the teaching aspect of guitar playing and how does it compare to recording and playing live with a band?

Gus: Well, I'm not really a guitar teacher. I just showed the kids some of my techniques and played a few songs for them, as well as answered their questions. I had a lot of fun doing the clinic tour and I hope to do it again next year!! The people of ESP and MI treated me very nice and the kids were so cool!!! I really miss everyone and hope to go back and do this again!

MR: I had planned on keeping the questions related mostly to Firewind but I must congratulate you and all the members of Dream Evil for a fantastic new album, The Book Of Heavy Metal. It's a celebration of all things metal like I haven't heard in many, many years.

Gus: Thanx very much!!

MR: I was about 18 or 19 when the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal hit in 1980 and before that, I grew up listening to Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Rush, Thin Lizzy, U.F.O etc. I'm amazed by not only your talent and ability as a guitar player but your familiarity with the legacy of heavy metal and the classic bands, some of whom released classic music even before you were born. Your playing reminds me of the classic metal era of the early to mid 80's. Are you a fan of that era of metal and if so, what are some of your favorite bands.

Gus: Yes, I'm mainly a fan of 80s and 70s bands and guitarists. I love what Michael Schenker did with UFO and later on with MSG, I love old Scorpions and stuff like that. Of course I'm a big Maiden, Priest and Sabbath fan too!

MR: Who are your biggest influences on you as a guitar player both past and present and why?

Gus: Michael Schenker and Yngwie are my faves. Their styles were exactly the direction I wanted to follow and their lead abilities just floor me!!!

MR: Who does most of the songwriting in Firewind? Do ideas come as riffs first or are riffs built around melodies?

Gus: I think it's a bit of both. Or maybe it usually starts out with a riff and then I work on the vocal melody while composing the rest of the chords. I compose all the music and do some lyrics too, but Chity is doing 80% of lyrics.

MR: Besides Chity Somapala, you have other new members in the band. Who are they and what happened with Brian and Konstantine?

Gus: Well, Brian and Konstantine left the band because they also couldn't go on tours. So, I replaced them with Petros Christo (bass) and the Norwegian Stian Kristoffersen (drums). They're both old friends of mine and amazing players. They share the same vision with me and finally I'm happy to have a steady line-up. Stian and Petros have been in the band for almost 2 years now. The newest guy is Bob Katsionis, a Greek keyboard virtuoso. I swear this guy blows everyone else away!!! He is so crazy on the keys that I have a fucking hard time to follow him when we do lead battles!!

MR: Do you have any formal classical training or are you largely self-taught?

Gus: I've had formal training in a local conservatory for 4 years when I was younger. Of course I found out about most things on the guitar, on my own, as no one could teach me better the style I liked than the classic records did!

MR: What's up next for Firewind after the new album is completed?

Gus: We plan to hit the road again starting from Japan and hopefully moving to Europe. It's been quite hard for us to play in Europe cause we have no tour support from Massacre and thats disappointing. I hope they will come to their senses this time and place us on a big tour. We've also been discussing abot playing some shows in the USA. We'll see.

MR: What gives you your sound? Is it a particular amp, effects, guitar or a combination of all three? Are you a big fan of digital technology and sound processing or are you like me and still enjoy the classic Marshall tube amp sound with very few effects and lots of volume?

Gus: Actually, I'm more of a guy that plugs into an amp and plays. I don't care what amp it is, just give me a guitar and a cable. I believe that the real sound, is in the hands and not on the knobs of the amp. I use all kinds of amps. From Marshall, to POD 2 simulator, to ENGL which are my favourite amps. I don't use much effects. I only use a wah pedal every now and then, that's it. Although I'm a young guy, I have a very old-school way of thinking haha!!

MR: I really liked the new Firewind album Burning Earth. I think it's even better and definitely a lot heavier than Between Heaven And Hell. Was there a conscious effort to make this one a heavier album? What tracks do you like the best?

Gus: Thanx!! Yeah, I wanted to make a really heavy, almost "Conan Metal" album haha!! I really like "I am the Anger", "the fire and the fury" and "Brother's Keeper" from BE album. They are really good live songs too.

MR: I really like the track "The Longest Day". It has a different feel than the rest of the album and seems to be more of a "message" song. What's the song about?

Gus: The lyrics on that song were made by David Chastain and they're very nicely written. It's dedicated to the innocents of war. It's more like an anti-war anthem. I like that song very much too. We also have a very nice ballad on the new album too.

MR: It sure is great to see a young guitar player like yourself come out with a killer metal sound. It gives me hope that the legacy of heavy metal will live on with people like yourself carrying the torch hopefully passing it along to the next generation.

Gus: Thanx brother!! Of course heavy metal will live on, while guys like me are around! I will make sure I play this great music on every corner of the Earth I can!!! :-)

MR: I would like to thank you for the interview and wish you good luck and much success with all the projects that you're involved with...any last words for your fans and our readers here at Metal Reviews?

Gus: Thank u all for ur support!!! I hope we play to ur town soon!!
Stay Metal,
Gus G.

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