Firewind’s Gus G: The Interview

Gus G, whether you know his music or not, is truly one of the most prolific metal guitarists of our time. Having participated in such high profile acts as Arch Enemy, Nightrage, Dream Evil and Mystic Prophecy as well as a founding role in the power metal breakout group Firewind, Gus G has already cemented his legacy at a very young age. Despite having line-up changes throughout the discogrpahy of Firewind, the consistency of quality from record to record is really quite rare when you compare these albums to that of other bands that have similar line up changes. It’s clear Gus G has a strong, creative spirit in metal, and its clear he hasn’t and doesn’t plan to sacrifice what he wants to write in order to appease the masses whom are increasingly turning to more aggressive forms of metal. I was lucky enough to be able to ask a few questions of Gus about Live Premonition, the band’s first live recording, as well as his history with extreme metal and several others.

AMR: First off, Thank you very much for taking part in this interview! My first question is in records to your latest release. Live Premonition, Firewind’s first live cd/dvd came out late last year in November, how do you feel about the final product and do you think its a landmark moment for the band?

Gus G: I’m very pleased with what we achieved and the package we put together, considering the time pressure and world tour in between as well as considering the budget we had for this. This release has pleased all our fans from what I heard at least and it made me very happy. It’s definitely a very cool moment for us.

AMR: Speaking of playing live, you have been engaging in some heavy touring. How is this going, and are you planning on touring for most of the year?

Gus G: This year there’s not much touring to be done, only a UK tour with Stratovarius and we’ll also do a bunch of summer festivals. We’re talking about another US tour this Fall, hopefully that’ll be announced soon. We’re working on the net records at the moment.

AMR: As the founder of Firewind, do you find it difficult to market Firewind as a power metal/melodic metal act when metal has increasingly leaned towards a more aggressive, gutteral style?

Gus G: I never cared for what was popular. When I was doing my early Firewind demos back in 1998, guitar solos weren’t even in fashion and I was considered old fashioned. I was only 18!! I just wanna play the music I like, that fulfills me. The reason for our success – at least at this level – is a result of good quality albums and relentless touring. We must be doing something right after all.

AMR: I have seen your work with Arch Enemy live, and I know you briefly played with Nightrage. What are some of the differences you have encountered playing with death metal acts as opposed to more of the traditional sounds of Firewind or Dream Evil?

Gus G: Both these bands have hard rock and traditional metal influences. I found many similarities with what I do. And of course both Michael Amott and Marios Iliopoulos are amazing players, I learned lots of things from them. It definitely made my rhythm style more solid and heavier.

AMR: What would you say is your favorite Firewind record?

Gus G: I can tell you my least favorite album and that’s “Forged By Fire”. I love the other 4 albums the same for different reasons.

AMR: With your history with some of metal’s most prominent acts, do you ever get calls from other bands to play with them on a temporary basis?

Gus G: Yes, I’ve gotten some calls from some well known bands, but since the Arch Enemy times I decided to only play with Firewind.

AMR: Your last LP, The Premonition, came out in 2008, and thus far, it has done very well in Greece, Bulgaria and I’d imagine elsewhere in Asia and Europe. This must be a huge deal for you to have all of this recognition?

Gus G: Yes, the album had success in lots of European countries, the UK, Japan and we even have the chance to go back to the US and tour again. I’m very happy with how things went. Many of my dreams came true with this album.

AMR: The song “Mercenary Man” has been included as a preloaded track on the new Sony Walkman? That’s pretty impressive that Sony even bothered to throw on some metal on there, how did you manage that?

Gus G: That came through Century Media, they arranged it. It’s pretty amazing, I still can’t believe that “Mercenary Man” is on 2 million units of a Sony walkman! Let’s hope some more people will notice us.

AMR: I hear that you have been working on some new material, any updates you can give us?

Gus G: We have a bunch of new songs, all very good. We’re still need to do some more demos and work on lyrics, vocal lines, etc. We’re looking at recording the new album sometime this Fall.

AMR: Anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

Gus G: Thanks for reading this and for supporting Firewind!

http://www.myspace.com/firewind

Interview by CODY

Firewind -- Mercenary Man