Thunderstone (2006-01-14)

Truly a monsterband from Finland, Thunderstone have been rocking
for a couple of years now and they only get better and better!

We have been playing Thunderstone a great lot since rockradio started
out so we are very happy to give you this interview with Titus...

rockradio.se: Can you please tell us about the band and the members

Thunderstone: The band started as a fun project for guitarist Nino Laurenne.
We were old bandmates with Nino so he asked me to play bass.
He also knew the rest of the guys more or less, so for the second demo we already
had the current lineup, although at the time we didn't think that the project was
going anywhere.

rockradio.se: Musical influences?

Titus: We have a lot of different influences, which in my mind is a good thing.
The main influences come form the 1970s and 80s, bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin,
Dio, Queensryche etc.
But there is also southern rock, progressive rock etc.
Putting those all in the same pot creates the "Thunderstone sound".

rockradio.se: We started out playing "Virus" a lot here on rockradio, then Thunderstone
just kept on writing great material, can you tell us the secret of writing those power hits?

Titus: Haha... I'm glad to hear that we are on the air with you guys!
What can I say, Nino has a great ear for melody.
I'm more riff-oriented, but either way good ideas often become great songs when everybody contributes at the arrangement stage.

rockradio.se: What are the band up to right now...

Titus: We just finished a short European tour and are taking some time off after the
heavy drinking...
Future plans include some random gigs here and there, but most importantly writing
and rehearsing new material which we hope to release late this year or early next ear.

rockradio.se: 2 records that you jaust must have in a recordcollection?

Titus: Hmm... difficult. I would say Deep Purple's Burn and Led Zeppelin's II.

rockradio.se: What is your opinion on filesharing?

Titus: It's very good for a beginning band, but when you ought to make a living out of
music it sucks.
CDs aren't that expensive and if I really like something I always buy it myself.
I've never downloaded anything but samples form band pages etc.

rockradio.se: How about the future, gigs and so on...

Titus: Like I said above, we won't be touring widely with this album anymore, but hope
to visit some countries we didn't get the chance to go on the proper tour, such as Italy,
France and the US. Other than that, we are concentrating on the writing process.

rockradio.se: Three things that you should bring to a deserted island?

Titus: Booze ,booze, booze!
Haha... I guess that's the "correct" rock'n'roll answer, right?
But perhaps I would have to settle with a nerdier alternative:

A beautiful woman, My guitar , A library full of books.

rockradio.se: Anything that you want to say to our readers here in Sweden?

Titus: I'm glad that I don't give a shit about ice hockey, otherwise I don't think I'd have
anything nice to say, hahaha!
But seriously, we've played a couple of shows in Sweden in the past and the support
was just amazing.
Thanks for that and hope to see you soon.
And of course, our motto: Drink beer and get naked!
(I know you Swedes are one of the few people besides the Finns that actually do it!)

rockradio.se: Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer our questions!

Titus: You're welcome! Keep up the good work!

Paul Di'Anno - The Killer voice (2006-01-23)

Not many people can say that they really started something new for generations of headbangers.

Back in the early 80-ies Paul Di'Anno was the leadsinger in one of the worlds most famous metalbands, Iron Maiden, and since those years up til today, many things have happend but the love for music is still there.

rockradio.se: First of all, thanks a lot for answering our questions!

Paul Di'Anno: Sure, thanks.

rockradio.se: Can you please tell us about the band of today and the members

Paul Di'Anno: My regular band is actually a bunch of swedish guys.
It´s Mikael Fässberg and Staffan Österlind on guitar, Johan Helgesson on drums, and Andreas Grufstedt on bass.
Really good mates and good musicians as well.
But they can be fucking mad I´ll tell you.
They can drink like it´s the fucking olympics!

We played a ton of shows together last year, and I asure you they are quite a bunch to be around sometimes.
They even taught me to listen to that swedish Elvis impersonator Eilert Pilarm.
That´s our drinkingmusic on flights or in the tourbus.
People think we are bloody terrorists when we get going!
But they stay faithful to the Maidensound for the old songs in the liveset, and that´s good, since I know Maidenfans want the Maidensongs to sound the way the were meant to.

I call the band the AK 47´s, since they are as efficient and deadly as the Russian assaultweapon!
We did a fantastic, 3 week long tour of Russia last year that was a great success, so they earned the name.
I also like them quite a lot for being a bit older and wiser than some of the other guys I´ve been playing with.
They know what it´s all about.
They work as hard as I do to get this thing going.

rockradio.se: You achieved a world wide fame as the leadsinger of Iron Maiden before you decided to quit, can you tell us the reason for leaving and how did the years with Maiden effect you as a musician?

Paul Di'Anno: Me leaving Maiden was more of a mutual agreement than just me quitting, really.
I was basically exhausted from touring nonstop for three years straight.
There were also some bad stuff going on back then, with the usual rock´n´roll lifestyle taking it´s toll.
I´m a lot more calm now though!

Obviously the years in Maiden has meant a lot to me, and I´m proud to have been a part of one of the greatest bands ever.
People still want to hear me sing the old stuff, and I do think I do the early stuff better than Bruce (god bless him), so I´m grateful to still be able to get work, and to have good people around me that supports me in doing my job.

rockradio.se: In 1982/83 one of my best friends back then came over to my house and played the Ep "Maiden Japan" on 33rpm and we both went like"WOW!", then my older brother stepped in to the room and said "Hey you silly boys, it´s an EP", and told us to listen to it at 45 rpm instead, we went WOW hell yeah!".
The Maiden Japan Ep have influenced a whole generation (or more) and changed the metal scene forever, how does it feel?

Paul Di'Anno: That was recorded on the Killers tour of Japan in ´81, I think, and I have some mixed memories of that period.
I like “Running free” quite a lot.
A lot of punk energy there, that I like.
Maybe it, for me, represents what Maiden was about really: a punky metalband with a lot of edge.
Don´t know if you hear that on 33 rpm though…hahaha!

rockradio.se: What are you up to at this moment?

Paul Di'Anno: Well, these few Scandinavian shows will be the first in awhile.
I have basically just been hanging out with my family in England since we did our last shows in november.
The usual holiday celebrations…christmas, new year…
Sweden has always been great to me, and the guys in the band are doing a great job promoting me as well, so…looking forward to it!

rockradio.se: You and the band will be playing here in Sweden in the begining of February and you have been here before, what would you say about us Swedes as metalheads?

Paul Di'Anno: Let´s just say that you swedes are very faithful, and know exactly what you want…
You can´t really fool a swedish audience.
If you suck, the swedes will let you know it, for sure!

rockradio.se: 2 records that you just must have in a recordcollection?

Paul Di'Anno: Tricky question… Ramones first album, and Ace of Spades by Motörhead.
That´s today´s choice.

rockradio.se: What is your opinion on filesharing over the Internet?

Paul Di'Anno: It´s something that I think is the future, but I also think that you have to secure the artists main income in some way.
I can´t really answer that one…

rockradio.se: How about the future; gigs, records, videos...

Paul Di'Anno: We´ll release an album called “The Living Dead” this spring, and in November me and my band recorded a version of Led Zeppelin´s Kashmir in Malmo, Sweden.
It was done for a tribute album, released in America in a while.
It came out great!
Really really heavy stuff, with an oriental touch to it.

rockradio.se: Three things that you would bring to a deserted island?

Paul Di'Anno: My Ipod, a blonde swedish girl, and some beer probably…

rockradio.se: Anything that you want to say to our readers here in Sweden?

Paul Di'Anno: Thanks for sticking around, and live life to the fullest.
God bless, and come see the show!

Pink Cream 69 (2006-03-06)

They have been around for quite some time and they sureplay great music, a new record is coming up and we just had to know more about the band.

rockradio.se: Can you tell us about Pink Cream 69 and the bandmembers

PC69: Well we all live in Germany, but were not all from Germany. I'm from England, Dennis is from the USA, Kosta is from Greece....

But we are based in Germany, I've been in the band around 11 years now but I'm still the new singer.

rockradio.se: There´s a new album coming up during 2006.Can you please tell us something about it?

PC69: Well were all busy writing new songs, it wont be easy to follow our last record, but were gonna do our best. We hope to release at the end of this year.

rockradio.se: There have been a lot of releases since 1989, would you say that PC 69 is a very productive band?

PC69: Yeah I think so when we have time we me make records and go on tour, everybody does lots of other things!

rockradio.se: What are the band up to today?

PC69: As usual paying the rent usual things, I'm teaching at lot I have a new web site called, www.sing-like-a-rockstar.com Dennis is recording  lots, kosta was on tour with Helloween, and Koffle writes a lot a the moment.

rockradio.se: Any chance for us Swedes to hear/see PC 69 in the near future?

PC69: I hope so, I loved Sweden Rock it was great, and I love the countryside...I would love to return there. Hopefully very soon

rockradio.se: 2 records that you just must have in a recordcollection?

PC69: Beatles and Led Zeppelin are a must!

rockradio.se: What is your opinion on filesharing?

PC69: Well it helps to get music to the masses, and to discover new bands, but it is slowly killing the business!

rockradio.se: How about the future, gigs...

PC69: We hope to get out in the Summer this year, lets wait and see.

rockradio.se: Three things that you should bring to a deserted island?

PC69: Sun, a Helicopter to fly home, and food...

rockradio.se: Anything that you want to say to our readers here in Sweden?

PC69: Keep the Faith and we will see on tour!

Hardcore Superstar (2005-05-26)

Sedan 2000-års "Bad Sneakers" har HCSS haft en vacklande tillvaro med mycket livegig & studiotid däremellan.
Efter en välbehövlig paus är de nu tillbaka & med besked!
Nya singeln "Wild Boys" är i särklass bland det bästa bandet gjort.

Vi fick tag på bandets trummis Magnus "Adde" Andréasson & ställde ett par frågor.

rockradio.se: Det blev tyst om er efter senaste plattan, vad hände?

Adde: När vi  släppte våran första riktiga platta 2000 (Bad sneakers...) så spelade vi konstant live o fick klämma in plattorna imellan turnérandet.
Efter 4 år började baksmällan sätta igång på allvar. På vår sväng över till USA blev det tvärstopp, så vi beslutade oss för att ta en låååång paus på obestämd tid. Vi hördes lite emellanåt och kunde snart garva åt
hela skiten (enda anledningen till att jag spelar med dessa människor är pga humorn)

rockradio.se: Musikaliska influenser?

Adde: När vi var små hårdrockare på 80-talet fastnade vi för sleaze:en och bay area thrashen men det som vi tyckte om att spela var sleaze.
Husgudarna blev Mötley efter att Shout kom, sen blev det både Guns och Slayer på samma gång.

rockradio.se: Nya singeln har ett mer välslipat sound än tidigare produktioner.
Är det ett medvetet drag eller vad beror det på?

Adde: På nya singeln så har vi strävat efter att  få en 80-tals produktion med touch av 2000-talets teknik. Vi har proddat och sen har vi använt oss utav Risza och Johan Reivén som har mixat. Risza har tidigare jobbat med Psycore och Relevent few. Johan Reivén är beställd för mixa och säga till oss att hålla käft.

rockradio.se: Vad tycker du om den Svenska rockscenen?

Adde: Jag tycker att dom skandinaviska banden är dom som är mest intressanta just nu. Jag uppskattar band som Mustach, Turbonegro, Crucified barbara för att bara nämna några få.

rockradio.se: Hur ser du på fildelning?

Adde: Det ska vara upp till upphovsmakaren om det ska läggas ut på nätet för nertankning. Om man sitter och skriver på en platta i ett halvår utan någon som helst inkomst, då ska det fan i mej oxå vara upp till den personen om det ska vara gratis eller inte. Det ska ingen annan bestämma. Punkt slut.

rockradio.se: Vad är på gång för bandet i framtiden...

Adde: Vad som kommer att hända i Hardcore lägret i framtiden är att vi har hyrt en herrgård där vi ska stänga in oss och spela in nya plattan under sommaren. Plattan kommer i höst ihop med turné.
Singeln Wild boys släpps i butik 15 Juni & videon kommer i samma veva.

rockradio.se: Vilka TRE saker tar du med till en öde ö?

1, King Diamond (alltså han o inte hans musik) för underhållning 2, Solskyddsfaktor 7 & 3, Yxa (ifall King skulle gå mig på nerverna)

rockradio.se: Tack för svaren & lycka till med nya plattan!

Adde: Ha det!

DRAGONLAND (2004-09-13)

We have played them, you have heard them.
Dragonland plays the right kind of powermetal to get famous world wide.
Maybe thats just what the upcoming "Starfall" album will do! We just had to know a little bit more about the band so we asked Jesse(drums) a couple of questions, here are the answers!

rockradio.se: Tell us about how Dragonland started, and when...

Jesse: The band was formed in -99 by Nicklas Magnusson,formally of Prophanity, later joined by Jonas,Christer,Elias and Olof. I joined the band in the summer of 2002 after leaving Nostradameus.

rockradio.se: Members and who's doing what?

Jesse: The bandmembers are as follows: Jonas Heidgert(vox),Nicklas Magnusson(git), Olof Mörck(git),Elias Holmlid(keys),Christer Pedersen(bass) & Jesse Lindskog(drums).

rockradio.se: Does the band have any influences?

Jesse: We all have very different listening taste, everything from deathmetal to classical music, so it´s kind of hard to name any specific bands...I guess we´ll trying to write something that differs from the rest of the bands in our genre.
For the new album we´ve tuned down two whole steps to create a heavier sound.
We also used differnt chords than the usual  fifths(powerchords)which are used (and abused) frequently in rock/metal to create a big and fat sound.

rockradio.se: Describe the Dragonland music for us...

Jesse: Dragonland statred out as a speed/syphonic metal band on the debut album.
the second album was more focused on tempo alterations than speed, yet with a darker sound. On our latest album we´re moving towards a lot heavier sound with shorter songs and even more powerful chouruses.
The variety of song on this one marks the musical direction we´ve taken lately.
Atmospere and harmony more than speed and fantasy...

rockradio.se: Earlier promos, records?

Jesse: Storming across heaven(demo),The battle of  the Ivory Plains and Holy War.

rockradio.se: Dragonland are quite "big" in Asia but here in the little land of Sweden its not like that at all, why's that?

Jesse: The first two albums were made on another record label with a minimal amount of promotion and without any touring.
However,the both two did pretty good in Japan which led to a mini tour in fall 2003.

rockradio.se: Any gigs or touring planned?

Jesse: We´re working on tour plans ect. as we speak.

rockradio.se: There's a new album coming up in October, what will we hear?

Jesse: On our latest album we´re moving towards a lot heavier sound with shorter songs and even more powerful chourses.
The variety of songs on this one marks the musical direction we´ve taken lately.
The lyrics are more realated to reality than before...
Atmospheric and harmony more than speed and fantasy.

rockradio.se: It's been two years since the last album "Holy War", is it nervous to see what the fans will say?

Jesse: I would´nt say nervous...just curious. This is the best album we´ve could ever done at this point.

rockradio.se: Do you see any differences between Scandinavian metal and other European metal?

Jesse: Hmmm...It depends on what kinda metal you´re into i guess...I prefer bands from the NWOBHM era.

rockradio.se: Whats your opinion on filesharing on the net, good or bad for the music?

Jesse: It´s like a disease without cure hahaha!...
I that guess unsigned bands could profit from it with (free promotion ect.) because demos are usually a pretty low budget production, wheras the availibility of downloads and shareware on the net increases ,it all could generate in decreasing album sales.
Unfortunately it´ll  hit back on the band, leading to a smaller budget for touring,promotion ect.. so in other words...it kinda sucks.

rockradio.se: Three things that Dragonland would bring with them to a deserted rehearsal studio!

Jesse: Tobacco,Coffe and alcohol...hehe!

rockradio.se: Tell us something fun concerning the band! Happenings or...anything!

Jesse: The week in Japan last fall...without a shadow of a doubt!

rockradio.se: Anything you wanna say to our listeners/visitors here at rockradio.se ?

Jesse: Hmmm...check out the new cd in october...belieive me, it´s worth it!
Take care and hope to see you on down the road...cheers!

WEBSITE

Devinefire (2005-05-08)

En riktigt grymt bra platta, kan lätt bli en av de absolut bästa under 2005! Tänk er en blandning av melodisk metal, lite black samt en gnutta trash & ni har Devinefire's "Glory Thy Name".

Vi fick en liten intervju med en av medlemmarna för att få svar på några frågor...

rockradio.se: Berätta om hur & när bandet startade

Jani: Det hela började med att jag skickade mitt andra band Renascents EP ”Demons Quest” till Rivelrecords i hopp om att få ett kontrakt.
Christian blev imponerad av det starka materialet vilket ledde till att han tog kontakt med mig den 26 feb 2004.
Ganska snart började vi prata om att ifall vi skulle starta nåt projekt tillsammans nångång 2005.
Jag gjorde ändå en låt med detsamma som senare fick namnet The Worlds On Fire och visade den till Christian, den var mitt i prick tyckte han och där började Divinefires resa.
 
rockradio.se: Vilka ingår i bandet, vem gör vad?

Jani: Vi är 3 original medlemmar i bandet. Jani Stefanovic Gitarr, Trummor, Keyboards & Programmering, Christian Rivel Sång och Andreas Olsson Bas 

rockradio.se: Ni har ett klart bombastiskt powermetalsound, influenser?

Jani: Jag skulle inte kalla det för influenser eftersom jag inte har eftersträvat att låta som något speciellt band det är dock klart att man har lyssnat på X antal band som kanske låter lite som detta.
Planen var ändå att blanda thrash/ döds element med kraftiga symfoniska inslag och att försöka göra det hårdare och tyngre än dom flesta powermetal banden.

rockradio.se: Vad tycker ni om det svenska "rock" klimatet  2005?

Jani: Året har ju knappt börjat men det ser ut att bli ett bra år många bra svenska band som ska släppa nytt material.
Framför allt så e de mycket på gång med våra respektive projekt.
Höga förväntningar har vi nog alla.

rockradio.se: Kommer man kunna se & höra Divinefire live, när, var?

Jani: Det är lite osäkert fortfarande , det är ändå ett väldigt stort projekt att få detta att funka live men visst är vi villiga, vi får se vad som händer.
Hänger mycket på responsen också.

rockradio.se: Kan ni beskriva vad en ny lyssnare hör på den nya plattan?

Jani: Denna kan förvänta sig en platta med pompös symfonisk metal med en aning döds/thrash och black influenser.

rockradio.se: Har ni några åsikter om fildelning på nätet?

Jani: Det är klart att man vill att folk ska köpa skivorna istället för att ladda ner dom. Tyvärr är det omöjligt att kontrollera detta, det har gått helt ur styr tycker jag.

rockradio.se: Berätta något kul som rör/hänt bandet!

Jani: Vi har inte hunnit göra så mycket men, har varit lite snack om att det kanske skulle kunna bli en Japan turne, Det skulle vara riktigt kul.

rockradio.se: TRE saker Divinefire skulle ta med till en öde replokal?

Jani: Våra instrument, mobil, min hjärna äh jag vet inte?

rockradio.se: Något ni vill säga till besökarna på rockradio?

Jani: Hoppas att ni diggar plattan, det var riktigt kul att få göra den åtminstone.
Hoppas verkligen att det blir live framträdanden snart.
Ha de gött och stay metal!

GAIA EPICUS

Ever heard the band Gaia Epicus? Well if you have you already know that they are a great band and if you don't we advise you to hear them out!
We really like this band so we just had to put the mic in front of Thomas Hansen and here's the full story!

rockradio.se: Tell us about how Gaia Epicus started, and when...

TH: The band was formed at a new years eve's party 91-92by me, but we have been Gaia Epicus only since 2001.
When the band started in 91/92 no one of us could play any instruments so we just had to learn as we went on.

rockradio.se: Members and who's doing what?

Thomas C. Hansen - guitar and vocals Joakim "Jokke" Kjelstad - guitar Mikael Duna - drums Yngve Hanssen - bass

rockradio.se: Does the band have any influences?

TH: Yes we do, our music is kind of a mix of our favorite bands: Megadeth, Stratovarius, Maiden, Rhapsody, Helloween, Gammaray, Dream Theater and many more...

rockradio.se: Describe the Gaia Epicus music for us...

TH: Melodic metal with elements of speed, prog and power.

rockradio.se: Earlier Demos, promos, records?

TH: There's alot of demos and stuff but as Gaia Epicus there's :

Satrap - cd 2003 (released by Sound Riot Records), Keepers of time - demo 2002, Cyber Future - promo cd 2001

rockradio.se: Any gigs or touring planned?

TH: We are planning to do a tour in Norway when the new album comes out, and also a tour in Sweden. And ifthings goes as we hope we will also do a tour in US andCanada early next year. And the rest of the world if we can.

rockradio.se: Any new record coming up? If so, when?

TH: New album comes out in oct/nov or december.
The title is "Symphony of Glory" and the album is abit darker, harder and faster than Satrap.
We go into the studio 1 of september.
The cd will containe theese 10 songs :
1. Welcome (intro) 2 .Time and Space, 3.Miracles,4.Sieze the day, 5.Hand of Fate, 6 .Wings of Freedom,7.Spanish Eyes, 8.No Release?, 9.Chamber of Secrets,10.Be thy cross my Victory, 11.Symphony of Glory

rockradio.se: Tell us a little about the metalscene in Norway...

TH: Not much to tell, it's mostly Black Metal bands here but it's getting better. More and more melodic metalbands are coming now, and also the metal is gettingmore attention in the media now so things are getting
better but it's not as good as it should be yet.

rockradio.se: Any differences between Norweigian metal and other scandinavian metal/European metal?

TH: Hmm... i think norwegian metal is very influenced by european metal and therefore sounds the same, but maybe theres abit of Norwegian feeling in it too.

rockradio.se: Whats your opinion on filesharing on the net, good or bad for the music?

TH: I think it's good, gives small bands a great way to promote their music to the world. It might take you 5 years to get the same promotion without the internet and with internet you could get the same promotion done in 1 year. If people loves your music they will buy your cd's even if they have downloaded it by internet, cause it's not the same to only have it on mp3 files as to have the real cd with cd cover and so on. But i guess it might be a problem for small record lables, but not for the big lables.

rockradio.se: Three things that Gaia Epicus would bring with them to a deserted rehearsal studio!

TH: Drums, guitars and marshall amps

rockradio.se: Tell us something fun concerning the band! Happenings or...anything!

TH: hmm... well we played on a private party for Dio, Manowar and Motorhead, and their road crew and fan club members. That was a really cool show to do, playing our music and seeing the metal gods banging their heads to our music. We took a picture of Lemmy (Motorhead) but the picture got really dark so you cant really see him, you only see his white boots and a bottle of wiskey. hehe

rockradio.se: Anything you wanna say to our listeners/visitors here at rockradio.se ?

TH: Check out Gaia Epicus, our first album "Satrap" and the next album "Symphony of Glory". You never know, you just might like what you hear. And if you do tell all your friends !!!

rockradio.se: BIG thanks for your time!

TH: No problems!

More Gaia Epicus

ENDRAH/BILLY GRAZIADEI

rockradio.se: Tell us about Endrah, how and when it started?

Billy: Endrah began when I started jamming with Fernando (Drummer) while in Brazil. When I came back to the states to work on a new Biohazard album, Fernando put together the rest of the band, worked on some music and gave me some recordings to work on.....This was all around late 2002 to mid 2003

rockradio.se: Tell us the story about the band name "Endrah"!

Billy: Endrah is derived from the Buddhist/Hindu god Indra, the god of war....

rockradio.se: For us, and maybe for most people, you are known from Biohazard. But your new project doesn’t sound so much BIO, is Endrah more Billy?

Billy: Endrah is challenging for me as a songwriter and a guitar player. I feel the intensity of Endrah matches the chaos of the world we now live in...

rockradio.se: Who’s doing what in Endrah?

Billy: I sing and play guitar, Fernandao; Drummer , Covero; Guitars, TJ; Bass and Scream; Vocals

rockradio.se: Are there any influences?

Billy: ......Endrah is Endrah....as Biohazard was Biohazard...we strive to be ourselves and let any influences come naturally instead of forcing our sound to be like this band or that band...

rockradio.se: You have been a well-known musician since 1988 (at least) Whats the secret to still find it fun and inspiring?

Billy: Being true and honest with your music/art!

rockradio.se: You have been touring around the globe, any places that are greater than others?

Billy: There are some hot spots around the world that I have liked visiting, Sweden included...but to say one place is "Better" than another.... That’s tough to say...people struggle through life’s pitfalls in very similar and yet very different ways, this cancer makes people react and unleash energy in different ways....so my point...some places seem more insane than others.. But I can't rate it on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most off the wall!

rockradio.se: How would you describe the metal scene in Brazil/US compared to Europe?
 
Billy: Metal has never died....with the popularity and unpopularity of MTV and other music shows.... Metal will survive like roaches after a nuclear blast!

rockradio.se: Biohazard started back in 1988, that’s just about 16 years ago. Did you feel that the Bio project got "old" and is that why you started Endrah?

Billy: Biohazard was and will always be a huge, proud part of my life.....We never let it get old...if I felt like it was getting old then I would quit Biohazard... Endrah is a new challenge, a new journey, a new way of expressing myself...and it's the best thing in a long time.... Very similar to Biohazard back when we started...

rockradio.se: Big question, What’s going to happen with Biohazard, are there a record coming up in September?

Billy: We are finishing up our new album...doing it in our new studio that Drummer (Dlux) and I opened up.... An incredible place called Underground Sound Studios. I went back to the traditional Biohazard tuning and tried to pull the heaviness out of the riffs and not the low tuning like our last album "kill or be killed" where we tuned to A.

rockradio.se: If you didn't play music, what would you do, as a child, what was your dreams for the future?

Billy: I'd die without music in my life...as I think many people would...as a child I dreamt of being in a band, making music, I looked up to my Uncle and Grandfather who were both incredible musicians!

rockradio.se: THREE things that Endrah would bring with them to a deserted rehearsal studio?

Billy: Drums, Gits and beer....

rockradio.se: Tell us something funny that happened to Endrah, on tour or elsewhere...?

Billy: Communicating with the rest of the band is funny as hell...although everyone speaks English...and my Portuguese is pretty good...it's still hilarious.... In life they say if you want to keep a friend, don't talk about Religion and Politics.... If your friend is Brazilian.... also don't talk about Football!

rockradio.se: When will we be able to see Endrah live in Sweden/Scandinavia?

Billy: I love Sweden and Scandinavia...some of my favorite bands come from there! It's been a long time since I was there last on tour and miss it.. The last club we (Biohazard) played in was blown up by some sort of bomb a week after we played.... Maybe when I return there with ENDRAH.. we'll bring the bomb!

rockradio.se: Anything you or the band want to say to the visitors/listeners at rockradio.se?

Billy: Tak su fam!!! Hey doh...I know my spelling is terrible but it's the effort!
Thanx for your time and support!
 

SALAMANDRA Gothic speed metal (2004-09-13)

Ever heard about Salamandra?
If you dont we suggest that you pay them a visit and, of course, listen to this great metalband from the Czech Republic.

Their new album "Great Moravian Elegies" is a true gothic speed power metal mix!
We got a hold of them and gave them some questions.

rockradio.se: Tell us when and how Salamandra started

Salamandra: The Salamandra band was established in 1998 primarily as a studio project for the "Twilight of Legends” album making (1998).  This was the groundwork for forming a band for concerts.  The “Skarremar” album (2000) followed and after a four-year break caused by the numerous concerts and looking for a keyboard player, we cut our latest CD “Great Moravian Elegies” (2004).

rockradio.se: Members and who does what ..

Pavel Slíva: guitar, band leader, management, almost an exclusive author of Salamandra´s music , Ivan Borovský: lead vocals, the newest member (October 2004) , Jaromír Dufek: bass-guitar, vocals, graphics
Karel Repecký: guitar, author of some songs , Hanka Šlachtová: keyboard, chorus vocals , Daniel “Baalberith” Jurecek: drums
 
rockradio.se: Any influences?

Salamandra: As each of us in the band prefers different genre, we cannot talk about just one influence.  We could mention Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen, AC/DC, Accept, Bach, Dvorák, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Helloween, and so on.  We can find a bit of every genre in our music.  But the biggest influence was probably from Hammer Fall, which initiated the return of speed metal in Europe.

rockradio.se: Can you describe the music that Salamandra plays?

Salamandra: We think we play melodic speed metal with a touch of Gothic.  Besides harmonic sharp guitars and fast and exact rhythmic, our music is based on rich clavier arrangements, combination of the main singing line and operatic soprano or two rock voices.  It is also worth mentioning the quality lyrics with special contemporary atmosphere written by Katka Pastorková, our writer of honor.

rockradio.se: Any earlier demos, promotional or other records?

Salamandra: The first album was out before the band itself was founded; therefore, there were no demos or other records required.

rockradio.se: Scheduled concerts and tours?

Salamandra: We regularly take part in big rock or metal festivals in the Czech Republic.  We have concerts in our country, some in Poland or Slovakia. In October through December 2004, we are taking the “Great Moravian Elegies” tour of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. Our dream is to play concerts all over the Europe, but as we do not have a foreign manager, nobody has contacted us yet.

rockradio.se: Any new songs for a new album yet?

Salamandra: We are currently working on a few new songs, but because of the change at the lead singer’s position, which is pretty significant change, we will most likely cut just a maxi-single with two new songs and two older songs, but perhaps, it will all be completely different.

rockradio.se: Tell us a few words about the metal scene in the Czech Republic.

Salamandra: We have a few pretty good bands, but these also lurch on the edge of commerce and their ambitions never go beyond the borderline of the country. Despite of the big popularity of the metal music in our country, it is a genre affected by the targeted disgrace of most of the commercial and public mass media. The expensive tickets for concerts are a frequent cause of low attendance at concerts. Following the entry of the Czech Republic into EU, the prices go up much faster than wages and it will not take long when there will be nobody to play for. The quality of the music does not have any influence here; the only one that holds is the fucking pop music. But it is perhaps the same everywhere, isn’t it?

rockradio.se: Any differences between the Czech and other European metal music?

Salamandra: Significant.  Not in quality, something is better, something worse, here or there. Most of our bands strive for a breakthrough in the domestic market with Czech lyrics in order to become popular with Czech companies and Czech fans. Only few manage to get abroad, do English lyrics and succeed abroad.   Even the top musicians hardly make it. So a lot of them end up playing in bars, playing shit, but that’s better than nothing. Or they just fuck the music wholly and go to work (pah!). But we are totally crazy and mad; otherwise we could not play this music. This is mainly a great hobby we live for. There is no alternative.

rockradio.se: What do you think about file sharing on internet: good or bad for music?

Salamandra: We do not mind; it is the opposite. The more people listen to our music, the better. The amount of costs related to recording the album hurts a bit, but this might force the recording studios to reduce prices.
 
rockradio.se: Three things Salamandra would bring to a deserted rehearsal room.

Salamandra: Beer, a hundred bottles of beer, and something to drink.

rockradio.se: Tell us something funny from the band’s life.  Incidents, anything!

Salamandra: We cannot speak English!  Really! Except for Hanka. But it is probably not that funny. We have a lot of fun at the concerts, but there is still something going on and people forget. We always laugh at the sound masters in clubs, when they try to fit all six of us in a small stage.

rockradio.se: Anything you would like to say to the radio listeners / website visitors?

Salamandra: We are very pleased with the interest of your radio listeners and would like to thank them for their votes they sent us. We greet all of them and hope we will have a chance to repay, perhaps by some concert in Sweden. We wish a lot of satisfied listeners and as much quality music as possible to your radio

rockradio.se: Thanks for your time and we sure like to see you up here in the north of Europe!.

Elvenking - Folk Heavy Metal! (2004-09-21)

Fairytales and dragons, monsters and fire!
We've been playing Elvenking a great lot here on rockradio.se and we where intrested in learning more about this great band!
The answers have been given by Damnagoras (vocalist) in Elvenking...

 rockradio.se: Tell us about how Elvenking started, and when...

Damnagoras: Elvenking was born back in 1997 when guitarsits Aydan and Jarpen decided to form a metal band with folk and melodic influences.
Within a year, me(vocals) and Zender (drums) joined them.
In 2000 we made the "To Oak Woods Bestowed" demo, which made us sign to AFM-Record. In 2001, Gorlan (bass) entered the band and we recorded our debut album "Heathnreel". After some good live dates in order to support our first album with the new member Elyghen (violin/keyboards), I decided to leave the band for various reasons.
In the meantime Elvenking recorded the long awaited second album "Wyrd" with a different singer. Recently, me and the guys, personally reconciled and in these months I re-entered the band.

 rockradio.se: We have had a hard time finding out where Elvenking comes from!? (Wild guess - Italy!)

Damnagoras: Yeah, you got it! We are from Italy.

rockradio.se: Members and who's doing what?

Damnagoras: Well I am the singer, Aydan and Jarpen are the two guitarsits, Gorlan plays the bass, Zender the drums and Elyghen is taking care of the violin and the keyboards. As for the songwriting is concerned, Aydan, me and Jarpen are the main composers, while the others always come up with good arrangements.

rockradio.se: Does the band have any influences?

Damnagoras: Of course, every band has its own influences. We have grown up listening to metal and hard rock since we were kids and this is the first and main influence for us! Of course there are some bands that we appreciate more than others and that inspire our songwriting in some way. Speaking for myself I won't hide that bands like Skyclad, Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Finntroll or Cradle of Filth (among many others) inspire my songwriting most of the time. Of course we always write music for Elvenking and we do not try to copy or steal anything...our goal is to make our music, the most original and personal we can.

rockradio.se: Describe the Elvenking music for us...

Damnagoras: Well, it's quite difficult for me to "etiquette" our music. But if you ask me, I would tell you that Elvenking plays folk heavy metal...that's all! I think that our music is very personal and every song has its own peculiarities, its different moods and sounds. To know it all, you must check it out!

rockradio.se: We have found three albums from Elvenking, but can you tell us a little bit about the latest, WYRD album?

Damnagoras: Well first of all there are 2 albums out: "Heathenreel" and "Wyrd". "To Oak woods bestowed" is just our first demo that many fans of ours like to call first album or first mini-cd...but it's only the demo! What can I tell you about Wyrd? The songwriting process started immediately after the realisation of "Heathenreel" back in 2001. When I left the band, 3/4 of the songs were ready and the fact that they were forced to search for a new singer, slowed down a bit the works. After finding Kleid, the guys completed the songs and entered Gernhart studios in March 2003 for the recordings and House of Music studios in December 2003 for the final mixing process (made by Achim Kohler).
The reactions have been great quite everywhere and our record label is also very happy for the first sales!

rockradio.se: When we play Elvenking a lots of mythology comes up in our minds, any stories about that...?

Damnagoras: There are some songs in our albums that talk directly about mythology, but usually we like to be inspired by myths and legends to create our own lyrics and stories. "A Dreadful Strein" for example is pure Irish folklore, "The Perpetual Knot" is directly inspired by Brian Bate's "The Way of Wyrd" - a book on paganism,  while songs like "Hobs an' Feathers" or "White Willow"  are just stories we like to tell, inspired by Irish or Northern legends and short tales, that most of the time hide a deep meaning described through metaphors.
The rest of our lyrcis are usually very personal and talk about our inner emotions and feelings.

rockradio.se: Any gigs or touring planned?

Damnagoras: No tour planned yet...maybe this will happen after the third album. We are gonna make some live dates in Italy very soon though.

rockradio.se: Whats your opinion on filesharing on the net, good or bad for the music?

Damnagoras: I personally think that it's a double-edged weapon. It can be an extremely good thing for all the people who don't have lots of money, to know new bands, maybe hear most of the album, and then decide if it's worth buying. But it's up to everyone's conscience. I personally download lots of music but if I really like one disc, I'm gonna buy it. If not, I'm just gonna trash it! Lots of people are making wrong use of filesharing, just burning albums on cd, and not taking care if this is really hurting the bands or not. In any case, this phenomenon is really dangerous for the artists...

rockradio.se: Three things that Elvenking would bring with them to a deserted rehearsal studio!

Damnagoras: Mmmm, that's difficult! I think there should be a Pc, a cd player and of course our instruments!

rockradio.se: Tell us something fun concerning the band!

Damnagoras: Urghh there are lots of funny episodes, most of which link directly to Gorlan...But I don't know which I should tell or not....maybe I should ask for his permission first!!!

rockradio.se: Anything you wanna say to our listeners/visitors here at rockradio.se ?

Damnagoras: The only thing I'd like to tell is that Elvenking is stronger than ever in this period, and that we are working on the third album. The songwriting process is nearly finished so, it won't take very long before you can hear our new album! Stay tuned!!! and may the winds blow fair at your backs!

rockradio.se:  Big thanks for your time and good luck in the future!

Damnagoras: Thank you!

VIRGIN STEELE - 22 years of hard metal!  (2004-10-18)

There are bands that pops up, makes a record and then dissapear and there are bands that just keeps on rocking for decades!
Virgin Steele has been around since 1982 when they released "Children of the storm" a great metal tune loved by the guys in Metallica and thousands of fans.
We remember listening to Virgin Steele in seventh grade and of course we took the opportunity to ask the man with the incredible voice, David DeFeis, some questions about the band, upcoming records and influences.

rockradio.se: Tell us about how it all started...

VIRGIN STEELE: It began when I decided to get more serious about composition, and I wanted to form a group that would play original music, not covers. The band played together for the first time on October 31st...Halloween.

rockradio.se: Members and who's playing what?

VS: David DeFeis-vocals, & keyboards, Edward Pursino-guitars, Frank Gilchriest-drums and Josh Block-bass

rockradio.se: Does the band have any influences?

VS: Individually we have many...too numerous to list. As I group we can agree on enjoying the Music of LED ZEPPELIN, QUEEN, & BLACK SABBATH, plus the Classical Masters such as BACH, VERDI, CHOPIN, LISZT, MOZART, BEETHOVEN...etc...

rockradio.se: Describe the Virgin Steele music for us...

VS: I call it "BARBARIC-ROMANTICISM". It is an extremely passionate Music, that can be both aggressive, over the top, bombastic, powerful, brutal and savage, yet also tender, delicate, introspective and highly cerebral. It can be heroic & triumphant or dark, moody, melancholy and mysterious. We are not a one dimensional band. There are many colors in the Music, and "many strings to the VIRGIN STEELE bow"...so to speak.

rockradio.se: Earlier records, its been a few over the years...?

-VS: Yes indeed...The full discography is as follows:
VIRGIN STEELE 1, VIRGIN STEELE II-(Guardians Of The Flame)Wait for the Night-EP, A CRY IN THE NIGHT-EP, NOBLE SAVAGE, AGE OF CONSENT, LIFE AMONG THE RUINS, THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL PART 1,THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL PART II, INVICTUS, THE HOUSE OF ATREUS ACT 1, MAGICK FIRE MUSIC-EP, THE HOUSE OF ATREUS ACT II-(a double CD Set), THE BOOK OF BURNING, HYMNS TO VICTORY

rockradio.se: I remember listening to VS back in say -84. HOW can a band stick together for so many years?

VS: We are totally dedicated to this Music, and for us it is not really a career so much, as it is a "Way Of Life". We love touring, recording, creating...it is the reason for our existence. 

rockradio.se: Any gigs or touring planned right now?

VS: We have been playing various 'one off' shows continuously, Summer Festivals in Italy, gigs in Greece, Germany, Spain, etc. Last week we just finished a few "Acoustic" dates in Germany & France. We will plan a full scale tour once we complete the next album.

rockradio.se: Any new record coming up? If so, when?

VS: Yes indeed. We are working on it now as we speak. Hopefully we will have it ready for a mid Winter release. It will be somewhat based on Ancient Sumerian Myths, concerning the Legend of LILITH...the first wife of Adam, she who came before Eve. These songs were presented onstage last Summer in a full-scale Theatrical Production Presentation in a German Theater. It is  the third "Metal-Opera" of mine, (yes that is correct...the third one), which I have had performed in Germany. The first Metal-Opera was based on THE HOUSE OF ATREUS Works, and the second one was based on THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL & INVICTUS Works.

rockradio.se: Tell us a little about the changes of the metalscene since VS started.

VS: Numerous Musical & fashion oriented trends have come & gone, but quality songwriting & solid performances remain. Right now we seem to be in a kind of throwback to the '70's phase, which is OK, because a lot of great Music came from that period...Zeppelin, Sabbath, Queen, etc...

rockradio.se: Any differences between North American metal and other metal?

VS: Well in the States the more popular type of Metal is the rap oriented & hardcore influenced style, while in Europe the Power/Symphonic & Gothic Styles seem more prevalent.

rockradio.se: VS have a lots of fans in Europe, why is that?

VS: People like us! Ha!!! I don't know, but I suspect that it is because the Group sounds more European than American. We have all those "classical" type elements that appeal to the European ear. Also we have always had a better organization around us on the European side. Our label, & our booking agency are both in Europe. Also we tour more in Europe and are in all the magazines and such over there.

rockradio.se: What's your opinion on filesharing on the net, good or bad for the music?

VS: That depends on what level one is at. For a new up & coming group it can be very helpful, but for a group like us...on one hand it may help a little bit to turn people on to something while on the other...if everyone is burning CD's, the artist does not make any money and then sooner or later the group/artist will only be able to make Music as a hobby, rather than as a career.

rockradio.se: Three things that Virgin Steele would bring with them to a deserted rehearsal studio!

VS: Inspiration, Wine and Women.

rockradio.se: Tell us something fun concerning the band! Happenings or...anything!

VS: Currently we are working on a new album, or should I say several new album oriented projects. One is the "LILITH" Work, another is a collection of songs based around the concept of "vanquishing death", while another is an acoustic album. And... we are still trying to find a proper location for a gig in which to record the ultimate VIRGIN STEELE Live album, and of course a DVD.

rockradio.se: Anything you wanna say to our listeners/visitors here at rockradio.se ?

VS: CHEERS, HAIL & MANY THANKS FOR YOUR FAITH, BELIEF, & SUPPORT! WE WILL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON!
MANY THANKS FOR THE WILD & FANTASTIC RECEPTION YOU GAVE US AT SWEDEN ROCK!
BY THE GODS & GODDESSES TO YOU ALL...

rockradio.se: Thanks for your time!

VS: You're very welcome...my pleasure...

THE LIMIT - A three piece making great rock (2005-01-23)

If you havent heard about this band you MUST read this interview and buy a copy of their latest Cd!
The Limit plays the type of music thats hard to put the finger on, in a positive way of speaking.
Three piecebands often sounds lame, but The Limit sound just as good as any other band.
We took our questions and asked Mark Daniels about...

rockradio.se: Tell us about how The Limit started, and when...

Mark: Well, Bob, the Drummer is my Brother so I have always been playing with him and Todd and I went to High School together. After High School I went to
College in Boston MA so it took me a while to re-connect with Todd but when we did and the 3 of us started playing, it felt great.
We started to record and play in early 1999 and really started touring all over in 2001 after we established ourselves in our region of the country.

rockradio.se: Members and who's doing what?

Bob Chmiel plays Drums, Todd Grsoberg plays Bass, Me Mark Daniel, Sings and play guitar

rockradio.se: Does the band have any influences?

Mark: We have similar influences but also listen to everything under the sun.
The bands that really touched us include: Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses, Stone Temple Pilots, Rush. Its safe to say that the individual musicians in those bands really inspired is also.

rockradio.se: Describe The Limit music for us...

Mark: Its straight ahead Rock. 70's meets early 90's power rock. There is a large focus on the songs and also haw we play them. The energy, technique and writing must all work together in balance.
But simply put, we just love to play rock.

rockradio.se: Any earlier promos, records?

Mark: We release a 7 song EP called "Stages," in mid 1999 and toured for 3 years.
During the later 1 and half we were jumping in and out of the studio recording our first full length national CD.
There were like 30 tracks and we picked out the best 12. In Nov of 2004 THE LIMIT - THE LIMIT was released nationwide in the US with limited distribution in Europe and around the world.
We record and tour constantly. As a matter of fact, we just came off tour Last week are in studio this week and leaving next week again. Its a busy schedule but we love it. We really don't like being bored.

rockradio.se: Any gigs or touring planned?

Mark: All the time everywhere. We will Tour this year till the Holidays and pick it up again in Feb 2005 to June followed by some Festival dates in the summer months. We hope to see you in Sweden soon. We hear Sweden knows how to rock the girls are some the prettiest in the world. Make some noise Sweden and we will see you soon!

rockradio.se: Any new record coming up?

Mark: We just released the Self Titled CD less then a year ago and it is just starting to peek so as far as another full length goes, well see when. But, we will release an EP for close fans with limited distribution this Fall courtesy of Jagermeister our Tour Sponsor. If everyone reading would like a copy, sign up on the fan club on our site and pick up a copy of the Self-titled CD.

rockradio.se: Whats your opinion on filesharing on the net, good or bad for the music?

Mark: Its great to a point. I for one enjoy doing it sometimes and have bought many CDs due to sampling the music by file sharing. But too much is bad andcould take the bread away from many artists trying to make a living.
Everything is balance is good.

rockradio.se: Three things that The Limit would bring with them to a deserted rehearsal studio!

Mark: Well, aside from all our instruments and tapes...

1. a Ton of CDs and DVDs 2. Home Entertainment system to play them on 3. Beer with Jagermeister
That may be more than 3 but maybe we can bargain.

rockradio.se: Tell us something fun concerning the band! Happenings or...anything!

Mark: We are working our asses off and we love it. We hope this kind of work ethic and sacrifice will be helpful in the long run. It could be tough out there.
Playing and making music is truly our love but there is so much shit out there to deal with. We appreciate our fans so much for being there for us.
You all warm out hearts on cold nights on the road. We feel great and love you all for your support.

rockradio.se: Anything you wanna say to our listeners/visitors here at rockradio.se

Mark: We can't wait to see you. Keep making noise and we will make it happen.
Thank you for you time in interviewing me and all for reading. Keep the drinks cold the rock load and we sending you all our love.

rockradio.se: Thanks for your time, hope to see you out there!

VOLTBEAT - Danish true dynamite (2004-08-23)

rockradio.se: Tell us about how VOLBEAT started, and when
 
Michael:  Well, After a lay my old band DOMINUS to rest
(2001) i had all these new ideas  and a couble of songs which were more Rocknroll and more melodic songs, and i called up Jon Larsen which were a drummer i had knowned for a long time, and we had sometimes played for fun and stuff like that. He said lets give it a try. Jon quickly found my style of playing, so the first 5 songs were done preety fast. There was only one bass player i had in mind and that was Anders Kjølholm who had played with me in DOMINUS for one album. And he left his band to give it a try in VOLBEAT, and he liked it from the start. Then we got Teddy Vang on guitar. After the second demo "Beat the Meat" he was replaced by former bass player in DOMINUS ("GODFALLOS") Franz Hellboss. In the end Teddy Vang and the rest of VOLBEAT didnt spoke the same language, if you know what i mean. So the best thing for him was to do something else. VOLBEAT was formed in late 2001.

rockradio.se: VOLTBEAT ARE...

Michael Poulsen: Guitar & vocals, Jon Larsen: Drums, Anders Kjølholm: Bass, Franz Hellboss: Guitar

rockradio.se: DESCRIBE THE VOLBEAT MUSIC/DOES THE BAND HAVE ANY INFLUENCES? 
   
Michael: Hmmm,  metallic RocknRoll? or perhaps RocknRollish Metal? The pruducer Morten Nielson who produced the first VOLBEAT demo (2002) said he had never heard such a style with so many influences without loosing the red line. He called it Metallic pop Rocknroll with a touch of the 60s melodic tunes. A reporter (larsa) from the Swedish mag SLAVESTATE said if ELVIS had been alive and was a member of MISFITS then it could have sounded like VOLBEAT. Not that i sound like ELVIS the KING, but the inspiration is there. He also wrote that METALLICA should have hired VOLBEAT when they wrote the "LOAD" and "RELOAD" albums. But the moste funny thing is that almoste every reviews compare us to LIFE OF AGONY, and no one of us have any of their albums, except our new guitar player Franz Helboss, but he hasnt written anything for VOLBEAT. I remember Jacob Hansen also mentioning LIFE OF AGONY. Well, we take it as a good compliment. But after listen to LIFE OF AGONY i will say that VOLBEAT is more Rocknroll. I think the influences somekind of everything we are listening to, we don't try to sound like something special or someone else. We listen to almoste every kind of music, just not tecno and jazz and opera music. I have always been a big fan of old Rock'n'roll from the 50's , and i have about 200 cd's with elvis presley , and tons of other good bands from that time. On our coming October release  you will find a cover song "I ONLY WANNA BE WITH YOU" which DUSTY SPRINGFIELD made a hit out of.

rockradio.se: WE LOVE THE SONG "SOULWEEPER" BUT IT'S NOT LIKE THE OTHER SONGS ON THE DEMO, ANY SPECIAL STORY BEHIND THAT SONG?

Michael: There are no special story behind it, i just wanted to make a slow heavy song that will take you back to the 50's/60's. I just love these kind of songs and wanted to make one of my own.

rockradio.se: EALIER DEMOS, PROMOS? 
 
Michael: VOLBEAT made the first demo (2002) in Roskilde Denmark with producer Morten Nielson.
We made 10 tracks for this demo with a soft sound that we sooner found out didnt really fit the band right. It was a good sound but just not powerfull enough compared to our live sound  which was/is raw and powerfull. The respons for the demo was good, but nothing compared to the reaction and respons for the "Beat the meat" demo (2003). I was contactet on mail by producer Jacob Hansen (INVOCATOR boss) who have heard some of the tracks from the volbeat demo (2002), he thought it was great songs and he said that he could get some really cool stuff out of VOLBEAT in his new studio, and with a sound that would fit us much better. And i talked with him about VOLBEATs live sound, the powerfull guitars sound we would like to have with us in the studio, and the way we would like to work, you know a little bit loose without click track and all that bullshit, just plug in and lets get it on. And he said , thats not a problem, lets do something about it. It was perfect since i always had good thoughts and intuition  about Jacob Hansen as a skillful and nice guy. And my intuition was right. We recorded 6 songs to this demo "Beat the meat", and it was done in 5 days with the mix and everything, and it sounds fucking great you know. The respons have been overwelming and more that we would expect. People really like this "Beat the meat" demo, and i will say that we are selling them almoste everyday. We got great live responses from happy people and old DOMINUS fans who really like this new style. The responses in the mags and web sites were random with the first demo (2002), i think the sound were to soft. But as i told you with the "Beat the meat" demo (2003) its fucking overwelming and great.
We will be in the new METAL HAMMER as the best demo relase. I can only say thanx and thanx again to all the listeners for all that great respons we got on his demo and our live jobs.

rockradio.se: ANY CONTRACT IN THE NEAR FUTURE? 

Michael: we have signed a one album deal with NEW AEON MEDIA which is a sub label to KARMAGEDDOON MEDIA, formerly knowned as HAMMERHEART RECORDS. They seems to be nice guys, well i have only talked with the label maneger Guido Heijnens and he seems to have the right spirit. The new debut cd will be released worldwide in october 2004. The working titel has been "REBEL MONSTER" , but after coming home from the Jacob Hansen studio the working titel is "THE STRENGTH/THE SOUND/THE SONGS. There will be 15 songs on theis album.

rockradio.se: ANY GIGS OR TOURING PLANED?

Michael: well, we will try to work on a tour in october/november. So we just have to wait and see.

rockradio.se: TELL US ABOUT THE METAL SCENE IN DENMARK?

Michael: well, we have some good bands like RAUNCHY, HATESPHERE, ILLDISPOSED, MNEMIC, and the scene seems to grow every day. The Danish bands are better today than they were years back. And the interest also seems to grow every day.

rockradio.se: THERE ARE SOME DANISH BANDS ON THEIR WAY UP, DO YOU THINK THAT IT WILL BE THE SAME EFFECT AS IN FINLAND WITH FIRST ONE BAND THEN JUST A FEW YEARS LATER, 100?

Michael: It's hard to say, hmm perhaps. I think to many bands try to sound like the melodic thrash style from sweden, and there are some good bands in that vain but we don't need 1000 of them i think. 
To many bands also try to sound like this KORN new metal thing, and i don't think it works that good, but that's just my openion. 

rockradio.se: THREE THINGS THAT VOLBEAT WOULD BRING WITH THEM TO A DESERTED REHEARSAL STUDIO?

Michael: water, food , toiletpaper!

rockradio.se: TELL US SOMETHING FUN CONCERNING THE BAND! HAPPENING OR ANYTHING?

Michael: One day my parents where on a stroll in there car with VOLBEAT running in the car stereo with high volume with the windows down , and they drove in to a gass station to put some gass on. My father went into pay the gass while my mother was sitting in the car with VOLBEAT on high volume.Two guys with long hair and Heavy metal t-shirts who also were their to put gass on went over to my mother and asked her what she was listening to. And she said: dont you know the best heavy band in the world. And they looked at eachother and said uuhhhhh . Its VOLBEAT, dont you know them she said. No but they sound fucking great, we thought it perhaps were the new METALLICA or something. No they are better than METALLICA she said. And then my father came out and my parent droved away turning up the music, and these two guys were just standing there with thier mouth open.  
My parents are 59 years old each and look like normal people you know. I was laughing my ass of when they told me this story, they are fucking funny.

rockradio.se: ANYTHING YOU WANNA SAY TO OUR LISTENER/VISITORS HERE AT ROCKRADIO.SE ?

Michael: well, hope you like our songs and keep an eye out for our coming release " THE STRENGTH/THE SOUND/THE SONGS". And thanx to you ROCKRADIO.  www.volbeat.dk

ONE EYE SHUT (2005-08-05)

For the past 5-6 years the musicscene in Finland seems to have exploded with great bands, One Eye Shut is one of those bands that we will hear about in the future.
We had a talk with Jari and this is the interview.

rockradio: So, tell us about the band One Eye Shut!

Jari: About 2 years ago there was 2 guys, a drummer (Jokkari) and a singer (Jari) sitting in the bar quite drunk.
Their band Superstition had just been terminated once and for all and they were thinking about what to do.
Jokkari said “I think we should start something new, I think we should start a band ”Jari agreed and said “Someone has to write songs I guess”Jokkari said “well, it’s probably you”
Quite soon we asked Morto to join us.
He played bass in Superstition earlier.
Morto didn’t hesitate to join, he was drunk.
There it was, OES was born.

OES just like any other band but what makes us better is the chemistry.
There are so many good bands who split up because of bad chemistry.
It’s much more important thing than good equipments or good playing skills.
You see it on stage, you hear it on redord.

rockradio: Musical influences?

Jari: Black Sabbath, Monster Magnet, Alice in Chains, AC/DC, Rush, Metallica.
Of few to mention.

rockradio: For about twenty years there where only one band from Finland, Hanoi Rocks, but then it just exploded, now its like 1000 new great bands every week, how come?

Jari: Bands like HIM and Nightwish has opened music industry’s eyes in Finland.
Now they’ve realized that they have to put some money on music export before it starts to fly.
Music industry has become a serious thing just now.
In Sweden for example it has been that for a long time already.
Finland has become more international country than it used to be.
Maybe that got something to do with it too.
And because of these succeeded bands from Finland the rest of the world has noticed Finland in different angle.
It’s like if there is a band from Vatican, I couldn’t care less.
But when the first good band arises from there (Which I doubt) you start to interest more.
Actually now I started to wonder; is there any bands in Vatican…

rockradio: Can you tell us something about the rock/metal scene in Finland?

Jari: This summer rock festivals were almost full with rock and metal.
So rock/metal scene is doing well, better than ever I think.
Then again a lot of bands here are on top with totally wrong grounds.
They manage to get a record deal just by sitting in a right bar and knowing theright persons or dating with the celebrity.
Good songs should be the reason.
And then the record companies blame filesharing.
Sadly I must say like Bruce Hornsby sings “that’s just the way it is”

rockradio: Whats the plans for the next 1-2 years?

Jari: We haven’t had any kind of plans so far, everything just seems to go on justlike that.
Probably another single with Vallankumoustuotanto and in some pointa full-length album. Well see.
We just trust our good songs and have fun.

rockradio: Any chance for us here in Sweden to see OES live?
(Well, of course we can take the boat to Helsinki too, but...

Jari: Quite big chance I would say. It all depends of our manager Marie.
I think a weekend “tour” would be the closest what we can do right now.
It would be nice to go to Sweden to do something else than just hang around with huge hangover after spending a wet night in a crappy boat and wondering what’s this Ettan snus is doing in my ass.

rockradio: The bands opinion on filesharing?

Jari: For smaller bands it’s almost a savvier, for bigger bands it’s not that good.
Many people download music from internet and if they like the shit they buy that record. If not, they delete it.
If you really like the band you probably buy their record.
I think people do understand that band needs to sell albums to carry on.
Record companies complain about not selling enough records and filesharing is the reason.
Maybe they should take a look in the mirror and think that is this really good music.

rockradio: Three things that the band would bring with them to a deserted island?

Jari: Sauna (and our sound engineer Hantti sitting in it), Boothill (a bar in Helsinki) and a spalding ball!

rockradio: Anything you want to say to the visitors at rockradio sweden?

Jari: Don’t go with the flow (there’s always shit in it) but listen to radios like rockradio, real music that is.

rockradio: Big rock n roll thanks/hugs for the interview and good luck in the future!

Jari: U2!

NICODEMUS (2004-10-23)

Sometimes now and then there's a band that really chatches ones ear, Nicodemus is one of those bands.
If you wanna know things you better ask so thats what we did, Christopher Morris is the bass player aswell as leadsinger in Nicodemus.

rockradio.se: Please give us some background info about the band/members
 
Chris: I started Nicodemus in California in 1998.
Released the first CD "Tales of the Lovelorn & Necromantic" on my own label in 2000.
It was a progressive black metal album.
It did pretty well for an independent release.
I decided to focus more on melodic elements as I put together a partial band for the next CD.
We signed with Dark Symphonies in 2002 and moved the sound more towards melodic gothic metal like Tristania and Theatre of Tragedy.
Tried some female vocals, but didn't work too well.
Added a second guitarist and moved from California to Portland, Oregon in the northwestern US just as the label released "The Supernatural Omnibus" in 2003.
Decided to focus on the progressive elements that had always been there and recorded Vanity as we were negotiating with labels.
The current line up is Andrew Greene on drums,Mathew McGee on lead guitar, Dave Peters on rhythm guitar, and I play bass and handle lead vocals.

I played the keys on all of the Nicodemus releases too as we don't yet have a permanent keyboard player in the band.
We do have a friend, Eric Scholibo, who fills in for performing, but he's not an official member.
 
rockradio.se: The brand new CD "Vanity is a virtue" has just been released, what will a new listener hear...
 
Chris: A new listener will hear an extremely diverse and eclectic form of metal that doesn't pander to one particular sub genre or group of fans.

Everyone's ear naturally gravitates toward whatever they WANT to hear, so some will find the prog elements strong, while others the dark atmosphere or some other portion that may be present.
Nicodemus is one of those bands in which fans can find what parts suit them best and enjoy it for totally different reasons than the next listener.

Now I admit that some people hate music that does that.
There are those fans out there who want specific bands playing specific metal and don't ever deviate. I understand that. But I am not one of those kind
of fans when it comes to the music I listen to.
Therefore I can't be one of the musicians who makes music that way.
No one in this band can do that and really be satisfied.
We fill in the gaps and make the music we don't hear anyone else making.

Metal gets no more unique than Nicodemus that's for damn sure.
 
rockradio.se: Any differences between the 2000 "Tales of the Lovelorn & Necromantic" and the new album?
 
Chris: Oh hell yeah.
"Tales" doesn't even sound like the same band.
It was a low budget indie release I did on my own that focused on black metal as it's primary sound.
When I wrote that album, all I cared about was finally getting a decent product out into the marketplace.

I was listening to a lot of Dimmu Borgir , Emperor, and old school Mercyful Fate among others, so this weird prog black metal emerged.
It wasn't until I sat back and evaluated the material after it's release that I came to the conclusion that I couldn't sustain that type of metal for long and be happy.

I also recognized some of the material as being weak in comparison to what I knew I could do.
The time for just having fun with material was over and I needed to really consider where I wanted to take the band creatively.
Now, "Vanity" defines the band as the eclectic experimental metal band that we are.
Melodic and progressive, but still dark and heavy.
Only a few traces of that "Tales" sound are here today, and they are few and far between.
There are fans who actually love that first album, and a few who may be upset that we have changed into something different.
I appreciate those sentiments and feel great about the fact that people still dig that record, but change is necessary.
That's just the way it goes.
 
rockradio.se: The sound on "Vanity is a virtue" is very good, hard work or plain luck?
 
Chris: Hahahaha.
Hard work of course! Nicodemus isn't exactly the kind of band that's easy to mix and produce.
As I'm sure you can imagine, there were moments during the recording, mixing, production, and even mastering that were absolute nightmares!
Even in using Pro-Tools, (this was our first Pro-Tools recording) it was a major challenge to develop material of such texture and seemingly never ending layers into a sound that didn't degenerate into a huge sonic mess.

We decided this time to use an outsider to help us get what we wanted and in the end it really worked.
Andrew and I co-produced the CD with Chris Finster of Geomana Productions based here in Portland, Oregon.
He also engineered the disc.
We worked our asses off trying achieve a certain sound we all had in our heads and since we didn't have tens of thousands of dollars, we had to be creative and very very patient.

We still ended up going four times over budget, but it was all well worth it.
The finished product sounds fantastic and we achieved our goal. For the first time, we all said "yes, this is our sound. This is Nicodemus."
 
rockradio.se: It seems (to us) that there have been more work on the lyrics on this new album, have the lyrics become more important?
 
Chris: Thank you for noticing!
It wasn't more "work" per se but lyrics did receive greater thought and attention.
In previous works, I was having fun with that gothic/old English style.

Sometime during the release of "The Supernatural Omnibus" I remember reading my own lyrics and being bored by them.
The lyrics had recieved great praise form most critics and had always been considered one of our best attributes, but I just couldn't see it anymore. There are only so many
ways you can get across a particular idea using that type of language and I just felt that it was too boring and limited to continue.
I didn't want to become a parody of myself as a lyricist, so I decided to try a more natural conversational flow yet still focus on word play and phrasing.
 
rockradio.se: The band signed with Sonic Age Records, was that a conscious decision?
 
Chris: Yes.
We wanted a European label for this album, not an American label with limited European outlets.
It's as simple as this: Metal is dead in the United States.
American labels prefer to drown us in this crunchy angry-ass cookie monster rock that is fucking terrible beyond belief.
Metal and all of it's sub genres are at least still thriving and growing in Europe.
Sure there are some American bands that do well overseas who play this American trash, but it's not saturating the market and there's room for real metal in all of it's forms to thrive.

A band like Nicodemus needs that kind of open mindedness and fearlessness when it comes to reaching a market.
Ever since the first album, European fans have been there for us too.

So signing with a US based label without proper European resources would have been a step backwards and a huge disaster.
That's not to say we don't have great American fans.
We certainly have a small following here as well, but it's a tough market to break when you're not willing to sell out and be a whore for the trend of the week.

There are of course those larger labels that have a great Euro presence, and we spoke with a couple of them, but we're not becoming the piece of shit American bottom-feeding trash-bag rock that some of them would prefer.
FUCK 'EM!
Sonic Age lets us be what we want to be.
 
rockradio.se: Whats the bands opinion about filesharing?
 
Chris: Believe it or not we believe 100% in file-sharing.
I'm sure Sonic Age would disagree!
 
Philosophically speaking, we're all OK with it.
Most artists believe in the antiquated notion that the intellectual property on a recording is the actual product.
This is really no longer the case. It's a hard belief system to just let go of considering that this is the FIRST digital music generation.

We all grew up on buying our tapes, LPs, or CDs and the music was the real product.
But that's not the world we live in anymore, and there's nothing wrong with that.
What most artists fail to grasp is as technology continues to grow and expand, the consumer dictates how the market will work, NOT the musician or label.

It's the job of we in the industry to adapt and change the business to accept the new state of affairs.
 
This is the same with any other industry innovations as well. TV, DVD, DVR etc, etc.
I remember when the VCR first came out people were frantic and scared to death that TV advertising and movie studios would suffer.
Now it's the same with the DVR.

You can't expect old rules to apply to a new game. Sure there will always be a market for the actual purchase of CDs, but it's shrinking, (and not as slowly as some labels would like you to think).
The real product now is the overall package of the band/artist.
It's the posters, t-shirts, concert tickets, DVDs, and in a small way...the CD.
But not JUST music alone anymore.
 
Efforts have to be made to appeal to the consumer with additional benefits to buying the CD since just the tunes can't cut it.
Great artwork, stickers, mini-posters, double sided discs, multi-media bonuses, all are great ways to keep the product from slipping completely out of the marketplace.

And fans will buy it if they think it's worth the money.
And that's really the thing that pisses off musicians and labels.
Customers don't necessarily believe that music is worth paying for anymore.
Just a track on a file-sharing network is meaningless to sales.
Even an entire album on a network is meaningless.
You're not losing money because you are automatically assuming that the customer would have bought that CD otherwise.
Sorry, folks.
That's a resounding NO.
You don't know they would have bought the CD for sure.

I have tons of CD-Rs that I NEVER would have spent money on.
 
Now of course I have to mention that it's also great for bands who want to get noticed and get some buzz going about their music.

That scares labels shit-less because bands are able to create markets for themselves without their big budget help.
Awwww, too bad. This is 2005. Deal with it. 
 
rockradio.se: Any tourplans?
 
Chris: Yes!
We will be doing a European tour and some scattered US dates around mid 2006.
We had hoped to do it earlier, but not only do we need to find a suitable touring keyboard player, but we're also shooting our first video this coming winter for the track
"Next In Nocturne".
So we decided to wait until after the vid was released.
 
rockradio.se: Whats in the future, lets say in the next 2 years?
 
Chris: In the next two years you'll see Nicodemus keep growing.
We'll see how far we go with Sonic Age (who so far have been great!) and play it by ear.
We'll definitely have a few tours under our belt by then and hopefully another video as well.
There's also some extra footage of the band (behind the scenes stuff, interviews, etc) being shot for a possible DVD within the next few years.

Everything is moving brilliantly and the future looks pretty fucking fantastic.
 
rockradio.se: Three things that Nicodemus would bring with them to a deserted island?
 
Chris: A Carver '57 Voyager yacht, 100 Gallons of fuel and Tarja Turunen to sing us all the way to the nearest island resort!
 
See you in the cabana!
 
rockradio.se: Anything you want to say to the visitors at rockradio sweden?
 
Chris: Thank you so much the chance to talk with Rockradio.
For all of you who have been with us a while, your support is always appreciated and never forgotten.
To those who are new to Nicodemus, we appreciate the chance to introduce ourselves.
We hope to see you all on the road next year!

THE DUSKFALL

Death/Trash från Luleå?
Vi på rockradio.se brukar inte vara frekventa lyssnare av vare sig den Svenska eller utländska death/Trash scenen men bandet The Duskfall sticker ut så pass att vi spelar låtar från bandets plattor om & om igen!

Vi slängde fram ett par frågor till gitarristen Mikael Sandorf för att stilla vår nyfikenhet.
The Duskfall fick helt nyligen ett efterlängtat skivkontrakt med det Tyska bolaget Nuclear Blast.

rockradio.se: Hej & stort grattis till det nya skivkontraktet!

The Duskfall: Tack så mycket!
Vi är alla extremt glada att Nuclear Blast har uppmärksammat vår musik samt att denna dealen blev av.

rockradio.se: Berätta om hur & när bandet startade

TDF: Bandet bildades 1999 av mig och Glen Svensson, då under arbetsnamnet  ”Soulash”.
Vi hade då inga planer på att släppa eget material utan delade bara en längtan att komma oss iväg till replokalen.
The Duskfall var till början ett renodlat coverband där vi spelade låtar från band som bl a Judas Priest och Pantera.
Det tog dock inte lång tid innan vi började arbeta på eget material.
Jag hade en hel del låtar liggandes, skrivna till mitt soloprojekt som var tänkt att bli av efter det att vi lade ner Gates Of Ishtar, dock blev aldrig projektet av och vi tog materialet till The Duskfall.
Vi lirade in 2 st demos och efter det att ”Deliverance – Demo 2001” hamnade i spelaren hos Grekiska etiketten Black Lotus records lossnade allt.
Vi skrev under en deal på 2 plattor och på den vägen är det.

rockradio.se: Har namnvalet någon speciell betydels för er?

TDF: Namnet kommer av 2 ord ”Dusk” - skymning och ”Fall” – falla i onåd.
Det är svårt att översätta det ordagrant till svenska men på engelska blir innebörden ungefär ”The fallen from grace at dusk”.
Duskfall var egentligen namnet på mitt planerade soloprojekt och när vi skulle komma på ett namn till bandet efter det att Soulash hade spelat ut sin roll, så valde vi att köra på som The Duskfall.

rockradio.se: Vilka ingår i bandet, vem gör vad?

TDF: Bandet består av mig själv, Mikael Sandorf – Gitarr, Kai Jaakkola – Sång, Antti Lindholm – Gitarr, Kaj Molin – Bas och Oskar Karlsson – Trummor.

rockradio.se: Bandet kommer från Luleå, hur är death/thrashscenen där?

TDF: Helt undernärd… Det är väl vi och Satariel som håller ångan uppe.
Sedan finns det ett lovande dödsmetallband vid namn War Empire, dom härstammar från Luleå och Piteå.
Det händer inte mycket på musikfronten här uppe, och om man lirar dödsmetall så ordnas det lika lite spelningar som det finns kvinnor i Pajala…

rockradio.se: Vi vill beskriva er musik som melodiös thrash, ni beskriver den som...

TDF: Det är väl en blandning av olika stilar…
Vi gillar många av 80-talets thrash och hårdrocksband samtidigt som vi alla är inne på mer brutal dödsmetall.
Låtskrivandet färgas extremt mycket av våra olika influenser och därför har vi ett ganska brett sound.
Själv tycker jag att vi har lyckats bra med att ta thrashens och dödsmetallens aggression och teknikalitet för att sedan blanda den med melodierna från 80-talets hårdrocksband.

rockradio.se: Finns det några influenser?

TDF: Band som Slayer, Sepultura, Morbid Angel, Helloweeen och Europe har alltid influerat oss i låtskrivandet.
Två klara personliga favoriter är Chris Impellitteri och Yngwie Malmsteen.

rockradio.se: Vad tycker ni om det svenska musik klimatet?

TDF: Det är ganska lika världen över, pengar styr vad som skall prioriteras, titta bara på IDOL som tv4 visar nu.
Man går ut och letar efter nästa ”produkt” som skall lanseras och utseendet spelar mer roll än musikalitet.
Det är inte ofta det händer att band från vår genre spelas i radio och TV, även fast behovet finns bland fansen.
Jag tycker att medierna borde ge en bredare bild av musikbranschens utbud istället för att fokusera på vad som säljer bäst just nu.
Det är bra att band som In Flames har lyckats ta sig in på listorna och i medierna, detta tvingar fram exponering på ”smalare” musik.

rockradio.se: The Duskfall har lirat ute en del, några favorit ställen?

TDF: Vi lirade nyligen i Finland på Jalometalli Festivalen, finnarna är helt hängivna till metal och det är bra uppslutning vi varje spelning som anordnas.
Kul med ett land där metal och hårdrock toppar listorna före pop och dansband.

rockradio.se: Några kommande spelningar i sverige och/eller utomland

TDF: För tillfället är vi helt fokuserade på att skriva material till den kommande plattan, det kommer att spelas ett par showcasegigs innan året är slut men inget är bekräftat ännu.
Hoppas att folk håller koll på vår hemsida där vi alltid skriver in bekräftade spelningar.

rockradio.se: Ni har släppt två plattor tidigare, planerna för den kommande?

TDF: Att förbättra oss , både tekniskt och kvalitetsmässigt.
Studio Dug-Out är bokad för 4 veckor i April 2005 och releasedatumet är satt till Augusti 2005.

rockradio.se: Är de melodiösa inslagen ett medvetet drag för att lättare nå ut?

TDF: Nej, jag måste säga att jag själv har svårt för musik som inte förmedlar en känsla. Melodier är ett bra sätt att få lyssnaren att ta till sig texter på.
Sedan kommer vi tillbaka till influenserna från 80-talet, jag är van vid att musik skall framföras med en tydlig refräng och därför kommer det sig helt naturligt att använda melodier i vår musik.

rockradio.se: The Duskfall's åsikter om fildelning på nätet?

TDF: Jag tycker att Internet är en bra plats för att sprida musik på.
Vi har möjligheten att nå fans i alla delar av världen med både information och nytt material.
Att sedan artister med en hit per skiva blir less på att folk laddar ner deras musik istället för att pynta 200 spänn per platta är inget jag bryr mig om.
Metalband lägger ner mycket energi på att göra jämna plattor med bra material och metalfansen stöttar sina favoritband till 100% genom att köpa skivorna och promota bandet vidare till fler fans.

rockradio.se: Berätta något roligt som rör/hänt bandet!

TDF: Kommer inte på något speciellt för tillfället, dock skitkul att vi har skrivit på för Nuclear Blast och kan jobba mer proffisionellt med vår musik i framtiden.

rockradio.se: TRE saker The Duskfall skulle ta med till en öde replokal?

TDF: Öl, chips och en påse elaka gitarriff

rockradio.se: Något ni vill säga till besökarna på rockradio.se ?

TDF: Hoppas att nyfikna läsare av denna intervjun kollar in vår hemsida: www.theduskfall.com

rockradio.se önskar er lycka till & tackar för intervjun!

TDF: Tack för denna intervjun, fortsätt stödja den svenska metallen i all form!

GUS G Dream Evil, Firewind, Mystic Prophecy & Nightrage (2004-07-15)

This interview is with and about a guy that you definitely heard on a bunch of records.
Gus G from Dream Evil, Firewind, Mystic Prophecy and Nightrage tells us about he's influences, favourite guitarists, the metal scene and more!

- Gus G: I wanna thank you for all your support! Tack så mycket! Jag hoppas vi kan  spela i Sverige snart!