The Median Man spoke with Gus G from Firewind about the new album, songwriting and his inspiration.
The Median Man spoke with Gus G from Firewind about the new album, songwriting and his inspiration.
MY LIFE
What served as the inspiration for the band and why do you play the music that you do?
I basically wanted to start my own band, I recorded a demo after I’d dropped out of Berkeley College and I thought ‘you know I should probably turn this into a band’ and eventually some friends joined me and that’s how it all began. I wanted to start a band that made the music that I liked which was based on the guitar players that I liked, like Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Schenker and just melodic heavy metal in general. That has been most of my life really, since I was about 19 or so. A lot of things have changed since then but to me it’s still like my baby. With this album we were in a tough spot with line up changes, but I realised that I still have that kind of feeling that I had when I was a kid. It was a good wake up call, I remembered why I loved doing this so much and why I wanted to continue.
How do you approach songwriting and has that changed or developed over time?
It’s more or less the same. The evolution has come from experience really. Writing songs is something that takes practice as well, just like learning an instrument. You have to write a hundred shitty songs to write something good. For me it always starts with a riff and the way I do songwriting just now is that I compile riffs. In the past I would do proper songwriting sessions, where I’d sit down over the course of 10-15 days and write. Nowadays, I just write stuff whenever I feel I’m inspired and a lot of my ideas are just like riffs here and there and then I sort of put it together later on.
You just hope that you evolve as a player and a songwriter and just move onto the next song basically. There’s always a new, better song to make and I think to me that might be like the endless quest, in search of the perfect heavy metal song.
EVOLUTION
EVOLUTION FROM EXPERIENCE
How do you approach songwriting and has that changed or developed over time?
It’s more or less the same. The evolution has come from experience really. Writing songs is something that takes practice as well, just like learning an instrument. You have to write a hundred shitty songs to write something good. For me it always starts with a riff and the way I do songwriting just now is that I compile riffs. In the past I would do proper songwriting sessions, where I’d sit down over the course of 10-15 days and write. Nowadays, I just write stuff whenever I feel I’m inspired and a lot of my ideas are just like riffs here and there and then I sort of put it together later on.
You just hope that you evolve as a player and a songwriter and just move onto the next song basically. There’s always a new, better song to make and I think to me that might be like the endless quest, in search of the perfect heavy metal song.
VARIATION
Were there any continuous themes you explored on the new album or is each song its own thing?
Though this album does have a flow and consistency, there is a lot of variation, which somewhat takes it back to albums like Allegiance and Premonition that we did 12/13 years ago. I think that’s kind of what put Firewind on the map, that kind of variety within our style and sound. We can have like an eighties kind of rock track or a really heavy song. These are elements that made Firewind what it is and the fans like it. I think we went back to that, because the previous album was a concept album. I set out to make an epic power metal record from start to finish which was about the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. This album was a completely different approach. The thought process was basically ‘let’s do a record that sums up what Firewind has been about for the last 20 years.’ So, in that aspect there’s a lot of variety, but the Firewind sound is there throughout the record. Lyrically, there’s all kinds of stuff in there you know, mostly it’s about real stuff, we don’t write fantasy lyrics. We’re the sort of band who deal with a lot of social and political themes. We even have a bit of a small trilogy on the album about an astronaut who is orbiting around space and his thoughts on humanity from up there.
What’s your favourite song from the record?
I think some songs stand out. I think when I was putting the setlist together for a few shows, I chose four or five new songs from the record. Unfortunately we never got to rehearse the new material as everything is put on hold at the moment due to the pandemic. I’d like to try out “Welcome To The Empire,” and a track like “Overdrive,” is kinda cool.
OVERDRIVE
OVERDRIVE
What’s your favourite song from the record?
I think some songs stand out. I think when I was putting the setlist together for a few shows, I chose four or five new songs from the record. Unfortunately we never got to rehearse the new material as everything is put on hold at the moment due to the pandemic. I’d like to try out “Welcome To The Empire,” and a track like “Overdrive,” is kinda cool.
WHAT WORKS
PROMOTION
What plans do you have for the future?
The new record comes out in mid May, May 15th. We were supposed to start our tour on that date in America but right now I don’t know if that tour is still happening. We’re kind of just hanging in there, waiting to see what happens and what news we get. We were planning to start in the US, we were then going to do Europe after that in the fall and then head to Australia and Japan next year, and then go back to the States. I’m not sure how this is going to play out, but I’m taking it easy, I’m not stressing out. Eventually things will go back to normal. Hopefully sooner rather than later! I’m currently focusing on promoting the new record and doing a lot of interviews right now.