There is an new Firewind album up ahead. What do you expect for "The Premonition" and your further career?
We expect the band to grow even more as a team and unity and of course we are very excited to tour the whole world with this new album!
Have you found the best Firewind line up at last?
I think so. It took me a while, but us 5 have really bonded and we make really good music together. Firewind is like a family now.
 Was there a moment in life when you realized that Firewind would become something special?
I always believed Firewind was something special but simply on the first couple of albums I was focused more on Dream Evil and couldn’t get the right lineup for Firewind and start touring. It took me a while to find the right people but once this happened on Allegiance album I knew right there and then that we can become something really special!
Back to the new album. Is there a message in "The premonition"?
There is no concept, but usually our lyrics speak about things that we all live and go thru on a daily basis. Some songs speak about wars, poverty, the shame of humanity and where all this is leading. So u could say that the Premonition is like an alert that mankind must watch out and take care of our Mother Earth otherwise things will get really ugly in a few years from now.
My favourite is "Mercenary man". Please tell us a bit about this song.
You can say that this is our tribute to Gary Moore and Thin Lizzy of the 80s. Hence the title and the opening line “mamma take a look @ your boy”. We wrote this song on British soil while touring the UK in 2006. That’s why the celtic feeling on it. It’s basically the story of a mercenary man leaving home to go out to war.
The opener "Into the fire" reminds me a little bit (and in a positive way) of Metallica's "Master of puppets" album. Would you agree?
Of course. That’s where it’s coming from. I wanted to re-create that epic intro cause there hasn’t been anything similar since “Master Of Puppets”. That’s such an influential record in Metal history and I wanted to open my new album with an epic almost barbaric acoustic guitar theme and the rest of the instruments build it up slowly.
What is the finishing hymn "Life foreclosed" about?
It’s about that “premonition” I was talking about. Its lyrics are a bit darker and the song talks about the end of humanity.
 The cover song "Maniac" fantastically combines 80ies Dance Pop feeling and modern Heavy Metal. How do you choose and work out such a song?
It was Bob’s idea. He suggested the song to us and we all felt it’s a good choice and a great song. So we decided it to turn it into hard rock song!
It has been quite a long journey for Firewind by now. What do you think: How will the band sound like in let's say five years? Is there a masterplan?
Musically speaking there is no masterplan. I just want us to develop as musicians and keep making good quality music based on the elements we’ve established this far. We want to make albums that people will still listen to in 20 years from now. Only time will tell.
Concerning Live Shows: Are there still some bands that you would die to play with?
Of course! I’d love us to play together with the Scorpions, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica and all the greats!
Your plans for the near future? Tour? Festivals?
We have a huge tour schedule ahead of us. We are doing a month long tour of Europe together with Kamelot and right after that we fly to the US and kick it off on the “Tyranny & Bloodshred” tour with Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquility and Divine Heresy. Our N. American tour will last another month and from there we come back to Europe to play summer festivals. I believe after that we will go to Asia.
We are looking forward seeing you in Germany. Best whishes to you all. Your greetz to our readers and your fans out there, please:
Thank you for the interview and support!! We’re looking forward 2 coming back to Germany and rock your socks off!!
Stay Metal!
Gus G.
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