SONATA ARCTICA Guitarist Elias Viljanen Featured In New Video Interview
December 20, 2009, 14 years ago
SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Elias Viljanen is featured in a new video interview conducted by Metal Storm at this year's Hard Rock Hell festival in Prestatyn Sands, North Wales. Check it out below.
As previously reported, BW&BK; scribe Carl Begai recently caught up with frontman Tony Kakko to discuss the band's new album, The Days Of Grays. An excerpt focusing on Viljanen's contributions to the album is available below:
One of the most important aspects of The Days Of Grays is the addition of guitarist Elias Viljanen to the line-up. He replaces original Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liimatainen, who was given the boot when it became clear his heart and mind were no longer with the band. And in spite of holding the reins Kakko says Viljanen’s contributions had a definite effect on the direction of the new album.
“He knows what he’s doing and I didn’t want to touch that,” Kakko says of Viljanen. “The Days Of Grays is actually a lot different from Unia because of that. I think this albums has a lot more mid-range, and that surprised me a bit when I started listening to the mix. It’s different, but it’s perfect the way it is.”“I knew he was quite talented and that he had his own style of playing, so I was really looking forward to working with him,” he adds. “I was amazed by his performances during the auditions. He’s a little shy still: I don’t know if he’s scared of me or something, but he’s respecting me a bit too much (laughs). He recorded his stuff for the album by himself in Tampere (Finland) and I wasn’t there at all, so I was kind of expecting more rock-styled playing in places, but Elias has his own style and that really came through. Nobody should try and change that, either.”
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