Metal Wani's Editor In Chief Owais 'Vitek' Nabi recently chatted with Firewind guitarist and songwriter Gus G.

In the audio interview below, Gus G. discusses the upcoming Firewind album Immortals which took five years to make, the first ever Firewind concept album related to Greek battle, his opinion on why Immortals fit the Top 3 Firewind albums to date, and using producer Dennis Ward for the first time.

He also talks about new singer Henning Basse, his ability to soar and inspire the band, writing a song on Leonadis, the only brave survivor of the battle, and how he planned his guitar riffs and arrangements for the record.

Gus G. also throws light on the current status of his solo project, possible collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne for the upcoming solo record, touring plans for the record and much more.

Gus appeared on Ozzy's last solo studio album, 2010's Scream. When asked if he will be part of Ozzy's next solo record, he replied, "I should hope so. I haven't heard any news regarding when we're going to be doing this, because I think he's still on tour with Sabbath. And I know he's been hinting a little bit to the press that he wants to do another solo record, but who knows when that will be? I think that's more of a question for him instead of me."

When queried about if he will have time to work on Ozzy's next solo album in between his own touring commitments with Firewind and as a solo artist, Gus answered: "If the Ozzman calls, you have to make time. You have to be stupid not to make time for him."

Firewind have announced the release of their eighth studio album, Immortals, which will be available on January 20th via the band’s longtime label partner Century Media Records in Europe. The album will be released in North America via AFM Records.

Gus G. checked in to comment about Immortals and its artwork (which can be seen below): “We're very happy to reveal the cover artwork for our 8th studio album. It's titled Immortals and it's the first concept album Firewind has ever made. Since we're from Greece, we thought it would be a cool idea to make a concept of Greek history and heritage. So, on this album we focused on the legendary battles of Thermopylae and Salamis during the 2nd Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. The artwork was once again created by our longtime collaborator, Gustavo Sazes and we feel it reflects the vibe we tried to capture on this album - Epic, Powerful, Glorious, Everlasting.”

Immortals marks the first time Firewind used an outside co-producer, working with Dennis Ward (Unisonic, Pink Cream 69), who not only engineered, mixed and mastered the album, but also co-wrote it together with Gus G.

Immortals tracklisting:

“Hands Of Time”
“We Defy”
“Ode To Leonidas”
“Back On The Throne”
“Live And Die By The Sword”
“Wars Of Ages”
“Lady Of 1000 Sorrows”
“Immortals”
“Warriors And Saints”
“Rise From The Ashes”

Next to the standard jewel case CD and Digital Download formats, Immortals will also be released as LP on 180gr vinyl with a poster as well as the entire album on CD as bonus. Additionally, there will also be a limited edition Mediabook CD with expanded booklet, a bonus track and 3 stickers.

In the meantime you can already check out a few sample riffs in a play-through clip that Gus G. recorded in co-operation with Toontrack’s EZmix 2 and the Metal Guitar Gods 4 EZmix Pack expansion:

In order to support the release of Immortals, Firewind are set to hit the road across Europe and the UK. Those dates as well as some first festival dates confirmed for 2017.

Europe & UK with special guests Manimal and Scar Of The Sun:

February
15 - Glasgow, Scotlan - Audio
16 - Manchester, England - Academy 3
17 - Sheffield, England - Corporation
18 - Wolverhampton, England - Slade Rooms
19 - London, England - Underworld
21 - Southampton, England - Engine Rooms
22 - Paris, France - Backstage by the Mills
23 - Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
25 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
26 - Budapest, Hungary - A38
27 - München, Germany - Feierwerk
28 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - Colos-Saal

March
1 - Bochum, Germany - Rockpalast
2 - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob

European Festivals:

June
16 - Duisburg, Germany - Rage Against Racism

July
13-15 - Balingen, Germany - Bang Your Head

August
9-12 - Villena, Spain - Leyendas del Rock

September
8 - Olen, Belgium - Olensfest

Firewind lineup:

Henning Basse - Vocals
Gus G. - Guitar
Petros Christo - Bass
Bob Katsionis - Keyboards
Jo Nunez - Drums