EUROPE frontman Joey Tempest is featured in a new interview with Norway's Metal Express Radio. An excerpt from the discussion is available below.

Q: You and John Norum (guitars) have worked together since you were teenagers. How did his absence after the release of The Final Countdown impact you and the band?

Tempest: "We were very lucky to find Kee Marcello as his replacement, he’s such a great guitar player and he was a good friend of the band. I did miss John when he wasn’t in the band because we did form the band together and he was the spark in the beginning. I was 15 years old when I first saw him play and he was only 14 and he played like such an experienced player with such Blues feeling. I was astounded that you could find a guitar player like that in Sweden. I had a love of song writing and together we were a great match. Having him in the band is very important and I don’t think that Europe would exist without him. The Kee Marcello years worked out fine as he was a great guitar player but now when John’s back it feels really good. We’re like brothers, we’ve gone through everything together. We’re so connected and share the same vision that when that partnership had a glitch it was kind of difficult to survive. We did two good albums without him but it’s so great to have him back."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, Europe’s new album, Last Look At Eden, will be released by earMUSIC on September 14th. The band tour the UK in February 2010. Further info at europetheband.com.