Guitar virtuoso Gus G, who is well known in the Metal and Rock universe his work as leader of his own group Firewind and also as member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, continues to promote his solo album debut “I Am The Fire”, which was released last month via Century Media Records and entered the official sales chart in Greece on position # 27 as well as #32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart at in the USA upon release.
Gus G. is about to kick off a debut European co-headlining tour together with Marty Friedman this week. Gus G. will be promoting his “I Am The Fire” release backed up by the following live-band: Mats Levén (Candlemass, ex. Yngwie Malmsteen/Therion), on vocals, Or Lubianiker on bass and Johan Nunez (Firewind) on drums.
A first summer festival appearance for Gus G. has now also been announced to take place at Kavarna Rock in Bulgaria on June 28th.
Gus G. + Marty Friedman / “Guitar Universe 2” Co-Headline Tour:
01.05.2014 Tampere (Finland) – Klubi
02.05.2014 Helsinki (Finland) – Nosturi
03.05.2014 Stockholm (Sweden) – Stockholm Rocks Festival
05.05.2014 Gothenburg (Sweden) – Trädgårn
07.05.2014 Malmö (Sweden) – KB
09.05.2014 Krakow (Poland) – Lizard King
10.05.2014 Warsaw (Poland) – Progresja
12.05.2014 Munich (Germany) – Backstage
14.05.2014 Hannover (Germany) – Musikzentrum
15.05.2014 Essen (Germany) – Turock
16.05.2014 Zoetermeer (The Netherlands) – De Boerderij
17.05.2014 Hasselt (Belgium) – MuziekoDroom
18.05.2014 Uden (The Netherlands) – De Pul
20.05.2014 Savigny Le Temple (France) – L’ Impreinte
21.05.2014 London (UK) – O2 Islington Academy
22.05.2014 Nuneaton (UK) – Queens Hall
As part of our Tribute To Ritchie Blackmore week, we have invited well known names in the world of rock and metal to share their thoughts about Ritchie.
The next in the series is guitar virtuoso GUS G, creator of Greek metallers FIREWIND, guitarist in Ozzy Osbourne’s band and also more recently a solo artist, having just released his debut album “I Am The Fire.
Gus brought me up to date with what’s going on in his world at the moment:
“It’s about three weeks since my debut album came out. It’s been the best reviewed album of my career so far. I’m pretty amazed at that actually, so I guess that’s a good sign.
I’m just getting ready to go on my first European tour, it’s actually starting May 1st. It’s a co-headlining tour with Marty Friedman, so I’m very excited about it. We’re looking at America and Japan as well. Hopefully the rest of the year will take us to other places, maybe next year as well.”
We went on to discuss Ritchie Blackmore and Gus expressed, “If you’re into rock guitar, you cannot not like a guy like Ritchie Blackmore and not have picked up on any of his riffs. I think he’s done pretty well for himself hasn’t he? (laughs)
I’m a big fan of his obviously, I love his DEEP PURPLE stuff, what an illustrious career. Even with BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, it’s not the kinda stuff I listen to to be honest, I like his rock stuff, his electric stuff more. But yeah, he’s one of the originators of hard rock and heavy guitar, you know he’s one of the truly great ones.
People like Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore, those are the guys who set the bar for the rest to follow, so to speak of.
Gus went on to talk about Ritchie‘s guitar playing:
“The cool thing with Ritchie is his playing, his riffs are so iconic and classic like Smoke On The Water and Highway Star, so many hits with DEEP PURPLE. When it came to his soloing, his playing was very free form and he’s the kinda player who never plays the same thing twice. That was very inspiring, to try and pick up his solos note for note. I like the way he mixes the blues with classical, i guess he was going that direction kinda like where Yngwie Malmsteen was going before Yngwie.”
You can listen to the whole interview on the player below:
Gus G., well known in the Metal and Rock universe as guitar virtuoso for his work as leader of his own group FIREWIND and also as member of OzzyOsbourne’s band, continues to promote his solo album debut “I Am The Fire”, which was released last month via Century Media Records and entered the official sales chart in Greece on position # 27 as well as #32 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart at in the USA upon release.
A new video clip produced by Patric Ullaeus / revolver.se (Within Temptation, In Flames, Lacuna Coil, Europe, etc.) for the song “Eyes Wide Open (Feat. Mats Levén)” has being debuted today via the website of UK’s Metal Hammer magazine. Check the clip out here.
After some successful first solo-dates in Greece last month, Gus G. is soon to also kick off European live-action to support the release of “I Am The Fire” in Europe soon together with Marty Friedman as part of the “Guitar Universe 2” co-headlining tour. Here is a promotional trailer for the tour:
And here is a list of all upcoming dates for the tour as well as a few of the newly confirmed first festival appearances for Gus G. in 2014:
Gus G. + Marty Friedman / “Guitar Universe 2” Co-Headline Tour: 01.05.2014 Tampere (Finland) – Klubi 02.05.2014 Helsinki (Finland) – Nosturi 03.05.2014 Stockholm (Sweden) – Stockholm Rocks Festival 05.05.2014 Gothenburg (Sweden) – Trädgårn
07.05.2014 Malmö (Sweden) – KB 09.05.2014 Krakow (Poland) – Lizard King 10.05.2014 Warsaw (Poland) – Progresja 12.05.2014 Munich (Germany) – Backstage 14.05.2014 Hannover (Germany) – Musikzentrum 15.05.2014 Essen (Germany) – Turock 16.05.2014 Zoetermeer (The Netherlands) – De Boerderij 17.05.2014 Hasselt (Belgium) – MuziekoDroom 18.05.2014 Uden (The Netherlands) – De Pul 20.05.2014 Savigny Le Temple (France) – L’ Impreinte
21.05.2014 London (UK) – O2 Islington Academy 22.05.2014 Nuneaton (UK) – Queens Hall Gus G. @ Festivals 2014: 07.06.2014 Via Verdi (Italy) – Pegorock Festival / http://www.pegorock.it 01.08.2014 Szekesfehervar (Hungary) – Fezen Festival / http://www.fezen.hu More dates to follow soon…
In other news, Gus G. has just launched a competition (which runs up to the end of April) to win one of his signature ESP guitars. Here are more details for the contest run via Instagram: “Show us your best ‘air guitar’ pose on Instagram and win a Gus G. signature guitar! Post a photo of you on Instagram playing ‘air guitar’ and hashtag #iamthefire. Give us your best pose! The winner gets a LTD Gus-200 BLK signature guitar and will be handpicked by Gus!”
Century Media reports that OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist and FIREWIND mastermind GUS G. recently completely an exclusive interview for Fuse.tv’s series “Metalhead to Head”. Joined by Mark Heylmun (SUICIDE SILENCE), GUS G. discusses trying out for OZZY OSBOURNE‘s band while showing off some signature guitar licks. To watch the video, head over to Fuse.tv now:
On Mar. 31, GUS G. will take part in an “Ask Me Anything” chat on Reddit.com. Fans are welcome to submit questions from 9PM CET//12PM PST//3PM EST to 10:30PM CET//1:30PM PST//4:30PM EST. GUS G. comments: “Wanna know why and how I created my debut solo album? Wanna know how I got the gig with OZZY OSBOURNE? Funny tour stories? Wanna talk about cats? Tattoos? Guitars? Gear and playing tips? Heavy Metal? Action heroes? Guitar heroes? Join me on Reddit on March 31st and Ask Me Anything.”
GUS G. recently released his solo debut, I Am The Fire, worldwide via Century Media Records. To purchase the album, please visit iTunes for a digital copy or CM Distro for a variety of physical formats. For a preview of I Am The Fire, be sure to check out the following videos:
GUS G. handles all guitar, bass and keyboards on I Am The Fire, and is joined by a roster of friends and guests that helped bring his vision to fruition: drummers Jeff Friedl (A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUSCIFER, DEVO) and Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY), bassists David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Marty O’Brien (TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN), and vocalists Mats Leven (CANDLEMASS, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/THERION), Blake Allison (DEVOUR THE DAY), Michael Starr (STEEL PANTHER), Alexia Rodriguez (EYES SET TO KILL), Tom S. Englund (EVERGREY), Jacob Bunton (ADLER) and Jeff Scott Soto (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, ex-JOURNEY). I Am The Fire was mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER) and was recorded between Los Angeles and GUS G.’s home country of Greece through the latter half of 2013. The album showcases a well-balanced mix of active rock, classic hard rock, traditional metal and guitar-driven instrumentals, taking listeners on a diverse journey through GUS G.’s soulful playing.
I Am The Fire track-listing
1. My Will Be Done (feat. Mats Levén)
2. Blame It On Me (feat. Mats Levén)
3. I Am The Fire (feat. DEVOUR THE DAY)
4. Vengeance (feat. David Ellefson)
5. Long Way Down (feat. Alexia Rodriguez)
6. Just Can’t Let Go (feat. Jacob Bunton)
7. Terrified (feat. Billy Sheehan)
8. Eyes Wide Open (feat. Mats Levén)
9. Redemption (feat. Michael Starr)
10. Summer Days (feat. Jeff Scott Soto)
11. Dreamkeeper (feat. Tom S. Englund)
12. End Of The Line (feat. Mats Levén)
GUS G. handles all guitar, bass and keyboards on I Am The Fire, and is joined by a roster of friends and guests that helped bring his vision to fruition: drummers Jeff Friedl (A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUSCIFER, DEVO) and Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY), bassists David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Marty O’Brien (TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN), and vocalists Mats Leven (CANDLEMASS, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/THERION), Blake Allison (DEVOUR THE DAY), Michael Starr (STEEL PANTHER), Alexia Rodriguez (EYES SET TO KILL), Tom S. Englund (EVERGREY), Jacob Bunton (ADLER) and Jeff Scott Soto (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, ex-JOURNEY). I Am The Fire was mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER) and was recorded between Los Angeles and GUS G.’s home country of Greece through the latter half of 2013. The album showcases a well-balanced mix of active rock, classic hard rock, traditional metal and guitar-driven instrumentals, taking listeners on a diverse journey through GUS G.’s soulful playing. – See more at: http://www.centurymedia.com/newsdetailed.aspx?IdNews=14181&IdCompany=2#sthash.eOhtyvnp.dpuf
Artist: GUS G. Album: I Am The Fire Release Date: March 18th 2014 Label: Century Media Records
Tracklisting:
1. My Will Be Done (Feat. Mats Levén, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, THERION, CANDLEMASS) 2. Blame It On Me (Feat. Mats Levén) 3. I Am The Fire (Feat. Blake Allison, DEVOUR THE DAY) 4. Vengeance (Feat. David Ellefson, MEGADETH) 5. Long Way Down (Feat. Alexia Rodriguez, EYES SET TO KILL) 6. Just Can’t Let Go (Feat. Jacob Bunton, ADLER) 7. Terrified (Feat. Billy Sheehan, MR.BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) 8. Eyes Wide Open (Feat. Mats Levén) 9. Redemption (Feat. Michael Starr, STEEL PANTHER) 10. Summer Days (Feat. Jeff Scott Soto Ex- JOURNEY, Current TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) 11. Dreamkeeper (Feat. Tom S. Englund, EVERGREY) 12. End Of The Line (Feat. Mats Levén)
Guitar virtuoso Gus G. has worked extremely hard over the years to achieve his current status in the music world. He is the creating force behind Greek metallers FIREWIND and in 2009 was chosen by Ozzy Osbourne to be guitarist in his band, as well as being involved in various other projects along the way.
Now Gus has released his first ever solo album. He has spoken many times over the last year about it being different to his other work. As mentioned in his 2013 interview with Blackdiamond, Gus stated that “a lot of the stuff is a bit more mellow, a bit more classic rock-ish sounding.”
As well as playing guitar (of course!), Gus also handles the keyboards and some bass on this 12 track offering, as well as producing the album. Joining the already mentioned guest artists are drummers Jeff Friedl (A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUSCIFER, DEVO), Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY) and bass player Marty O’Brien (TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN).
“I Am The Fire” was released on March 18th and features quite a diverse selection of guests, as stated above. Cue vocalist Mats Levén on the storming intro track ‘My Will Be Done.’ It is full of catchy hooks and great melodies which are matched perfectly with Mats‘ gravelly tones. Already the album is oozing a classic rock vibe.
Even early on in the album, it’s obvious to see how well matched as a musical team Mats and Gus are, creating fantastically executed harmonies and layers of classic rock sounds on the second track ‘Blame It On Me.’
The selection of friends to appear as guests on this album has obviously been very carefully thought out by Gus, each one stamping their individuality on the songs. Even though there are two vocalists who aren’t really my ‘cup of tea’ (Blake Allison and Alexia Rodriguez), I can’t say anything bad about those songs, because they still sound great, especially the music.
Of course there are plenty of shredding solos to be heard on “I Am The Fire” by Gus, demonstrating his outstanding technical abilities, but always played with flair and feeling. The composition of the songs is first class; changes of pace, classic riffs and melodies, with a great production.
The two instrumental tracks, ‘Vengeance’ featuring David Ellefson and ‘Terrified,’ with Billy Sheehan are pure molten metal, the heaviest on the album. They’ve been on repeat at full blast since I first heard “I Am The Fire.” ‘Vengeance’ is over 4 minutes of paradise for fans of shredding and doesn’t let up whatsoever; this would be awesome to see live on stage. ‘Terrified’ is a little shorter, but no less of a metal onslaught to the eardrums, fantastic!
‘Redemption,’featuring Michael Starr of STEEL PANTHER makes a more than subtle change from his usual style and lyrical content, another classic rock style song.
Jeff Scott Soto’s contribution to “I Am The Fire” needs a huge highlighting mention. ‘Summer Days’ is a full-on ‘80’s nostalgia trip containing big rock sounds mixed with some softer moments. Again, a perfect blend of Jeff’s voice with the precision of Gus’s guitar riffs. A sure fire hit with fans of ’80’s rock, whether they were there at the time or not.
The whole album is like a breath of fresh air and it’s great to see Gus venturing into pastures new with “I Am The Fire.” Definitely a new favourite in my collection and I’m sure it will be for both fans of Gus G. and classic rock.
OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist and FIREWIND mastermind GUS G. has launched a track-by-track video for his upcoming solo album debut, I Am The Fire, due out tomorrow (March 18th) in North America via Century Media Records. Featuring clips of each album track and an exclusive interview with GUS G., the video can be viewed here:
Also check out:
“I Am The Fire (Feat. DEVOUR THE DAY)” was recently released as a digital single. Head over to iTunes to download the single or pre-order the album: http://www.smarturl.it/iamthefireITUNES. Fans can also pre-order I Am The Fire in various physical formats at CM Distro: http://smarturl.it/gusg
GUS G. handles all guitar, bass and keyboards on I Am The Fire, and is joined by a roster of friends and guests that helped bring his vision to fruition: drummers Jeff Friedl (A PERFECT CIRCLE, PUSCIFER, DEVO) and Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY), bassists David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Marty O’Brien (TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN), and vocalists Mats Leven (CANDLEMASS, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/THERION), Blake Allison (DEVOUR THE DAY), Michael Starr (STEEL PANTHER), Alexia Rodriguez (EYES SET TO KILL), Tom S. Englund (EVERGREY), Jacob Bunton (ADLER) and Jeff Scott Soto (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, ex-JOURNEY). I Am The Fire was mixed by Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER) and was recorded between Los Angeles and GUS G.’s home country of Greece through the latter half of 2013. The album showcases a well-balanced mix of active rock, classic hard rock, traditional metal and guitar-driven instrumentals, taking listeners on a diverse journey through GUS G.’s soulful playing.
I Am The Fire track-listing:
1. My Will Be Done (feat. Mats Levén)
2. Blame It On Me (feat. Mats Levén)
3. I Am The Fire (feat. DEVOUR THE DAY)
4. Vengeance (feat. David Ellefson)
5. Long Way Down (feat. Alexia Rodriguez)
6. Just Can’t Let Go (feat. Jacob Bunton)
7. Terrified (feat. Billy Sheehan)
8. Eyes Wide Open (feat. Mats Levén)
9. Redemption (feat. Michael Starr)
10. Summer Days (feat. Jeff Scott Soto)
11. Dreamkeeper (feat. Tom S. Englund)
12. End Of The Line (feat. Mats Levén)
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Gus G. + Marty Friedman / “Guitar Universe 2” Co-Headline Tour:
Artist: GUS G.
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