Gus G. made a name for himself with Firewind, the band he initially launched as a solo project in 1998 that made its official debut in 2002. In that time the band has released nine albums, while Gus has also recorded and toured with Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil and Ozzy Osbourne. He has also made inroads as a solo artist, having released three albums under his own name: “I Am The Fire” (2014), “Brand New Revolution” (2015), and “Fearless” (2018). He closes 2021 with a new instrumental solo effort “Quantum Leap,” featuring 10 tracks that both showcase the playing style Gus is known for and takes fans into new territory.
“Quantum Leap” came together over the course of the worldwide pandemic that, unfortunately, prevented Firewind‘s self-titled album from 2020 from gaining any real momentum. Immobilized by the quarantine measures that kept him at home, Gus began compiling musical ideas to keep himself occupied, which led to the full-on effort to write and record an album during the summer of 2021
“I didn’t make “Quantum Leap” with the intention of it being the next one in the cycle of solo albums,” Gus admits. “It was more of a case of, ‘What else is there?’ I needed the creative outlet.”
Gus agrees with the suggestion that one has to make an instrumental album for him or herself; if people happen to enjoy it, that’s a plus. It’s an approach he takes with every album he makes, but if heavy metal is considered a niche market doing an
instrumental album is an even smaller corner of that. Being a part of the music industry over the past 20 years has taught Gus that the business and the market has evolved to the point that instrumental albums are far more readily accepted compared to when he started
For an in-depth discussion on “Quantum Leap”, Gus spoke with Sonic Perspectives’ collaborator Rodrigo Altaf about the songwriting process behind the record, how it differs from writing for Firewind, what makes this album different to its predecessors besides the fact that is his first full-instrumental effort, why did he decide to add a bonus discs with a live show, and what are the actual touring plans for Firewind in Europe, among other topics.
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