GUARDIAN FORCE
1.First of all, tell us the history of Guardian Force?
Mike: It started about 8 years ago when Gude (drummer) and I first met. At the time I was 11 years old and Gude was 12. We started playing some old Accept songs together and Mage (vocalist) joined the band.
Gude: We were not very good at the time but what can you expect from a bunch of eleven year olds.
Mike: Years went by and we got new members and lost some. It was only until the year 2000 that Guardian Force was formed by the remaining members: Mage, Gude and me. Shortly after that Lauri (guitars), Late (keyboardist) and Harry (basist) joined the band. The line-up is still the same except for Harry who left the band recently.
Late: So currently we’re looking for a new bassplayer who will fit in the band and who is as crazy as the rest of us.
2.Tell us some details from the demo cd “Land of magic”?
Mike: Well, we had only 2 days to record the demo at Sibelius Akatemia Studios.
Gude: Though the timeperiod was quite short the outcome was pleasing, though I know that this band could amount to much more and I hope that we’ll hear much more of Guardian Force than some people would like, hehehe…
Mage: Due to the fact that we had so little time I didn’t have the time to concentrate on the singing as much as I would have wanted to. In fact, many harmonies were left out due to the shortage of the time.
3.Which is the procedure when you write the songs?
Gude: Well, it often starts out with an idea that I introduce to Mike and then we develope it into the basics of the song and then record it to our 16-tracker. After that the rest of the band come up with their own ideas for their own instruments that they then add to the song. Though it isn’t always me who comes up with a new idea. All of the band members have also come up with great ideas. There are also some songs that I have written all by myself.
Mike: When I write a song I always do it at home, never at the rehearsal place.
Lauri: I also write songs at home but I haven’t had the opportunity to arrange the songs for the band yet.
Mage: I usually come up with whole songs at once and write them down in a notebook. I haven’t presented more than a few of them to the band because of the lack of time.
4.Have you already played any gig?
Mike: Only a few small gigs
Gude: And the gigs were not so satisfying
Late: Even though the gigs were quite small I enjoyed playing on them and I’m looking forward to future gigs.
5.Your influences from the metal scene?
Lauri: Dream Theater and Symphony X mostly…
Mike: Stratovarius, Rhapsody and Rhandy Rhoads
Mage: Helloween, Edguy, Gamma Ray, Manowar, Avantasia, Blind Guardian and so on..
Gude: Well my biggest influence would be Dan Zimmermann from Gamma Ray and since I also like to sing I would say that in that area my biggest influence would be Michael Kiske.
Late: I like classical music a lot so the metal bands with great influences from classical music are mostly the bands I like. I also like synth-orientated bands a lot and bands with great keyboardplayers. To name a few: Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica and Rhapsody.
6.Where do you come from?
All: Helsinki, Finland
7.Tell me your opinion about your metal scene in your country
Lauri: I think the scene in Finland is quite good because as you may know many talented metal bands come from Finland. For instance, Stratovarius, Children of Bodom, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica etc.
Mike: Great shit although a lot of the bands sound alike.
Gude: I agree with Mike and I hope that we can bring variation to the metal scene in Finland sometime in the future.
Late: I have to agree on that point but there are also some bands that have created their own style of music.
8.Do you know anything for metal scene in Greece?
Lauri: No
Mike: No, but the fans seem to be amazing
Late: Unfortunatley I don’t know any bands from Greece but as Mike said, there seems to be a lot of metal fans in Greece. For instance Stratovarius Visions of Europe was recorded in Athens (if I remember correctly) and the fans are sooo crazy on the record 🙂
9.Tell me you favorite album and your favorite bands
Lauri: It depends but currently I like Andromeda’s Extension of the Wish. Favourite band would be Symphony X.
Mage: My favourite album would have to be Helloween: Keeper of the seven Keys II and my favourite band is Blind Guardian.
Mike: I haven’t got one but Helloween’s Keeper II, Judas Priest: Painkiller and Fight: War of Words and both Avantasia records.
Gude: Though it isn’t a metalalbum I would have to say that Michael Kiske’s Instant Clarity is my favourite record. My two favourite bands are Gamma Ray and Helloween (1986-1995).
Late: It varies from time to time but currently my favourite record would be Stratovarius: Visions, the record that introduced me to heavy metal. Favourite band is probably Sonata Arctica.
10.What are your plans in the future for “Guardian Force”?
Mage: I would personally hope that Guardian Force will not just be another finish metal band. I would like our music to differ from the bigger finish metal bands and so creating an own way of playing the music we love to play. There are many influences, mostly german metal bands and it seems that our music in the future will probably sound something like german power metal. I have always dreamed of playing with the band on the moon, hehehe. J
Mike: Work hard, get big
Gude: I believe that GF will someday have great music for headbanging.
Late: Work hard together with the band to create exceptional music that people enjoy listening to.
11.All the members of “Guardian Force” are young,do you believe that is a
minus point for the future of the band?
Lauri: Since I’m the youngest member of the band I can assure you that there’s no problem with the age.
Mike: No, the fact that we are young means that we have a future.
Late: Agrees with Mike
Gude: Since I’ve just passed the age of 20 I don’t feel like a very young person starting out. The bad thing being young is that people don’t judge your music the same way as if you were a bit older. People often think that if you’re young and have quite good music that it’s something remarkable. But I seriously hope that people would judge our band like they would do any other band.
Mage: I also agree with Mike. We have a lot of decisions to make on where the band is going. I hope we don’t make the wrong decisions, but instead try to make the best music we can and make the right choices for a bright future of the band .
12.Tell me how does your music sound, do you agree that you play european power metal?
Gude: If you compare the metal scene in America and Europe you can hear sincere differences in the line of music. You can defineatly hear that we’re the European type and we are trying very hard not to be influenced by the American crap, though there are a couple of good bands there, like Manowar and Symphony X.
Late: Even though we sound more like a European than American metal band, I don’t think we sound like a typical European metal band. I think the fact that we come from scandinavia is reflected in our music, and therefore we can’t be classified as a typical mid-European heavy metal band.
Mike: I agree that we play power metal, but it would be impossible to classify our music as European. It’s stupid to classify music according to where they come from. ( I think I would play the guitar exactly the same way no matter where I would live).
13.Thanks for your interview and close the interview as you like.
Lauri: Thanks for the interview. Hopefully the metalheads in Greece likes our music.
Gude: Thanx! Drink more beer and don’t sleep with the squirrels.
Late: Thank you and stay metal! You will hear from us!!
Mage: I hope you’ll hear from us soon!!
Mike: Thank you! Soon hear from us, you will!!
