1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
We have had one little change in the crew. Our long-time guitarist Jaakko Riihimäki decided to leave the band at the end of last year. Luckily we found a new guitarist, Matias Knuuttila and
soon after the first rehearsals it was clear that he was the man for the job. After that we have been writing and practicing new material of which we have quite a bit already.
2. You have a new album coming out in May, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
In the new album we have had pretty much the same musical basics than what we had with our latest EP "Tales From World Afar". During the making of that EP the overall sound and musical direction
started to find its final shape. "From Dusk To Eternity" is very melodic and atmospheric recording with mainly death metal and power metal influences. Our former productions have been total mixture of various musical genres and some of that variety can be heard in the latest recording. I think that in this album we have managed to find our own style rather than putting many different styles together.
3. This is the first full length from the band but there where plenty of demos, promo's and ep's recorded over the years, why did you wait until now to put out a full length album?
In the first several years we had so many changings in our crew and our musical material was so shattered, we didn`t even think about making a full length album. Also I guess we had little naive
hopes of getting a contract with a recording label with just a demo or an EP. Then ofcourse it is always about the money.
4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
There are two different themes in our lyrics. On one hand there are a bit funny epic fantasy/sci-fi themes and on the other hand there are more realistic and serious themes. Fantasy themes are
quite easy for the listener to deal with but rest of the lyrics can be quite complex. The idea is that the listener can decipher the meaning and the context of the lyrics in many different ways.
5. The band started out as Rotta, what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Gledenfold'?
It was 2003 and I (Esko) was in high school. Me, my brother Lauri and three other friends had formed some kind of a band, and we practised covers. There was this band contest for school bands called
Relax Fair and we had to sign our band in it but we didn`t have any name. So we signed in with the first name that came up and it was Rotta (rat in english). At that time I was playing drums and
did some singing. Our second founding member Lauri playd the bass at the time. I could say that the contest was the starting point of Gladenfold because the main idea of the contest was to perform selfmade songs. We played my first composion ever, called "Nocturnal bless". After that we decided to do our own music and also switch places a bit. I started to play guitar and Lauri took the drums, thank god! All we had to do now was to learn how to play. Then ofcourse we had to come up with a proper name for the band. After countless alternatives the name Gladenfold found its place. The name it self doesn`t mean anything but it is infact a combination of two words "glade" and "enfold". The meaning of the words felt good for at that time we were enthralled by folk- and viking metal.
Even though our sound changed during the years we didn`t feel like changing the name.
6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Well you always remember the first gig but that was quite different then. Gigs played as Gladenfold have always been quite energic and fun, for that is why we started the whole thing, to have fun.
Best gig might be the time we played with Bal-Sagoth in Klubi at our hometown Turku to a full house. There have been many great gigs, but I cannot remember them all that well. Hopefully the best shows are still to come.
7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
We have already booked some gigs all over Finland for this year and hopefully we will soon get the chance to play abroad aswell. We don't have yet any booking agency so it's more than difficult to
get any gigs specially outside of Finland.
8. The new album came out on Buil2Kill Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Buil2Kill Records is a small independent italian label that is a division of Nadir Music. They liked our music and offered us a deal that we accepted. There is not much to tell for we just made the deal few weeks ago. It is however interesting to see how the co-operation will work. So far, we are very pleased with the effort that they have put in promoting this album.
9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death and power metal?
The feedback has been great from both fans and official authors like reviews etc. The worldwide promotion has just started but the start has been very promising for we have had many contacts
from different promotion agencies and of cource fans. Most of the active fans seem to be foreigners. All in all the feedback has been very hope lifting so far.
10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
It took us several years to find out present style and sound so we are not going to change it for a while. We are quite productive in songwriting at the moment and we already have lots
of new material so the preparations for the second album is well on it's way.
11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
There are dozens of bands that has influenced on our music for example;Blind Guardian, Kamelot, Dark Moor, Ensiferum, ETOS, Kalmah, Dark Tranquility and many many more.(Esko) For my part classical music has great influence in my composing, singin and playing. I have also growing interest in acustic music. (Lauri) As a drummer I have taken influences from Casey Grillo (Kamelot),
Asgeir Mickelson (ex-Borknagar) and also Daniel Zimmerman(ex-GammaRay, ex-Freedom Call).
In the band there are interests to all directions and every one has their own additional musical projects as well.
12. What are some of your non musical interests?
We like to keep our selves in good shape so we do all kind of sports. Then we do also love the taste of a good beer and do that from time to time. We have all our careers so that takes much of our time. In the end there are not that much non-musical interests after all.
13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We would like to thank you for this interview. Sorry for the bad English, hopefully it gets the message through. The interview was given by Esko and Lauri Itälä.
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