FIREWIND Guitarist Says Playing With OZZY OSBOURNE Was 'Something Truly Unbelievable'

September 10, 2009

FIREWIND guitarist Gus G., who is also the current axeman for OZZY OSBOURNE's solo band, has issued the following update:

"Summer of 2009 is gone and we've [FIREWIND] just returned from the last festival show of the season! I must say that we had some really great shows this summer and Ilha do Ermal in Portugal was one of the best for us! It felt nice to return to Portugal (first time was in 2007) and see so many of our friends and fans! We even did an encore, usually that doesn't happen in a festival situation, but this time it worked out since people kept screaming for more and wouldn't let us leave the stage!

"Looking back now most of the shows were highlights. We're still amazed by the reception we got on our first trip to Turkey at Unirock festival, the 'dream-come-true' gig by supporting the SCORPIONS at Greece's Creta Festival (and me jamming with the SCORPS later that night!),the completely packed 15,000 capacity tent at Graspop [Metal Meeting in Belgium] and our glorious return to Finland at the fantastic Tuska festival! Then, of course, there were the German shows.

"I'm glad we did both Rock Hard and Summer Breeze festival — my personal favorite being Rock Hard (such a great vibe in Gelsenkirchen!).

"In between the festival madness, something truly unbelievable happened to me: I played a show with the Godfather of heavy metal — Ozzy Osbourne! I spent the best time of my life in L.A., rehearsing with Ozzy and his band and on August 22 we played the BlizzCon video game convention in Anaheim, California, as most of you probably know by now. It would be stupid to go on about how cool and great this was — I don't think these feelings and this experience can be described with just a few words!

"We are aware that this has caused lots of our fans wondering about the future of FIREWIND. No need to worry about anything, boys and girls, FIREWIND is stronger than ever and we're entering the studio at the end of September to record our sixth studio album. We still don't have a title for it, but we do have 12 brand new metal tunes that we're VERY proud of!!!

"In time we'll keep you updated with the recording process, reveal some song titles and hopefully show you some videos from the studio."

Gus spoke out about getting the job with Ozzy in the new Greek edition of Metal Hammer magazine. Asked how he got the gig, Gus said, "I got a message on my MySpace page from Rob 'Blasko' (Nicholson),Ozzy's bass player, asking me what was doing, if I was living in America or not and saying that he wanted to talk to me. I never thought he'd want me for something like that (playing with Ozzy). I initially thought that maybe he wanted to talk to me about doing a project or something and then he told me that one of Ozzfest's managers was looking for me. The manager said that they wanted me to fly out to Los Angeles immediately for a show that Ozzy was about to do in Anaheim, California."

Gus added that he came to the States and jammed with the other members of Ozzy's band first before Ozzy showed up to sing. Then Gus explained what happened: "Everybody else came into the room and shut the door behind them — Ozzy, Sharon (Osbourne, Ozzy's wife/manager),the band, the managers... You can imagine how anxious I was feeling at this time! Then they came out and said that I got the job and that we're gonna play that BlizzCon show together."

As for replacing longtime Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde, who apparently did not find out until late in the game that he was being sidelined, Gus said, "Zakk is a tremendous guitar player, just like all the guys that have played with Ozzy. In fact, Zakk is my favorite Ozzy guitar player ever and my biggest influence of them all! It's quite an honor for me to step into his shoes."

The guitarist will next perform with Ozzy this Sunday (September 12) at the closing night of the Sunset Strip Music Festival in Hollywood, California.

Video footage of Gus G.'s first show with OZZY OSBOURNE at BlizzCon 2009 on August 22, 2009 in Anaheim, California:

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