You’ve been an EZdrummer 2 user for years now and recently moved up to EZdrummer 3. Thoughts on all the new sounds and features?
That’s right, I’ve been using EZdrummer 2 for more than a decade and it’s my go-to tool when I compose. I recently upgraded my computer and switched over to EZdrummer 3 and I’m blown away by the new features, amazing design and sounds. I’ve yet to explore it fully, as I recently just finished an album production with EZdrummer 2, but I’m looking forward to writing some new beats on my next album production with it!

Where in your creative process does EZdrummer 3 come into play?
Being a rock/metal guitarist, everything starts with a guitar riff 90% of the time. I’ll put down a few riffs in my DAW and from there I open EZdrummer and just experiment with the beats. Sometimes I’ll throw in something random and eventually find something I like and will make the necessary changes in the MIDI to fit the riff exactly. Other times, I’ll just write the drum part myself with the keyboard. Really depends what I’m looking for and what type of song it is, BPM, etc. And for that remaining 10% of the creative process, I’ll reverse things. What I mean is, I’ll just throw in a random beat from EZdrummer and just improvise on guitar over it to basically simulate the experience of jamming along with a drummer. That’s a more old-school jamming approach, but that works just fine too.

You’ve just released a new Firewind album and are heading out on tour with Masterplan. What else is up with the band?
You know, right after the pandemic was winding down we were able to go out again on tour and celebrate 20 years of Firewind. It’s pretty amazing that we’re still doing this for 20+ years now. So that inspired us to go back in the studio and make a new album. The new album is called “Stand United” and comes out March 1, 2024. I’m really excited about this one, it’s our tenth studio album and it’s got all the elements our fans know us for but also I feel it sounds very fresh at the same time. Obviously we’re a live band and we want to play live as much as possible. We will be kicking off the world tour in Europe in March with Masterplan, then head over to the US and hopefully other territories later, like Japan and South America.

You were in Ozzy’s band for years, you’re coming up on two decades with Firewind and you have a string of successful solo albums released. Looking back on your whole journey so far, what would you say stands out the most to you on a personal level?
First of all, I feel very blessed to have had such a career. From stints with bands such as Arch Enemy, Dream Evil to guest appearances with legendary artists like Kamelot, Doro, etc to becoming one of the guitarists of Ozzy’s band and at the same time leading my own band for more than 20 years, it’s been an incredible journey so far. There isn’t one single era or band that stands out the most to me, everything has been equally important for me to become who I am today andmy musical growth. The love and support of the fans is what drives me to keep going and all of these past experiences are present on the new Firewind album, of course.

What’s next on your agenda music-wise?
I really don’t know where the music will take me. For now, I’m hoping for a successful world tour playing the new songs from the “Stand United” album. I’m always thinking of the next step and how I can outdo myself, so let’s see. Music is a never-ending journey and I’m excited for the future.