Classic Heavy Metal is timeless and since our beginning as metal fans we`ve listened to this style of metal. We connect very positive memories and feelings with it and we wanted to do a band that is able to transfer this.

Welcome to our Spanish Webzine: Dioses del Metal

Johnny: Hello to alle readers of Dioses del Metal!

Jens: Thanks, glad to be here!

If I am right, the founding members of Gloryful were the singer Johnny La Bomba and the guitarist Jens “Shredmaster JB” Basten, how does the idea of forming the band begin?

Johnny: Jens and I met first when our partneres arranged some kind of couple date. I already knew Jens from Night in Gales but never met him in person. We figured out quite fast that we started with the same bands to listen to metal music, especially classic Heavy Metal. I had the idea some years ago but never found members for a line up. It took a while to convince Jens, but after a Karaoke-Night he was in. We did 3 Songs at first and wanted to bring Gloryful up on stage and fortunatly found very skilled musicians and friends to form the line-up and … here we are.

Gloryful is only three years old, but its members have a long musical experience as they’ve been in many other bands.

Johnny: That`s right. Jens is also in Night in Gales for decades, Hartmut played drums for Deadsoil and Symbiontic, Vito is also playing guitar in Exotoxis and Olli played bass in Enemy Within and several other bands.

Jens: Yeh, Olli actually spends his time rehearsing with a classic jazz outfit i guess, strange but useful haha. 

Your first recording was the selfproduced EP Sedna’s Revenge, with three songs that you have included in your recent album. What has happened to the band during these three years and how did you manage to sign by Massacre Records for The Warrior’s Code?

Jens: On our debut album we put all the songs we´ve ever written for the band so far, the process of writing started with the founding of the band which was summer 2010. We recorded simply all instruments in different studios, so it took some months to complete the whole recordings. There was no deadline as we produced the album before signing the record contract. Thats why it took some time and we needed that time to reach a cool result. We had to spend some additional time on our friends, families, girls and the many live-shows. As the album was ready to release, we asked all the labels to do it. Massacre offered best case conditions, so they made it with us.

Nowadays there is a lot of mixing styles, and a lot of bands experiment with new sounds. You bet for a classical Heavy Metal, why?

Johnny: Back to the roots, hahahahaha. Classic Heavy Metal is timeless and since our beginning as metal fans we`ve listened to this style of metal. We connect very positive memories and feelings with it and we wanted to do a band that is able to transfer this. 

Jens: We simply got to do it. It´s about time to play the real stuff. In fact, it´s pretty late to be true.  

Dan Swanö deals with the mixing and the mastering, how important has his work been in the final result of the album?

Jens: It is very important for the result of the album. If you got Dan to care for your first album release, you simply can sit back and relax, haha. He´s just a real and true metalhead. He understands every single note we play and gets it sounding the way it was meant to be without saying a word to him.

I see in you cd some influences from Manowar, Virgin Steel or Savatage, I don’t know if you agree me, that powerful Heavy Metal with some epic touch it’s not very common today. 

Jens: We love Manowar, that´s true. I know a few Songs from Savatage, but they never was important to us. We never listened to Virgin Steel. I don´t know if the mix is common today.

You have done a great work with the album, a powerful rhythm, powerful riffs and really great guitar solos by JB, great vocals by La Bomba and very carefully treated choirs, the compositions are very strong, are you fully satisfied with the final result?

Johnny: Thanks for the compliment. We love the album, but we already found things that we`ll avoid for the next album. I think this is normal if you want to improve and optimize things and we are a quite young band on the map. 

Jens: It´s a good stand in the scene. We still love it and people love it and buy it –  Thats all important. But i am sure our next one will crush the code, haha!  

We did a very positive review of your cd, I really liked it, how has been the response by the specialized media and by the people in general? 

Johnny: Overall the feedback from media and people was good and very good. 

Jens: We got pushed by reading all those enthusiastic reactions on “The Warrior´s Code”. It´s way more we expected because we had some fears people could throw us in that big trash can with all those retro-80ies acts, who are btw not plaing true metal, haha. 

I imagine that in Germany, as well as in Spain and many other countries, you are suffering the crysis of the music sector. How do you see the future? Will the digital format defeat the CD? I’d like to know your opinión.

Jens: As long as theres a jewel-case CD version and some new vinyl to order, it´s ok for me and i simply don´t care as it´s not my business. I play in a band. I am not releasing the albums. That´s the label´s job. I think as the heavy metal scene is a conservative one, CDs and vinyls will stay forever for us. The underground scene will continue with it, 200%.

Are there any dates for «The Warrior’s Code» to be presented live in Europe? Maybe in any festival? 

Jens: Oh yeah, there are always a dozen more gigs scheduled, just take a look on our facebook profile. All of the already confirmed and listed shows are inside Germany, but we are already in talks for european touring. And as i am actually working for some months in Palma de Mallorca City, i will try to set up a show in the Excalibur club or somewhere else, let me see what´s possible here.

You have chosen for the video one of the best cuts, but I had some doubts about if that would work because of its long duration. I think it was the right decisión, what do you think?

Johnny: “The Warriors Code” was not our first decision because of its length, but at least we are very satisfied with the way it turned out. “Gloryful`s Tale” was also in discussion for a video, but we really wanted to release a new song that was not included on the Sedna´s Revenge EP as well.

Jens: We are the only band in while who did a video for a song with a nearly 2 minute lasting guitar solo. We broke some business rules, that´s heavy metal.

In order to conclude the interview, I’d like to wish you so much luck and I’d like you to dedicate some words to our readers.

Jens: Thanks to you for giving us a chance to answer questions for a spanish zine – you rule. “Fist of Steel” to all the heavy metal manics out in Spain who bought “The Warrior´s Code”! Check out www.gloryful.net! You can watch our video clip, get cool merchandise bundle deals and a lot more. Bookers, get in contact, we´d love to play for the real metal people of spain! Cheers with Estrel. 

Written by: Crom

Translation: Gabriel Ivorra (http://givorra.com)