GHASTLY

Who are you and what do you do in your band?

I'm Ian J. and I play guitars, bass and drums. I also compose all the music. Obviously when playing live I can't do everything, so when performing live I concentrate on guitar.

When was your band formed? 

Ghastly was formed in 2011, August if I'm not mistaken.

Why did you choose to play Death Metal?

I have always loved mid-tempoish death metal and I had loads of riffs and ideas but not a band. I decided to do few songs and when me and Sam (vocalist) bought a 4-track tape recorder, we wanted to test it and so we recorded our demo "Death is Present" in 2011.

How do you compose your music? Does only one guy do everything or does everyone contribute?

I compose the music, play drums, bass and guitars. Vocals and solo guitars are not my cup of tea, so that's why I have dedicated friends to help me with those things.

Tell us about your lyrics, writing, inspiration etc.

All lyrics are done by my good friend, Andy Gordon. Usually I have some idea for a song and I want to have specific lyrics for it, so I pass my idea to Andy and he does really good job on writing lyrics for this band. Sometimes Andy has his own ideas for lyrics and usually I like everything he writes.

Many lyrics are based on a movie or a tv show. Some lyrics have been inspired by natural disaster or even a folklore tales. Things Ghastly will never sing straightforwardly about are politics, war, surgery or ultimate gore. Useless topics to me.

Is there an ideology behind your band?

Nope.

How do you see the state of Death Metal music these days in your country and in general?

Generally it seems to be in a good state! Old bands coming back, new killer bands emerging all the time. It's a fucking good thing. There are really awesome bands in Finland these days but of course there are crappy ones too, like in every genre. 

What are your long term plans as a band? What do you want to achieve?

Well, first of all to get this debut album out. "Carrion of Time" was planned to come out last year but got delayed and now it's finally coming this year. My motivation is low at this point for doing death metal, but that doesn't mean Ghastly is dead, no fucking way. It's just slumbering at this time. 

To get a solid lineup would be top priority for this band.

Other plans? To have fun, of course!

Name an other Death Metal band from your country that everyone should hear.

Stench of Decay, Krypts, Lantern and Swallowed.

Free word.

Drink lots of alcoholic beverages and listen to good music.