interviews

GANDALF found themselves in fine company on the cover for British extreme music magazine TERRORIZER's issue #60 in November 1998 with ENTOMBED, NAPALM DEATH and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE among others. Hmmm, was perhaps this the reason why GANDALF drummer and songwriter Nalle Österman was mistaken for Josh Homme at the MORBID ANGEL show in Stockholm in March 2005 before getting thrown out of the venue... Coincidence?

Straight from the source. A handful of interviews with drummer and songwriter Nalle Österman and singer Jari Hurskainen from the band's original run — of the music, the industry as well as anything and everything in between.

Terrorizer, Issue #60 (November 1998) — Nalle Österman

Interviewed by Steve Tipton over drinks in London around the release of "Deadly Fairytales," Nalle talked through the album's "melodic death groove" concept, pushed back hard on constant In Flames comparisons, and made clear he preferred the stage to the studio — "I much prefer being on the stage to being in the studio," as he put it.

Rumba Rock Magazine, Issue #1 (January 1999) — Nalle Österman

Originally published in Finnish, this interview covers the band's rocky road to "Deadly Fairytales" — including the scrapped "Live to Suffer" sessions, the fraught exit from Austrian label Dark Matter, and landing at Earache instead. Nalle was blunt about the decision to shelve an entire finished album rather than release something that didn't represent the band: "this record isn't good enough and we won't allow it to be released," as he told Dark Matter at the time.

"The Voice of Gandalf" (May 2000) — Jari Hurskainen

A wide-ranging interview with vocalist Jari Hurskainen ahead of the "Rock Hell" sessions, covering his vocal technique, influences (Bruce Dickinson chief among them), and memories from the road — including a night the band's tour van ran out of fuel and left them stranded for hours. Asked for a closing thought, Jari offered: "Hold your hammer high!!!"

Metal-Rules (October 23, 1999) — Nalle Österman

Interview referenced in the archive; full text not preserved.

For full reproductions of these interviews visit the GANDALF "Rock Hell Revisited" tribute site.