Tony Kakko of SONATA ARCTICA stopped by the studio last week to do an interview before headlining Peabody's here in town. Having done many interviews with Tony via phone for the show, it was really cool to finally meet him in person and have a chance to talk about music. I've been following the band since the beginning, and so it was a great experience.

Lots of new music for you as well: Rebellion, Orden Ogan, Gamma Ray, and I'll include some winter-themed songs to celebrate the season and the arrival of snow here in Cleveland. 

Join me at wruw.org from 5-7pm Eastern (23:00-01:00 CET), and as always, interact with the show on Facebook.

This was my first interview with Thomas from KAMELOT in over 10 years, and it was great to catch up with him after all this time. I've really enjoyed Silverthorn so far. It's tough for a band to pull off a change in singers, especially when that singer is as distinctive and talented as Roy Khan, but they've done it well.

Thomas talks about how Khan left the band (via email, which I guess isn't as rude as a text message), bringing in Tommy, putting together the album, and the recent tour with Nightwish.

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Coming up today, I'll be featuring this week's interview with Thomas Youngblood of KAMELOT. He called in to talk about the release of Silverthorn, one of this year's strongest albums in my opinion. I had about twenty minutes with him, and so I tried to address as many things as possible regarding the album, Khan's departure, and what the future holds.

European power metal fans will find a lot to like about ReinXeed. There are many fast, catchy, cheesy songs to be found among their releases. If you like cover songs, then you'll be drawn to either some of the metal (e.g., 'Halloween') or pop (e.g., 'The Sign') songs they have done. Their 2012 album is 'Welcome to the Theater', inspired by some of Tommy's favorite movies from over the years.

Highlights of this interview include Tommy telling us about his start in music (on the guitar and behind the mic), passing recently on the chance to join Sabaton, and his influences. I like the fact that he shared his candid thoughts about artists in the scene, and I look forward to a more in-depth discussion on power metal with him in the future.

If this interview seems incomplete (why there's no discussion of cover songs, for one), you're right. Due to a computer glitch, I lost the first 10 minutes of the audio. He and I will chat again soon, as Golden Resurrection (his other band) will release a new album in January. Thanks to Tommy for the interview!

Coming up today, we'll be talking to Tommy Johansson, the mainman (vocalist, guitarist, composer, etc) behind the Swedish band ReinXeed. They released 'Welcome to the Theater' this year, and Tommy also has a new album with the band Golden Resurrection coming out early next year. Tune in to hear him talk about how he got started, the music he listens to, and his plans for the future. Invited by Sabaton to be a replacement guitarist this year, he tells us about the difficult decision to pass up the opportunity.

Also on today's show, we'll be giving away tickets to see Sonata Arctica (12/13) and Eluveitie (12/12) here in Cleveland this week. Join me at wruw.org from 5-7pm tonight!