- How did you first meet Sonata Arctica, how did your invitation into the
   band come about?

    I have been their opening act with my own instrumental band here in    Finland called Elias Viljanen & Evil Spirit. My first gig opening for Sonata was actually as early as 2003. I had also some gigs with them in 2005.

- Do you feel that fans have accepted you as Jani's replacement?

    Yes really good, I think even better than I expected. We have had 3 tours in the States and it..s getting more bigger for us there, so I think in the States it..s not so big deal as for example in Europe. But all and all really good and positive feedback.

- What was it like trying to learn to learn all of Sonata Arcitca's songs?

    I listened to the songs a lot while I was driving to my day job. Then I rehearsed a lot at my home studio. Sometimes I checked some tabs from the internet, but usually I found it frustrating because in the tabs there..s always at least some little mistake somewhere..soo frustrating..It was nice to learn the songs but when I look back it took a lot of my time. I went to work every day, took care of my kid in the evenings and practiced at nights..But I decided that I WILL learn the songs, not just try learning them.

 - What's it like going from writing your own solo albums to touring
   worldwide with Sonata?

    Touring..s been a whole new experience for me, but somehow I feel like this is a "meant to be-job" for me. Job is totally wrong word to describe this even though I get some green out of it. Playing the guitar is my second nature or something. It..s more than a work or a hobby to me.

- What's been your best moment of the Unia tour?

    Hard to say, first  thing what comes to mind is, I think getting to play for big audiences..Then when you get the hang out of it, it..s really nice to see the fans and see their happiness.

    The first shows outside Finland was Japan tour 2007. We stayed at 5-star hotels, it was overwhelming to me. The fans were of course still checking me out but I think they got a kick out f our shows. as well as me and the whole band..

    And also the first long bus tour in the States was something to me. I remember one night I just watched the endless road from the bus window at night, just knowing that we did a hell of a show tonight and tomorrow we..ll do it all over again..everyday...Really cool!!

 - Have you had any nightmare experiences with Sonata Arctica when you've
   been on stage and something's gone badly wrong? What would your worst
   nightmare on stage be?

    I..m afraid that I fall down from the stage if the stage is really high. No signal from the guitar..that..s happened a few times..no big deal if my technician can fix it like in 12 seconds..I..m not so terrified of playing mistakes anymore, that..s happened sometimes...I won..t go there now. But Henrik has taught me that you shouldn..t worry about those little mistakes..:-)

- Let's get back to your solo albums. At times your style of playing is
  heavily influenced by Steve Vai. Do you think that you might transfer some
  of this influence over to any Sonata albums you work on?


    Maybe not in the way I think most fans would understand it. I mean some fans fear that my playing is not so "Power"-metal or something and Vai-music might be a little bit over the top to some people... There..s no reason to be afraid that I will get a chance to ruin Sonata..s albums in that way, after all they are not my solo-albums, those I can ruin or do whatever the hell I like on them..I just try to play as emotionally I can and of course add some killer shredding :-) We are 5 in Sonata, so I won..t do anything the other guys won..t approve. But the answer to the question is... maybe, buahahhh!!

 - Do you think you will continue to write solo albums whilst working with
   Sonata Arctica?

    Yes I will do my next one in early 2009. Spine Farm Records will release it. You can find my Studio blog at http://evilatstudio.blogspot.com/

 - When you're on tour do you get a lot of spare time to play other songs
    or to practice your playing?

    We have a jam sessions every once in a while in the bus but it..s purely for
    having fun, not to practice any skills..of course playing with other people
    is really important skill.

- I notice that you use Ibanez guitars. Why have you chosen Ibanez? What
  do you especially like about them?

    I..ve tried out other guitars as well..Ibanez has been the best choice for me
    ..cause they are really good sounding guitars and really easy to play also.
    And of course they look killer!!

- Are there any plans for a new Sonata album? If so, what can you tell us
  about it? Will it be in the same style as Unia?

    I..ve heard some demos that Tony has done and they sound good. We start to rehearse the new material in Feb 09. I think the material is strong and the fans wont..be disapointed!!  It..s really hard to tell if it..ll be sounding like Unia, but one thing is for sure, it will sound Sonata!!