With:	Pete Ahonen [Vocals, guitars]
Conducted by:	Jeff
Published:	13.12.2004
Band profile:	Ghost Machinery

- The traditional first question, could you introduce your band?

- My name is Pete Ahonen and I 'm the singer and the guitarist, Tapsa Pelkonen on bass and Jussi Ontero on drums and keyboards

- Why did you choose this name, Ghost Machinery? Are you a fan of paranormal stuff??? ;p

- I can't remember how the name came but we thought that it sounded cool so?Yes , I do like all kinds of "spooky" stuff : )


- Tell us a bit about your first full-length album, "Haunting Remains"?

- Tere was couple of songs that didn't "fit " the Burning Points style and I thought that they were too good to be pushed aside so I formed a "project" that turned out to be a band called Ghost Machinery.

I believe that theres been a misunderstanding in some of the medias about our music. I wasn't trying to write totally different music than BP but because in the end I had so much music written that this was a natural choice to form another band. I think that I bring my AOR influences more forward with GM. I really like early Bon Jovi, Europe, Foreigner and that kind of stuff so maybe you can hear those bands somewhere in our music. Of course I like those double bassdrum fast tracks too : ) Someone told me that Haunting Remains is like a trip through heavy metal, from the 80's to the new Millenium! I think that it sums it up very good.


- The artwork and the layout by Mattias Noren are really good (that's not really surprising). How did you get this deal with this great artist. What is the concept of all the artwork on this album?

- The cover artist is Mattias Noren but the layout is done by another great artist, Chrille Andersson from the C.A. Interactive. Both of those guys are absolutely amazing!! We wanted the cover immediately as we saw it, there is same kind of vibe that there are in the Kind Diamond covers, Abigail and Them, very very cool : ) Layout artwork is done entirely by Chrille, we gave him free hands to do what he want and he definitively kicked ass!!!






- Don't you think that it's not really easy to release a "good" album of Power Metal nowadays? I mean, that there are a lot of average Power metal bands nowadays and it seems to be like a trend (that's same with melodeath in my opinion). Weren't you a bit afraid of the first critics because of that?

- First of all, I really wouldn't call us a power metal band, I think that we're just a melodic heavy metal band. In my opinion we have more to offer than just a "typical" power band. I mean that I have never heard songs like , Down In Flames or Darkest Hour in any power metal album. Of course there are songs that you can call power metal ,I'm not denying that fact, but I honestly think that we have more variety in our songs.


- You're also in another Finnish Power Metal band, Burning Point, how come do you get involved in a side-project in the same genre? Do you feel inhibited in BP and want to show everyone what you can do?

- As I said earlier that GM is maybe more "melodic" than the BP and I can show my AOR influences more. I´m not trying to prove anything, I simply have so much songs written and of course it is every musicians dream that you can record and release all of your stuff?


- You're signed on the Portuguese/Brazilian label Sound Riot, how did you got this "weird" deal for a Finnish band?

- I don't know is it "weird"?. They have Requiem which is also from Finland?We send the promos all over the place and there were couple of labels that were interested but we wanted to do the deal with Sound Riot guys because I think that they are truly interested about the band and our music.






- Can I know why you choose to cover "Out In The Fields" (I really like the first version, and your cover is really well done too) and why with Ville Laihiala?

- We recorded it with Burning Point in our Salvation by fire sessions but I wasn't happy with the result then so we decided to drop it off from the album. And when we started our Ghost Machinery sessions I remembered it so we gave it a try : ) And I wanted that there would be the same kind of "vibe" like there is on the original song, you know 2 singers etc


- How did you end up with guys from Wildcard in Ghost Machinery? Are they old friends of yours or did you just know them through music?

- They are old friends of mine so it was very natural choice to ask them.


- Which bands have influenced you? Do your influences only come from Metal bands, or do you also like some other musical styles, like Jazz, Blues, Classical music etc?

- Mainly it is metal music that I listen. Maybe a little classical sometimes and little Flamenco music as well but metal mostly.


- Have you planned to tour out of Finland? Maybe we will have a chance to see you all over Europe?

- No tour dates is confirmed yet but we'll keep your posted on our website.






- What are your plans for the future of the band? Maybe you're already thinking about a new album or maybe you're working on your other projects?

- I have almost written the second album for the Ghost Machinery and now I am recording the new Burning Point stuff so music keeps me busy : ) Hopefully some live shows with GM and BP too?.

- Thanks a lot for this interview? Now, if you have anything to say to our readers? That's your turn...

- Thank you very much, the pleasure was all mine : ) . Make sure to check out our debyt cd Haunting Remains it rocks!!! And visit our website too, www.ghostmachinery.com