Richard Sjunnesson

Q&A XXX:
Send your questions to: [email protected]

Q: Hi Richard, can you tell me if that's your voice we still can hear on the “Answer For Your Sins” song by “Faithful Darkness”?
A: That’s correct; we recorded the gang vocals for the album, while I still was in the band. So both in “Answer For Your Sins” and the album version of “Hate Injection”, I’m included in the gang vocal lines. Might have been something more, but I think that’s it.

Q: I know I'm only one person, but I love the album art of Hell Frost, and I've been looking for wallpaper for my laptop and it’s so hard to find one because the popularity of The Unguided isn't as widespread as it should. I was just wondering if by chance you have any wallpaper of the band, or of design art for future albums. I love the art. I love the music more.
A: Look no further! We have a couple of wallpapers at our official Facebook at this location.

Q: Did you see the video for the man who jumped from 128,00 feet in the air in an attempt to break the sound barrier (He reached 720 miles per hour which I believe is higher than the speed of sound at that altitude)? If you did any thoughts regarding it and final question would you jump from that height as well?
A: I watched it on the news and I would certainly give him an unguided medal if I met him. I’m not sure whether I classify it as bravery or insanity, BUT I’d still give him a lot of credits for doing what he did. Hats off for Felix Baumgartner!


"And sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you really are."

Q: Thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S3?
A: I’m an iPhone kind of guy. Samsung makes good TVs!

Q: Have you ever met all the members of Scar Symmetry? How was that?
A: Depending a bit on whose still in the band. But I think I met them all, yes.Jonas, I’ve obviously met the most times, but I also bump into Per and Kenneth occasionally, as well as Henrik. I probably met the “new” guys Lars and Roberth the least amount of times. They are all good guys and very skillful musicians!

Q: Do you bear any love towards dubstep?
A: Let me check... NOPE! Hehe, well I don’t listen to it. And to be fair, I’m not sure whether I could tell the difference from a dubstep or a discodisco song. So I’m probably not the right man to judge the entire genre either. WUB WUB WUB!!!


L2P

Q: I have an idea for TU merchandise. How about a The Unguided banner? It would be something really simple: e.g. vertical black banner with both the TU-Crest and the band logo in white (or the same thing with colors inverted). Just imagine the sight of an army of fans with the banner :) And of course you should be able to attach it to a stick or something, somehow. What do you think?
A: I think it’s a great idea. The only problem at the time is… time. We are really focused on getting the album ready and once it’s done, we’ll shop around for a label. AND once that’s inked and settled that’s probably where we could look into this. So time-wise it’s a bit off, as you understand. For now, all band work is required for the album and the upcoming live shows. I, however, really think it’s a great idea! Try to mail me once we announced the release of the upcoming album and we’ll see what we can do, alright?

Q: LMFAO at the way you reply to your fans! Can you and your band get any awesome-er?
Anyway, I do have a question... Were you ANY comfortable in the way WRTN turned out? Cause if we compare it to awesome old SS songs (Damage Control, Prelude to Extinction, Aftermath, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc!!), there are just a few songs that could be considered "worth listening to" by old SS fans (IMO those would be Rebellion in Nightmareland, Black and Blue, Dead and Gone, Break of Day). What I'm trying to say is, how come Fallen Angels eventually ended up singing about dance floors and drunk partying? And what about the "softening" of songs like Callous, Blue Eyed fiend, and Psychic Suicide, before the OI final version? Did you consider necessary to give Roland's clean vocals more part in the songs to make them awesome-er, or was that courtesy of the label record? 'Cause IMO they were better when Roland's appearance was so timidly perfect, it gave eargasms! (Jailbreak, History Repeats Itself...) Anyway, I hope the question makes sense!
A: I wasn’t comfortable with the way WRTN turned out, no. As stated earlier, that album was one of the main reasons why I couldn’t stand being in the band anymore. The album was nothing I could be proud of and I hate the fact my name is tied to the effort (or rather, lack of effort.) I, however, think some of those songs could have worked with a more balanced and heavier mix. But in their current format there’s just… no point. I’m fine with the lyrical work for the songs I managed. There are some great philosophical and intellectual moments in those tunes actually (i.e not the disco disco & party party songs.) And I’m obviously proud of my brother’s musical work on the album, even if his compositions also were crippled from his original ideas, unfortunately. How Zion Must Fall could over time be disfigured into something like Turn It Up, you have to council SoSy’s manager and the remaining members about. But I guess money is the key word you are looking for. Regarding the pre-productions of Callous, Blue Eyed Fiend and Psychic Suicide being heavier than the album versions is probably only hence of the mix. The pre-production mix is a bit more “Eden Fire-ish” and crude whilst the Only Inhuman mix is slicker. I don’t think it’s only because Roland got more melodic parts in the songs. To give Roland more room in the songs was our own decision. During Only Inhuman we were two singers and we wanted it to resonate and be more balanced than the songs on Eden Fire for example, where Roland basically just had chorus parts. We wanted to make it functional live as well and not only on the record.

Q: You said you'd tell us what The Unguided's logo means. When???
A: In time! When enough people have tattooed it, I’ll drop the bomb, hehe. No, but I’d like to project it in a future artwork. An illustration to tell the story behind the inner shape! For now it’s a subjective and mystical symbol.

Q: I'm a singer from a Romania band and I have a few questions about how can so scream so hard? If you can show me or teach me that will be amazing :)
A: In early entries of the blog I’ve been somewhat explaining my technique together with some tips and tricks. Please look for that information!


Meanwhile in Romania

Q: Now that you have found J.A.Aranguren... you can ask him...What does the Solar Symbols means? And also what is the thing on the logo of the band (the one that look like a moon)??? s:
A: I talked with José regarding the solar symbols, and the only symbol he created to have a meaning was the symbol Sonic has been using since “Eden Fire” and that’s a symbol for myself apparently. The triple solar symbols were just a shape he created. I’m, however, breathing a meaning into it with The Unguided. You’ll see! Also, the moonlike shape in the TU crest will be explained further in time.

Q: Are you guys going to make your album available in Latin America? Can I upload your songs on YouTube, so more people can know about you guys? And do you have any plans on releasing a DVD of any of your awesome live performance?
A: You should be able to purchase the album in Latin America here. Unfortunately, you cannot upload our music to YouTube if you didn’t write a permission deal with us first (which will require around 50k subs on your channel.) There’s, however, a lot of official The Unguided content on YouTube already, that you can share if you like! There are no plans for a DVD at this point. Would love to do it!

Q: I was just curious as to what are some bands that you like to listen to that are from the US?
A: I listen to a lot of American bands! Metallica, W.A.S.P., Atreyu, Disturbed, Iced Earth, Killswitch Engage, Linkin Park, Spineshank, Trivium, Twisted Sister, Kamelot, Manowar, Diecast, Hardline, Earshot, The Ghost Inside, Fair To Midland, Pantera, Twelve Tribes, Slayer, Static-X, Times of Grace, Symphony X, 30 Seconds To Mars, The Killers, Bloodsimple, Story Of The Year, Chimaira, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, to name a few!

Q: I just surfed through YouTube, and once again, ended up watching old SS studio updates. Thing came up in my mind that why did Roland only ate, or actually drunk only some meal replacement thingys?
A: He was on some crazy diet during the “Love And Other Disasters” recording. We were actually really busy at the time! Hitting the gym after recordings, and Roland was only allowing himself that stuff. Tough life!


Diet

Q: I sent you a Facebook message yesterday asking a few questions, to which you replied for me to email you instead.  Before I decided to email, I spent most of the day reading through all the old posts on your blog to find any answers that might be there.  To my surprise (since I had checked before, but didn't find anything), I was able to locate the answers to pretty much every question I had.  However, there are still some small clarifications I wish to address, as well as a couple new questions.  For reference, my name is Jordyn (I figured it would be easier to just state my name than to copy/paste my original Facebook message, especially since the questions asked there are altered here). To begin, I am completely amazed at the level of intricacy behind the story of "Hell Frost", and how it's connected to "Eden Fire".  To be honest, I had actually caught on to the contrast once before, but for whatever reason, it slipped my mind when writing to you yesterday.  I especially like the parallels between several of the song titles.  This, however, brings me to my first amended question:  Are the songs that are paralleled the only songs that are a part of the "Hell Frost" trilogy story?  For example, in my FB message, I mentioned that I knew BOTC and Deathwalker were based on other things (the cover as well, though I neglected to mention it because, well, it's a cover), but I wasn't sure if any of the other songs strayed from the main plot of the story.  I wasn't able to find anything definitive in the blog (though I may have just passed over it, since I did A LOT of reading today).
A: It’s getting a bit complex, right? I’ll see if we can figure this out together. The word games with the titles are some lyrical ties in WTFRW, is the only relation the Hell Frost songs have with the Eden Fire songs. All Eden Fire songs have in their turn, stand alone lyrical content, save from the four “Extinction” songs, which are tied to a short story I wrote back in 2002 regarding the sin wars. This story is fictional but with a metaphoric touch of some dilemmas going on in my life at the time, that’s the Fallen Angels story. “Helix Reign” is basically about the same situation in my life but it’s not a continuous story like the “Extinction” songs, the HR songs are written a bit less encrypted. “Black Lotus” songs are entirely stand alone, lyrically, save from the theme that they are based on losing something in your life. So that’s the old news! Regarding Hell Frost, the only song that carries the story (which I have crafted a good over 50% of the upcoming album’s lyrics on) is “Where The Frost Rose Withers”. Some other songs on the album are loosely hinting on the main story, like Pathfinder, Collapse My Dream and Green Eyed Demon. But mostly the songs on Hell Frost are stand alone lyrical songs. WTFRW however; is directly based on “The Book Of The Unguided” (Written by Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams, based on an original story by myself.) That story is an entirely new chronicle, and is not based on the original “Extinction” legacy; save from the fact there’s a lot of symbolic and meaningful things in common. “Where The Frost Rose Withers,” is lyrically right in the middle of the story somewhere, while the coming album will continue the tale and the album after that conclude it. Whether the entire “The Book Of The Unguided” will be released with the third The Unguided album, or it will be kept a secret for me to lean myself onto while writing lyrics, I’m not sure. We’ll see how it progresses. Why I choose not to continue the “Extinction” story is because I didn’t want to paint myself into a corner when it comes to “Fallen Angels”--even if I’m using a good lot of nostalgia from just that camp! The chance of a new Fallen Angels EP or something in the future is not entirely unlikely, and that’s when I want to play that card. So to answer your question, the only song on Hell Frost following the main plot is “Where The Frost Rose Withers”.


Fallen Angels

Q: I'm also still slightly confused behind the idea of "Nightmareland", as in one blog post it was mentioned that "Nightmareland" was referencing a girl from your past (quote from your blog about "RIN": " I wrote this song when I recently had some friction with a particular girl, yet still desired her more than anything in the world. At the time being, it was impossible for us to fuse our worlds together, but we still used the same strategies to keep our lives together. This story has a happy ending, however, because it is about the girl I’m currently with. There will be a follow up to RIN on the Nightmareland single.")  However, in the blog entry for the "Hell Frost" release, you mention (regarding the cover art) that "The demon is holding his reclaimed heart in one hand and a blade in the other, and has the unguided crest on his left pauldron, as well as his right lower leg amour. In the full illustration he is also accompanied by his “wraiths” as they are together leaving “nightmareland”." which makes it seem, again, that "Nightmareland" is a euphemism for the music industry; with the whole point of The Unguided being that they(you) are leaving behind the labels and management, etc. of the industry in order to pursue the freedom of musical creativity (hence the symbolism of holding a "reclaimed heart").  Maybe I'm just reading into things too much, but if you could shed a little more light on the subject, it would be greatly appreciated.
A: You are very much right in all the speculations, except that you suggest you are reading too much into it, which you clearly are not. There’s an answer to all those questions! I also stated earlier that “Nightmareland” has double meanings. In this case it might even have triple meanings. The illustration and cover artwork of Nightmareland/Hell Frost is the one that is relevant to “Where The Frost Rose Withers”. In the “Book Of The Unguided,” Nightmareland is an location in Hell Frost where the demon/fallen angel was imprisoned and separated with his heart. Hell Frost being what remains of hell after heaven won the sin wars. This could very well have symbolic ties to the music industry. In Pathfinder and RIN; Nightmareland is the subjective place we left to live a happy life. What happened was that I tried to get my real life situation down into metaphors. I didn’t want to use names of persons, real organizations, and happenings. So, I made characters and a fictional parallel world and is telling my story via that world and its characters, through the lyrics. Like it has more punch to it to write “We are leaving nightmareland to pursue our dream” instead of “We are leaving our management to finally get shit done.” I’m sure you understand!

Q: Lastly, I noticed in a few blog posts that there were links to obtain a .zip file of some "Hell Frost" wallpapers without the text obscuring the demon's head, however it appears said links are no longer active.  Is there any other way I could obtain that .zip folder?
A: You can find it at this location on our official Facebook!

Q: Once again, thanks for any time you could spare to help with these questions, and I hope everything is going well in both The Unguided world as well as your personal one!  I look forward to hearing the full tracks off the upcoming EP later this month, and hopefully news about the second album won't be too far off! I wish you all the best.
A: Thanks for the cunning questions! I guess with the new EP songs you’ll have more of those, hehe.

Q: Hey guys, any plans to come to the US? More specifically; Poughkeepsie, NY. Love to see you guys live.
A: Hey man! Unfortunately, we don’t have any plans for US shows at this moment. We’ll see if it could be relevant after the upcoming album.

Q: I've recently got into Parkway Drive, and the intro to "Deadweight" by them strikes me as very similar to Green Eyed Demon. Was there any borrowing of ideas going on between you two? Either way, GED is a bad-ass song - your best in my opinion. Apologies if you've had this question before! Best of luck with the InvaZion EP release, can't wait to get hold of a copy. All the best.
A: No one in our band is really into Parkway Drive; I guess great minds think alike sometimes!


Hmm

Q: Secondly, I am proud to say that I am going to be heading to Sweden sometime between late Feb and June in order to see you guys live!! (I haven't quite made the final arrangements, but it IS happening! - so long as you have a gig on in that time...) As a proud member of the 616, I think it's about bloody time I saw you guys!! Unfortunately, living in Australia has made it pretty complicated... But yeah. I just thought I had to let you know - what good is having an email contact of yours if I don't abuse it for such a glorious purpose as this?? You are the absolute shiz, mate! I have never travelled to the other side of the world to see a band before...
A: Thank you so much for your support! We are very proud of our fans, and especially the 616 members.

Q: Hi Richard I’m a big Fan of the Unguided and want to play some Bass covers from you. But I can’t find Bass tabs from you. Would you give me Bass tabs from The Unguided please? Keep Going your way can’t wait for the new Ep.
A: Bug Henric with this. I’m sure he’ll make it happen! [email protected]

Q: Hey Rich, you wear in several videos a shirt from Sullen. It´s this one. 
But yours is sleeveless. Do you cut them off by yourself or how else could it be?
A: Yeah, I do some tailor-engineering on the shirts myself hehe.


SRSLY

Q: Just heard you guys on Spotify the other day. Can't stop listening now. Bad. Ass. Make more music please. Tour Indiana if possible, I'll be there.
A: Thanks for the support distant friend! If we tour Indiana, you’ll be the first to know!

Q: I’m just curious if you are able to play any instrument? If so, what instrument is it and how long have you been playing it? Also, has being a musician always been your dream? I know that you are also an electrician and you sound like you were born to be a musician, but are there any jobs out there that you would rather be doing?
A: I do not play any instrument, no. Or possibly I could do the jaw harp, because I know I have one collecting dust somewhere. On the other hand, you probably don’t want that in The Unguided? I like the format of a band when it comes to being creative and interactive. All of its aspects work well with the creative vision I have, so I don’t think I’d rather do anything else. Maybe writing books or being a fulltime illustrator or something. I really like technology as well, so, the electrician profession is close to my heart.


I'm the jaw harpist in my band

Q. Hey Richard how are you? Anxious for the new Unguided album. I just had 2 questions. 1: How many tracks can we possibly expect? 2: Are your plans for the album going to be darker then Hell Frost kind of like Eden Fire straight through. Or will it probably be equal to Hell Frost? Thanks for reading Rich :)
A: I’m fine! It’s a beautiful Swedish day today. This is not set in stone, but there will be 10 tracks on the retail version, 12 tracks on the bonus version plus 2 remixes, so in total 14 tracks on the limited edition. That’s the plan right now. I think the Studio Fredman mix does have a bit more edge and grit to it than Hell Frost did. It comes across heavier when I listen to the songs we’ve received. Whether it’s going to be darker or equal to Hell Frost is yet to be discovered. There are songs that are faster and heavier on the new album but there are also more delicate songs. I think the invaZion EP was a good peek of the range of what will come.

Q: A while back I remember you said in your blog that you did not know what the band Mygrain was, well here you go and tell me what you think?
A: Sounds like the little brother to Scar Symmetry. But I dig it!

Q: Hey Leader of the Army. I got 2 questions for the blog , you saw them on Facebook ;) 1. For me, Singularity sound like a harder version of Jack of Diamonds. Was that the way you wanted to go with this track? 2.Is the Lyric-part :Never replace a heart with a cog ; a parallel to the Cover art of "Love and other disasters"?
A: Hey Imp! Regarding “Singularity” I haven’t really reflected over that and listening to the two songs right now I can’t say that I agree. It was definitely not the effect we sought when making the track. But you might be right, I’m not sure, hehe. The line “Never replace a heart with a cog” might be a parallel to that artwork yes. There’s a lot of meaning behind those lyrics and they are essential in the “Book Of The Unguided”.


Don't do it!

Q: Why did you name song Eye of the Thylacine like that? Because lyrics of the song have nothing similar to a thylacine as an animal, so I'm wondering if this word has some other meaning you meant?
A: The lyrics have everything to do with the Thylacine and other species man wiped out by its own filthy hands. You see; evolution spawned man and animals to live in symbiosis. But instead man‘s greed drives animals to extinction. Man utterly creates sophisticated machines. The sophisticated and ethical machines view mankind via the eyes of the extinct and wronged race. Machines turn on their maker and drive man to extinction. The circle is closed and revenge is nigh!


So cute :,(

Q: The invaZion Ep is really awesome and i can't wait for the next album. But my Question is, will the Next album released via a Label or like the invaZion ep from your web-shop?
A: The ambition is to shop around for a label once the album is completed. If any label can’t agree to our demand. We’ll most likely release it ourselves.

Q: Hello Mr Richard, I would have just a question has to ask you when you have to start has to make muscles you immediately took proteins and soy’s, you take how much amounts so that it makes well effect? Because I would like to have muscle practically identical to your thank you for your answer and of course you are best the unguided for life!
A: Hello Mr. Muscle Man, I’m not taking any extra protein or anything at the moment. I’m just eating extra protein rich food after the gym. My schedule is currently that I work out 3-4 times a week. Including spinning and running at two of those occasions. So basically I workout Monday, heavy lifting; biceps, chest and back! Eat an entire chicken farm when I get home. Tuesday I rest. Ella and I go to a spinning class on Wednesday. On Thursday, I do heavy lifting; triceps, shoulders and eat an entire ocean of fish when I get home. On Fridays, I get drunk. On Saturdays or Sundays I run 10km. There you have it!


Gym it up!

Q: Hey Rich, I'm kind of confused about the whole Zion thing in your songs. Which songs are how in relation to Zion? Thanks for the answer, merry christmas and horns up \m/
A: The only The Unguided song, yet released, featuring Zion is “Singularity” and in “The Book Of The Unguided”, Zion is a metropolis, big as a content and mankind’s last resort. In the Sonic song “Zion Must Fall” it refers to the biblical Zion, but in a fictional touch. As told earlier, the stories are not tied together.

Q: Will be any tour in Slovak or Czech republic in 2013?
A: There’s nothing planned as of yet, but there might be!

Q. I was wondering if we could get the forum up and running again. I think it could have success if done properly.
A: Probably, but as an official forum I want it to be more interactive than it was, and less bot-spammed obviously. If that’s not going to happen, there’s no point. Maybe something for the coming album, but we’ll see.

Q: hello Mr Richard first of all I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year I advance some will have just wanted to know if you sell your pendentive organizes razor or if you know or I could get a thank you very much of it to me
A: I have no clue what you are talking about? You want my used razors!? Eek, that’s disgusting. No, please rephrase and ask the question again if you are searching for an answer.


Razor

Q. When Dead by April record their DVD tomorrow. Are you going to record something as well? ;)
A: We did not record any DVD during the DBA show.

Q. Hi! As I was reading your last Q&A entry of your blog I found out one of my favorite songs is based on Anne Rice...
To bear the pain of ever knowing such thing I immersed myself into reading Bram Stoker's Dracula for the second time, and my question is:

Do you agree Rice's work ultimately inspired the author of Twilight? So, wouldn't she be to blame for such a disgrace? Besides, Rice was the 1st one (if I'm not mistaken) to come up with the idea that vampires are not only murderer demons who only seek for blood, like the original Stoker vampire; which could have been a better thing to base a song on... IMO!!!

Damn, now I'm struggling to fight my inner vampire self... to be devoted to The Unguided or to Stoker?

Thanks for your time, Richard, you rock
A: I do not agree that Rice’s work inspired the author of Twilight. To be fair; Rice’s vampires kick the living fucking hell out of Stephenie Meyer sorry excuses of vampires.Rice has done nothing but good for the vampire genre, and the sophisticated touch she added to them in the vampire chronicles was nothing but becoming. Bram Stoker’s vampire’s are according to me a bit too savage and feral and I really like the philosophic, enlightened and cultural side they have in Anne Rice’s work. Sorry to sprinkle salt in the wounds, hehe.


Vampire Vs. Fairy

Q: Do you think Sonic Syndicate was more of an "emo-based" band and The Unguided is more of a metal band? It seems that you guys are taking more of a heavier direction with The Unguided and also add more "deeper" thoughts behind the lyrics compared (for an example) with SS:s "Love and other disaster” album, where the music was more sort of "straight to the point" and catchy when the lyrics where more based around the title and very in your face...
A: I’m not sure what emo-based means, but The Unguided is a metal band, yes. Sonic was not a streamlined metal band in any way, and the songs were created to take shortcuts into what the community appealed to. A cookie cutter band, if you like. The Unguided is massively more intellectual, thought through, and planned band--both musically and lyrically. We’re not trying to fool anyone; we are merely doing what we are good at, and that’s what we will continue to do.

Q: Hey Rich. I remember seeing that Phoenix Down made it on to Rock Band 3; congrats on that by the way! Out of curiosity, I was wondering if you and the rest of the band would consider having a song (or a pack of 3 songs) put onto the game Rocksmith next?
A: Thank you, yeah that’s pretty cool, right? Would be wicked to get on that Rocksmith thing, but I’m not sure how it works really. It used to be a pretty big mafia organization with the whole Guitar Hero and such, whoever paid the most, got the spots kind of deal. I doubt much have changed from that.

Q: Hey Richybear<3 Not sure whether you're a politics junky or not, but seeing as it’s a broad question I figured why not... What is your ideal or favorite type of government? Just so you know, The Unguided is higher than a government so you can't say that O:  Ex-oh-ex-oh.
A: I’m totally uninterested in politics since everyone is just promising the moon and the stars and nothing really happens. I, however, think Obama seems to be a sensible guy, and was kind of happy that he got reelected. Same with the Swedish prime minister--don’t know if he has done any good (I’m sure he have however,) but he seems very sympathetic, which is a good start?


Horns up!

Q: Which band/singer inspired you and the band to make music?
A: Can’t speak for the band, but Hansi Kürsch and Mikael Stanne inspired me to do what I do.

Q: If you had the choice to form with another band, which band would it be?
A: Blind Guardian.

Q: Can’t you do more Swedish shows during the summer? Like with your friends in Amaranthe?
A: I think we had quite a lot of Swedish shows planned. We’ll see what happens!

Q: Richard, how does it feel to be on stage knowing you make an impact for many people?
A: Do I really? I’m just trying to focus to be the best I can be on stage and give people a good show. If that makes an impact, and makes people to come back for more, I’m happy with that.


Impact

Q: Will the next album released via a Record label or like the Invazion Ep via your own shop?
A: Answered earlier! But most likely a record label.

Q: When's the new Unguided album coming out? I’m desperately awaiting it  ;)
A: Should be this year! We are doing our best.

Q: When's the next time The Unguided visits Germany in, like, Cologne or near? Would be really awesome! Anyway, keep the good work up, you and The Unguided fuckin rule!
A: We have a few German shows planned. I’m not sure if any of them are close to Cologne, but there might be!

Q: Good afternoon^^ I’m Paula the girl who screamed your song "Betrayer of the code" how are you? Hope everything is great with u guys:) I just want to ask u something if u can give me any advice for it’s well I’m having a prob with taking a long breathe and growling it.. For example: your song Green Eyed Demon... at the beginning of the song I really can’t growl it for 9 seconds.. I just keep trying and timing it and all I can do is 7 seconds and max 8...:s so is there any technique to do it or I just need to keep practicing and with the time I will be able to make it? and thanks:) keep it up best luck for u:) and I forgot to ask you if there is any advice u can give me it to improve my screams because I guess u saw my video:) and thanks again:)
A: Hey Paula, I’m fine! That’s really individual but I think you are letting too much air go in the initial and what you really want to do is to preserve it for the long duration. It seems like you take a big gulp of air and then you push too hard in the initial instead of make it appear less forced and just let the scream soar “smoothly” and balanced through the entire duration. It’s really hard to explain, but that’s the impression I got. You push too hard and by holding back a little you might be able to make longer screams even if the intensity or even volume is going to suffer from it. The only thing I thought about during the video was that you pronunciation could improve. Not that my screams are very articulated, but yeah. That’s something I think you should work on! Keep up the good work.

Q: I got a bit of a random question for you. From watching all of your gigs on YouTube, the venue's always look pretty small (which is obviously great for the audience) but do you miss playing at bigger venues etc? I only ask as I absolutely love The Unguided and think you could easily sell out a gargantuan venue, but then again I suppose I'm a bit bias.

Were the venues a lot bigger when you were with Sonic Syndicate? If so, are you happy or sad with having to play at smaller venues again in order to 'work yourself back up to the top' so to speak?

Sorry for the randomness, but it's something that's been bugging me for a while!
A: We’re mostly doing headline shows with The Unguided, and frankly we’re playing the exact same venues as we did with Sonic when we headlined shows with that band, so I’m not entirely sure what you are talking about here. What you might refer to is that we did a lot of big festivals and support tours with huge bands with Sonic and with that obviously comes bigger venues and stages. But I prefer doing a headline show where everyone is into what you are doing, over standing in front of 3k people that never even heard about your band. To be honest; the live shows are not a big deal in The Unguided. Initially we didn’t even know if we would perform live at all. However whenever we come out to do it, we love it, the fans love it and it’s never disappointing. So we want to keep it like that! The venue size doesn’t really matter; it’s all about having a good time. And it’s never about “work yourself back up to the top” in The Unguided. It’s about having fun with friends and doing what we love with good people and see how far that could take us basically.


Thank you!

Q: Hello Sir, Just writing to ask a question. If someone was willing to invest money on bringing you guys over the U.S. would you guys be willing to consider it?
A: Yes! Contact our booker and I’m sure it could be arranged.

Q: Just so you know I’m a huge fan of The Unguided (as anybody with good taste in music should be). For this American Football season in Austria I'm planning on creating a highlights video, mainly to help me make the English National Team (being British) and I was wondering if I would be allowed to use some of your material for the Soundtrack? Hope some of the above makes sense :) I'm looking forward to the new album.
A: This is really something you have to discuss with our old label if that’s the songs you are looking to use. If it’s the invaZion songs, we’ve put a “50k subs to your channel” limit to not get flooded with requests.


YouTube

Q: First of all, I want to thank you all for the awesome music you have been making for so many years. You have been my favorite band ever since I first discovered the song Denied back in late 2007. I was pretty sad when I saw Sonic Syndicate falling apart, but was even more thrilled when you announced creating The Unguided. I have been following your blogs and new work from the beginning and your music has become very inspirational for me! Now that I have expressed my gratitude, I would be very thankful if you could answer me a small question I have. A few days ago I finished my first self created song, guitars, keyboards and mixing all done by myself and using a virtual drum kit for the drum parts. I want to make a nice music video to the song and upload it to YouTube so others can hear it as well. But I have major doubts regarding copyright issues, fearing someone might steal my song and claim it as their own. Seeing how a big boss you are Richard, at having every The Unguided song removed from YouTube due to your rightful copyright, I wanted to ask you, how I could "secure" my song as being truly mine for publicity. What do I have to do? Keep rocking! Thanks a lot in advance
A: In Sweden we register our songs at an organization called STIM. They work for bands and artists to give rightful credits to the musician's work. I’m not sure what country you are from, but there should be a similar organization in your country. But once you upload it to your channel, and let’s say someone steals it and uploads it on a later date, you will have pretty strong case against that other guy since you were the original uploader on an earlier date. That will be pretty bulletproof in court, also if you have evidence of early recordings, demos and stuff like that to go with it. There’s no chance in hell they will get away with it. But I’d look into your countries equivalence to STIM and register the tune there first, before you do anything.