Playing music is for me a soul thing

Meet Gert Lund, the newly joined member/guitarist of the doom/death band Saturnus from Denmark. I had the opportunity of interviewing him for our 7th issue and got to know about his life as a musician and his journey so far with the band.

Hello Sir, so please tell us something about yourself.

My name is Gert Lund, i am 40 years old. I am father to two boys and i am in a long term relationship with Sandra. I work as a chef in a prison with inmates – when i am not playing with Saturnus or Caustic.

Were you playing in any other band before joining Saturnus?

Yes my first real band was Caustic. I got together with them at the age 17, which is also a doom band and I’ve known Rolf Hansen since the age of 8 ( Rolf Hansen is the former drummer of the band – Illdisposed).

As you are a new addition to the band i would love to know the story behind it. How and when did Saturnus happened to your life?

The story with Saturnus happened because of a reunion concert with Caustic in 2011. I found out that i was really missing playing with the guys but Caustic is based on the westcoast and i live in copenhagen.

so when a friend of mine posted on Facebook that Sauturnus needed a guitar player i grabbed the opportunity and wrote to Thomas AG. So i went to a audition and got the job. Thomas knew about my former band Caustic and claims to be a fan.

How long have you been playing guitar? Have you always wanted to be a musician?

As a child i wanted to be a soccer player but at the age of 15 i started to play guitar and that completely changed my life. I got fascinated with classical music, especially Bach and Villa-lobos really got under my skin. But I got lonely playing music all by myself so when i got home from Australia I was offered the chance to join Caustic and so i did.

Who have been your major influences being a guitar player and why is playing the guitar so important to you?

I have so many heroes. I really love Julian Bream but guys like Fredrik Thordendal and Mr. Hetfield are so cool as well. I could go on forever, it doesn’t matter what kind of instrument you are playing or what type of music but playing music is for me a soul thing. I can express things i couldn’t do with words.

I guess you are touring with Saturnus at this point of time. How has the journey so far has been?

Touring with Saturnus is always a blast. Surely i miss my family and my boys but i really get this sensation of freedom when we are on the the road. And we meet so many beautiful people and make so many new friends, it’s so amazing. Also the guys in the other bands, we have toured with, they kinda become a new member of the family, its heavy. Friday the 27/5 we are going to Russia. I can’t wait!

Is there any news for any upcoming Saturnus album you would like to share with us? If yes, when are you going to hit the studio?

The rest of this year will be spend on workin’ on the new album, hopefully we will start recording in October-November.

Do you think you will be able to fill the void and maintain the doom/death legacy regarding the sound of the band that they had in their previous albums?

Musically I’m on the same page as the rest of the guys in Saturnus and I think our new track Thorns proves that.

What advice would you give to other aspiring guitarists out there?

Go for it. Dream big and work your ass off. Stay humble and be a good friend.

Few words for our readers.

At the Saturnus camp something is cooking and it smells good so stay tuned.

Horns Gert.