Finnish power metal band Gladenfold return with Soulbound, a concept record that tightens their sound and puts clean vocals and guitar-forward momentum at the center. In interview singer Esko Itälä and guitarist Matias Knuutila tell more.
After finishing a record there is always a waiting period, and both describe it as a strange stretch where you have to trust your own judgment while knowing you are partly blind to the changes. With Soulbound that feeling is amplified, because the band themselves hear it as a clear step away from the previous album’s balance.
For Itälä the shift starts from the writing mindset and where life was at the time. He says he wanted to do something different after the darker tone of the last Nemesis album, aiming for something lighter in feel without losing what makes the band recognizably itself.
Knuutila points to the practical side of how the material took shape. Itälä brought in detailed song ideas built in notation and demo form, and the band reacted early with feedback about what felt worth pushing forward, which made the full process more collective than before.
A key difference this time is that vocal ideas existed earlier in the demo stage. Knuutila says having a clearer picture of the vocal approach removed some of the old question marks and helped the band understand the whole song sooner, instead of building tight instrumentals first and guessing later what the voice should do.
When asked to define the record in plain terms, both land on power metal as the base. Knuutila frames the older blend as closer to an even power/melodic-death split, while Soulbound treats the other elements more as spice around a more focused core.
That focus also helped the band commit to a narrative arc. Knuutila describes a story built around two characters who connect across different eras, with the album sequence used as a way to make emotional sense of the plot rather than locking down a single literal reading.
Vocally, the move is audible in how harsh parts are used. Itälä says he never set a rule against growls, but the songs he wrote simply did not call for them as often, and his own interest has shifted toward singing more cleanly, though he laughs that the next album could always swing back.
The arrangement choices are also tied to live considerations. Knuutila says the band wanted songs that feel smoother to play as a full set, still with moments of grandeur, but less built around complexity for its own sake.
On the guitar side, Knuutila describes Soulbound as riff-heavy and lead-driven, with parts shaped around what each player does best. Because Itälä records guitar on demos, some lines stayed close to his phrasing rather than being reinterpreted just for the sake of it.
Wardens of Time became one of the tracks where those decisions were tested hardest. Both recall it as a long problem-solving process where the core idea was strong early, but making the structure work meant cutting and reshaping until the whole package rolled forward naturally, which also made it a fitting early statement for the album.
Anthem of the Broken went through a similar late-stage uncertainty. Itälä says it was close to being left off the record, but he put in the time because it mattered for the album’s story, and Knuutila remembers a last-minute rewrite that made the track feel like it suddenly woke up and reached a new level.
The record’s clearest outside voice arrives on Mercy, which features Michaela Tuomenoksa from Without Warning. Knuutila says the band wanted a female vocal presence to match the two-character concept, and once they asked her the collaboration moved quickly from rough guidance to strong demos and final takes that lifted the song.
Looking ahead, the band are trying to stay present with the album rather than rush into the next direction. New ideas keep appearing, and there is at least one nearly finished track set aside because it did not fit this record, but the main focus now is playing shows, with Japan on the horizon and longer-term hopes to reach Central Europe.
Gladenfold interview 05.03.2026
Esko Itälä & Matias Knuutila
Producer: Janne Vuorela
https://www.gladenfold.net/
Picture: Teppo Ristola / Gladenfold
