Asia and Australia. In the midst of the tour, Firewind's longtime singer, Apollo Papathanasio, quit the band. Firewind vowed to continue with a replacement singer. At the end of the world tour in December 2013, Firewind decided to go on an indefinite hiatus and Gus G launched his solo career with the release of his debut album, "I Am The Fire". The album was released in March 2014 and features many guest musicians including Jacob Bunton Mats Levén, Jeff Scott Soto, Michael Starr of Steel Panther, Alexia Rodriguez of Eyes Set To Kill, Devour the Day and many more. He toured in Europe extensively throughout 2014 together with Marty Friedman and in his native Greece with legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth. In February 2015, Gus stated that he had written all the songs for a solo album with an intended summer release. He also noted that another Firewind album was not planned due to the lack of a suitable singer. On 24 July his second solo album, Brand New Revolution was released in Europe through Century Media. Once again, the album features collaborations with guests like Jacob Bunton Mats Leven, Elize Ryd of Amaranthe and Jeff Scott Soto. The tour that followed took Gus all over Europe as special guest of Kamelot, but he also headlined his own tours in North America and visited Japan and South Korea for the first time as solo artist. Musical influences Gus G's first influences began with Peter Frampton and his work "Frampton Comes Alive". When asked about Uli Jon Roth, Gus G stated, "'He's a guy that I took my band's name (Firewind) from. If you listen to Uli Jon Roth, what he was doing back in the 70s with the Scorpions, and of course, with Electric Sun, you'll see, "Ohh, now I know where all the 80s shredders like Yngwie and all those guys got their inspiration from. He's an original for me. He's like a true original like Blackmore. He's a mentor, a friend, and a guitar idol of mine."' Gus also cites Al Di Meola, Joe Stump, John Norum, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen, George Lynch, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, The Beatles, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani and many others as his influences. Discography Firewind Between Heaven and Hell (2002) Burning Earth (2003) Forged