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What’s the name of your band? Lords of the Mountain
How was the band formed? Since we were eight years old we’ve been playing in various projects together. Lords of the Mountain is the culmination of these projects, combining the aspects of music that we’ve come to value most.
Can you tell about your band? We’re close friends who grew up writing music together. We’re not interested in fame or fortune, we just want to write music that we enjoy and give it away for free.
Where are all band members from? / Who does what in the band?
All of us grew up together in Calgary, Canada.
Andy Hollander - Guitar
Gio Ledda - Guitar
Michael Braun - Bass
Don Mitchell - Keyboard
Griffin Kissack - Drums
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Many years ago, it started as a casual way to express our love of folk metal. Now it’s our main outlet, combining most of what we love about all music into one project.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? It combines the technicality and power of heavy metal with the rich, emotional atmospheres of movie and game scores. We call it Instrumental Folk Metal.
Where was your first gig? / Where was the latest gig? To date, we’ve only played one show. It was the original Noctis Valkyries festival in Calgary at MacEwan Hall (2007).
Who writes your songs? Who writes the music who writes lyrics? We’re an instrumental band so there aren’t any lyrics. Most of the music is written by Andy and I (Gio), but lots of ideas come from Don as well. We have archived demos spanning back to junior high.
What's good / bad with the band? Aside from being an expensive hobby — everything is great! We love writing music together and we love each other even more.
Why did you pick that particular style? / What are your songs about? It’s simply what comes out of us most naturally. We don’t have lyrics, so our songs aren’t about anything in particular — but the music itself is often inspired by the beauty of nature and the Canadian landscape.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? So far we’ve written everything, but we may cover songs from our favourite soundtracks in the future.
Have you made any albums? If yes what are they?
To date, Lords of the Mountain has one demo and two singles:
Lords of the Mountain - The Journey Began (Demo 2007)
Lords of the Mountain - Dawn (Single 2014)
Lords of the Mountain - Origins (Single 2014)
Collectively we’ve been on many different releases. Here are some of them:
Kobra and the Lotus - Kobra and the Lotus (Griffin Kissack)
Kobra and the Lotus - High Priestess (Griffin Kissack)
Dark Forest - Aurora Borealis (Griffin Kissack)
Nebucadnezzer - Our Last Masquerade EP (Gio Ledda, Andy Hollander, Griffin Kissack)
Nebucadnezzer - Affliction EP (Gio Ledda, Andy Hollander, Griffin Kissack, Michael Braun)
Urheimat - The Gates to an Elder Constellation (Michael Braun)
Michael has also performed on a variety of pop, country and jazz albums as a session bassist.
How old are you? / What got you started in music? We’re in our late twenties, but we started when we were 8. At that time, Andy and I (Gio) used to sneak into his older brothers rooms when they weren’t home so we could play along to their Metallica tapes.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? Andy and I (Gio) performed a cover of Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train when we were 12 at a school talent show. The next year we played Metallica - Orion, and then Megadeth - Five Magics the year after that.
What year was the band started? Lords of the Mountain started in 2007, but we’d been playing together in other projects long before then.
What places will you be playing in in the immediate future? Right now we’re focused on writing. We’ve been invited to play a handful of shows and festivals around Canada, but we’ve been forced to decline because we don’t have enough material. Hopefully the offers will still be there once we’re ready!
Which band is the best you've seen? For me (Gio), Wintersun and Moonsorrow were awesome to see because I love them so much. Arch Enemy also stands out because they’re so tight live.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Lords of the Mountain hasn’t toured yet, but when Griffin was in Kobra and the Lotus he toured with Judas Priest and Def Leppard, which is pretty cool.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Write music and maybe release some of it. Enjoy life.
Where do you usually play? Our bedrooms.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? By hauling heavy gear around haha!
What are your goals with your music? To give it away to as many people as possible. When someone listens to our music and enjoys it — we’ve accomplished our goal.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? Never. Lords of the Mountain is a fun, creative outlet reserved for when we have time and feel inspired. This approach allows us to live comfortable lives without worrying about putting food on the table. It also allows us to give music away for free because it’s not tied to our income.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere, including things completely unrelated to music.
What are your sources of inspiration? Music, nature, life and everything between.
What's the first step when making a new song? It starts with a feeling or musical idea that often comes out of nowhere. It’s not something that we can really plan or force. There have literally been times when I’ve woke up in the middle of the night with a melody ringing in my head. I have to get up and transcribe it, otherwise it’ll be gone by the morning.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? We give away our music for free, so download away!
What would be your dreams for the band? Performing in different countries or with our favorite artists would be great.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? We listen to many types of music, from soundtracks to electronic. It’s all good!
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Fucking up.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I’m (Gio) a freelance graphic designer. Check me out: http://www.gioledda.ca. Andy is in the architectural industry and Michael is in IT. Both Don and Griffin work together for a fitness supply company.
How often do you rehearse? We used to practice for hours by ourselves every day and rehearse together on a weekly basis. These days, we play when we’re writing or recording and that’s about it. We’ve played together for most of our lives, so we’re able to lock in pretty easily.
Where do you rehearse? Griffin’s garage.
Do you have any webpages? http://www.lordsofthemountain.ca — you can download our music there for free.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, our YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/lordsofthemountain
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Making money seems to be a futile effort so we don’t bother trying.
Do you have anything to add? We give away our music for free — so if you’re interested, please visit: http://www.lordsofthemountain.ca and download our songs.