THE ROCKPIT Interviews ANDY DOWLING from LORD

G’day Andy,

Thanks for talking to

The Rockpit

You have some heavy hitters guesting on your latest album – was that a premeditated plan when you were getting ready to record, or did it all just happen by accident?

It was a bit of both. We had this idea for an instrumental track and wanted to have a few guest players on it, but I don't think we were planning to have that many people originally. More and more people agreed to it, so we just kept adding them in! We're extremely happy and proud of the final track though. It has some frightening fretwork!

How did you convince people like Craig Goldy (Dio, Budgie), Glen Drover (ex Megadeth), Pete Lesperance (Harem Scarem) and more to play on Set In Stone?

Everyone we asked has been linked with LORD or Dungeon over the years in some way. From touring, to meeting at festivals or through mutual friends, etc. So when it came time to get in contact with these guys, they knew who we are and were fortunately very happy to be a part of the recording.

Andy live with Lord in September 2009

I believe Tim has his own home studio now – does that mean more freedom when it comes to recording, or do you become more perfectionist a la Axl Rose??

We definitely have more freedom and time to write and record. Even our initial demos sound like pro recordings which is great. It does make us perfectionists though, as we have all the tools at our fingertips, and don't have to worry about the same sort of deadlines that you would have in other studios. Tim is extremely gifted in the studio, and it shows on our recordings. We save a lot of money and unneeded stress because of Tim's studio skills.

What is it that makes Lord stand out of the crowd?

At least in Australia, I don't think there is anyone creating music in our vein, and to the standard people have come to expect with our recordings. I also think that our willingness to be open minded musically and not be afraid to step outside of a stereotype or singular genre gives us a unique flavour.

How do you describe yourselves to someone unfamiliar with your music?

Because we cover so many genres in our music, the easiest way is to just say 'melodic metal/rock'. On that note though, we do everything from power metal (which is what most people are familiar with), to melodic death, thrash, and even AOR/commercial melodic rock. We draw from all of our interests musically and gel them together to create a unique sound that always has that LORD tag.

Who are the up-and-comers internationally that have influenced your sound or made you think outside the box?

To be honest, we don't have a lot of time to check out what’s currently our there musically and most of our influences are drawn from older bands. For me personally though, I listen to a broad range of music and a large percentage of it is from Australian rock bands both past and present. Anything from Noiseworks to Midnight Oil, Cog and even (god forbid!) Eskimo Joe, who have all definitely opened my eyes to song writing and have broadened my musical tastes. While it won't have a direct influence on the bands sound, it definitely opens my eyes to other writing/recording methods.

We saw Metal Church's last ever gig at Rocklahoma this year and we know you toured with them in the past - do you have any abiding memories of that tour?

Dungeon actually did one show with Metal Church in Germany, the night before the Bang Your Head Festival in 2005. I was there and it was a great night. Metal Church are an amazing band, and were great guys. Was amazing to have the chance to see them.

What is the Australian Metal scene like today?

It's up and down. We have a lot of talent, and a handful of our artists have found success internationally which is fantastic. Some cities do better than others, but there isn't as much drive and passion than what we probably should have. Overall there is still a large stigma on 'Australian' metal acts, and that they are 2nd rate to whats coming out of the US and Europe. So there's a lot of work to be done to prove this theory wrong.

What have you been listening to recently?

I've been listening to the last two Khymera albums which are absolutely amazing, Requiem of the Damned from Newcastle, and the latest W.A.S.P. release which is killer.

What’s your biggest Spinal Tap moment?

Too many to mention (and some I'd rather NOT mention!). I guess the most recent would have to be when we played a show in Toowoomba (Queensland) last year, and the venue ended up being a shed behind a burger joint. We were definitely not expecting that one! Luckily for us, it was still a great show and the sound was surprisingly crystal clear!

Whats next for Lord??

Touring, touring and more touring. We've got our new album 'Set in Stone' out, so we'll be doing our best to keep promoting the album and making sure as many people as possible own a copy and know what we're about. We'll be heading back overseas this year as well as plenty of Australian shows. Next album though? Not for a quite while, although we have some ideas. :)

Thanks for talking to The Rockpit, Andy - talk again soon!

Shane Rockpit