MASON HILL – AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BAND
Mason Hill is an incredible five piece Scottish ensemble whose music is both dynamic and hard hitting. The band is composed of Scott Taylor (Vocals), James Bird (Guitars), Marc Montgomery (Guitars), Matthew Ward (Bass) and Craig McFetridge (Drums)
Scott Taylor and James Bird met at school in Glasgow. At the age of 14, Bird was already considered a guitar prodigy and toured throughout the UK sharing a stage with Zakk Wylde. Taylor harbored dreams of fronting a group. Their friendship led them to form a band. In 2013 the pair formed Mason Hill adding Montgomery, Ward and McFetridge.
In 2015, the band dropped their first EP, Mason Hill. It was an exceptional debut. Their solid musicianship and creative songwriting turned heads. The EP incorporated sweeping guitar licks accompanied by powerful vocals. The entire release was outstanding and garnished well deserved praise.
More recently, Mason Hill put out a three song single in anticipation of their first full length album. “Find My Way” is a pulsating anthemic song that captures your attention from the very first note. Taylor’s vocals are amazingly potent while the guitars rip. The rhythm section is vigorously intense. The song hits you like an exploding stick of dynamite. “Against the Wall” is a another propulsive tune that highlights Mason Hill‘s mature songwriting skills. McFetridge’s percussions are booming and Ward’s bass is exceptional. Their newest song, “D.N.A”. is their most accomplished. It’s a rousing banger with interesting and refreshing nuances. The chorus is killer with its infectious hook and energetic tempo. Taylor’s extraordinary vocals are driving and the guitars are thunderous and full of crunch. If this is an indication, the new record is going to be monstrous.
The band was kind enough to answer a few questions for AMP.
AMP: Give the AMP readers a little history on the band.
MH [James]: The band began in Glasgow when I moved up from England aged 13. One of my first friends was Scott, who at the time played guitar as I did. We were both into music and rock/metal bands and were eager to perform so we naturally began high school bands. We did this for 2 or 3 years which hit a peak when we won a battle of the bands talent show, “Surface Festival”. It resulted in us going to the o2 indigo in London to perform against all the other winners from other areas of the UK as well as Europe.
This was our biggest show to date which left us humbled with a drive to go home and reinvent ourselves. So that’s when Mason Hill was born. Scott and I made 3 demos to use to advertise for other musicians. First came Craig on drums and then over the years of gigging we met Matthew (Bass), We finally landed Marc on guitar.
AMP: Your debut album, Against The Wall, is finally to be released on March 5th. How does that feel?
MH: Incredible! It’s been a long time coming through ups and downs and everything in between but to finally be here is amazing! Amidst the circumstances we all face right now with Covd-19 we are still pushing on and are so excited for everyone to hear it! It’s great to see so many people rally behind and support it.
AMP: Your music is such raw rock and roll. How does your songwriting work?
MH: Generally being a guitar driven band, the music on this album started off with James’ demos and Scott’s vocals except for “Where I Belong”. “Where I Belong” was actually the reverse with Scott presenting it and we bounced off of each other which worked out really well. This was the foundation of the album. We would listen to the demos over and over again in order to polish them into songs before then trying them out as a band at rehearsals or gigs in order to seek out and discuss what was or wasn’t clicking. Some songs saw 4 or 5 versions with crowd reactions also helping us to fine tune them.
The last piece of this process was a major game changer. As soon as Scott began recording his vocals, the music really just took a huge jump making not only the melodies sound incredible but it had an impact on some of the keys in sections of and even entire songs such as the title track “Against The Wall”.
AMP: The band has already played with countless major artists and performed at festivals. What is the one act that the band would love to share the stage with?
MH: Whilst everyone in the band enjoys the same artists and music, we also all have our own tastes as well. However, as a group it’s very hard to choose just one band but we’d currently say Foo Fighters!
AMP: What is the thing the band misses the most due to lockdown?
MH: We think we pretty much miss the main element of why we are in this band which is to be out there in the open, travelling to new places to perform and meet new people. The experiences we’ve had so far have been incredible. So, like many other bands out there in the same position as us, it’s been a real disappointment not being able to do that although we do understand why we need to be in lockdown. That being said, we are still doing our best to interact with our fans on a weekly basis through our social media pages as well as gearing up for the release of this debut album. So if you’re new to Mason Hill, definitely join our Mason Hill fans page over on Facebook. Everything is super positive.
AMP: Best traditional Scottish meal?
MH: Has to be the Fried Mars Bars! Does it taste good? Maybe not but is it something we are going to say in interviews when asked about Scottish meals, absolutely!
AMP would like to thank Mason Hill for their time. Please buy and stream their phenomenal music and like the rest of their fans, can’t wait for the new album!
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