Hey readers! Andrew here with yet another interview for you to feast upon: Philadelphia, PA’s very own Lör! Playing a very unique blend of progressive, power, and folk metal, Lör stormed onto the scene with their debut album In Forgotten Sleep in 2017 and just recently had a surprise release of their EP Edge of Eternity. I haven’t been able to stop listening to it. In the interview, we talk music, songwriting, and more so read ahead!
Hi, glad to have you, thank you for taking the time to do this interview! To begin, for our readers unfamiliar with Lör, how would you describe your sound in one sentence?
Lör: Our goal is to create epic music.
Listening to your newest release Edge of Eternity, it is clear that there are many influences at play. What would you say are some of your biggest influences? How do they manifest in your music?
Lör: Blind Guardian, movie soundtracks, Alcest, Between the Buried and Me…Obviously lots of Blind Guardian seeps through, vocal layering, folky passages and fun proggy power metal riffing. Alcest and some of the ambient stuff we like really manifests in the atmospheric sections, and provides some contrast to the heavier stuff.
Does Edge of Eternity have any overarching theme or concept? If so, can you tell me a little about it?
Lör: There is no overall concept, however there is a link between Ruin and Relic, sort of a before and after, the action and then the reflection. Nick said he personally finds a loose concept and theme throughout the album, but it’s really up to the listener, it was not intentional and we wouldn’t want to say it’s concretely about what it made him feel. Maybe others will come to their own conclusions.
Musically, what are some of the biggest differences between Edge of Eternity and your debut album, In Forgotten Sleep?
Lör: Musically, we think there’s a sharper “edge” to the tracks. There’s some more intensity and aggression which was a lot of fun to explore. Also, being that this is Nick’s first record with Lör on bass, I think musically there may be some notable differences in the bass department due to his style compared to Graham’s. Overall, we were looking to make a really fun, quick, record. In Forgotten Sleep had no initial planning, it was the beginning of the band and a collection of everything we had worked on.
“Ruin” is definitely your heaviest track – was it a conscious decision making it like that? I really love the style and I hope you do more like it in the future!
Lör: We do believe we set out to make a “brutal” song. None of us are strangers to extreme metal and we always wanted to push Lör’s boundaries to include heavier passages. The song went through many changes and ultimately we think we settled on a really intense and maybe even strange song haha. The stark contrasts were really the focal point and are a lot of fun especially if no one sees them coming. We definitely have more heavy material for the next record as well.
I’ve been a fan for a couple of years now – I still regularly spin In Forgotten Sleep. Compared to IFS, the production on Edge of Eternity is noticeably different. Can you tell us a little bit about your production decisions and why you deviated so much from IFS?
Lör: Peter has handled all of our production and has learned a lot since recording IFS. We feel that Edge is an improvement in many ways over that formula however we are aware of some issues that people have with it. Our goal is to continue to strive for the best sound possible and make the next album sound better than ever.
What is a typical songwriting session like? Brainstorming? Jamming? Is songwriting a group effort or is there one member that focuses on it?
Lör: Peter is the main songwriter and when we get together we usually brainstorm and run through songs, but most of it is working out parts or ideas and Peter getting it all to a demo stage…we listen and morph the demos overtime until we’re all happy with our parts. Occasionally we make some last minute changes while tracking. Some things are just funny at first until we realize we love it and wanna record it.
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, were there any unexpected hurdles you had to jump through before release? How has COVID affected your lives as a band?
Lör: Well, the worst hurdle was losing our album release show with Wilderun and Aeternam in April. Lots of planning went into it and having to cancel sucked. But we are glad everyone is safe, it has made it more difficult for us to plan anything other than the surprise release we did….so until being a band is a normal thing again, we’re just gonna keep engaging with folks online and working on our upcoming album.
If you could tour with any band on the scene right now, which ones would you choose? I bet Wilderun would be fantastic tourmates. 😉
Lör: HMMM NEVER HEARD OF EM. Seriously, that would rule.
Are you involved in your local scene (if any)? Any bands from your area you think deserve more attention?
Lör: We’ve played with so many bands over the years, there is a great local music scene around philly and thankfully we can say, many of our favorites have started to get the recognition they deserve and its awesome to see bands reach that next level. A few that come to mind right now would be Sekengard, Parius, In the Presence of Wolves, and Alustrium.
You hinted at an upcoming full-length in the near future – can you reveal any info about it to us? Is it more similar to Edge of Eternity or In Forgotten Sleep – or something else entirely?
Lör: Not much we want to say yet. Stylistically, its still Lör but a slightly different approach.
Do any of you have side projects worth checking out?
Lör: We have many side projects, indeed!
Empress – Symphonic/Power Prog Metal featuring Nick on bass are working on their debut full length
Top Hats & Effigies – Circus Avant Garde Metal featuring Peter, Tyler and ex-Lör drummer Dan Reynolds are working on their debut full length. | Bandcamp
Ashen Waves – Progressive/Symphonic Doom Metal featuring Peter, Tyler and ex-Lör bassist Graham Noel. | Bandcamp
Botis – Blackened Progressive Thrash Metal featuring Peter, Greg, and Graham Noel, working on their second release. | Bandcamp
landstryder – Experimental Doom Duo, or Doomo, featuring Greg and Graham Noel. | Bandcamp
Peter is recording an untitled solo album, with Greg on drums.
Psick- Avante Garde Metal with Greg on drums, featuring Daniel Kennedy and Nick Shellenberger of Cleric. Debut release in the works.
Greg is also in an unnamed Jazz project with Daniel Kennedy and Greg Peraul
I’ve already listened to Edge of Eternity more times than I can count, you’ve definitely got a winner on your hands. Congratulations on the new release and thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!
Lör social links:
Website: http://lorband.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorofficial
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HallofLor
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6XpD0BhiRbaRPs3v1dOeno
Bandcamp: https://halloflor.bandcamp.com/
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