Sierra (metal band)

History

Jason Taylor and Robbie Carvalho started Sierra after Taylor, then 15, put up a notice at a record shop looking for other young musicians into 1970s progressive rock. Carvalho, who was 12, answered. The two had already been playing together since they were kids. Their debut album, Pslip, came out on Retro Futurist Records, a label run by the band Kylesa.

Every Sierra album since has been recorded at The Jam Room Studios in North Carolina with Kylesa’s Phillip Cope producing. After Pslip, the band signed with Tone Deaf Touring and hit the road. Their first tour was across North America with Kylesa and Pinkish Black, then a European run with Kylesa and labelmates Jagged Vision. They later toured with Weedeater, 1000mods, the Obsessed, and Wretch.

In 2016, they released the EP 72, a concept piece about a 1972 murder in their hometown, told from the viewpoint of a 16-year-old boy wrongly accused. They played the whole EP at Starlight Social Club in Waterloo, just steps from where the crime started. In 2017, Sierra did their first headlining North American tour, joined by Witches of God. On that tour, Taylor played rhythm guitar and Carvalho played drums for Witches of God. The tour began at Maryland Doomfest. Their latest album, The Mirror, came out on their own Bandcamp page.