Sierra is a Canadian progressive metal band formed in Kitchener-Waterloo,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Their music fuses elements of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

, heavy metal, and instrumental music. Sierra have been touring since 2012, opening for bands such as Weedeater, The Obsessed, Kylesa, Unsane, and Karma to Burn. The band was formed by Jason Taylor and Robbie Carvalho who have been playing together since they were kids. They met after Jason posted an ad in a music store looking for young musicians into 1970s

. Jason was 15 and Robbie was 12 at the time. Their first album, ''Pslip'', was the first release on the Kylesa operated record label Retro Futurist Records. The album, as with all of their albums since, was recorded at The Jam Room Studios in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, by Phillip Cope of Kylesa. The band signed to Tone Deaf Touring after the release of ''Pslip'' and have been on the road consistently since. Their first tour was across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

with Kylesa and Pinkish Black, shortly followed by a European tour with Kylesa and label mates Jagged Vision. They have since been on the road with Weedeater, 1000mods, the Obsessed and Wretch. In 2016 they recorded the 'EP ''72'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on a murder that took place in their hometown in 1972. It is written from the point of view of the 16-year-old boy who was wrongfully accused of the murder. They played the piece in its entirety at Starlight Social Club in Waterloo, steps away from where the crime scene began. In 2017 Sierra embarked on their first headlining North American tour. Joining them was Witches of God from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Jason played rhythm guitar and Robbie played drums for them on that tour. The tour kicked off at the Maryland Doomfest. Their most recent work, ''The Mirror'', was self-released and is available on their Bandcamp page. Steve Howe from Outlaws of the Sun wrote, "You can still feel and hear the sounds from their earlier releases but this album definitely sees Sierra playing a more confident 70s Progressive and Hard Rock sound."

Current members

*Robbie Carvalho – bass, drums, vocals *Jason Taylor - lead vocals, guitars

Past members

*Ky Anto – drums *Sam Hill – drums *Kevin Costa – drums

Discography

Albums * ''Pslip'' (2013, Retro Futurist Records) * ''The Mirror'' (2018, self-released) EPs * ''1st EP'' (2012, self-released) * ''72'' (2016, self-released)

References

{{Reflist Canadian progressive metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2012 Musical groups from Ontario