Sierra is a Canadian progressive metal band formed in

Kitchener-Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Their music fuses elements of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

, heavy metal, and instrumental music. Sierra have been touring since 2012, opening for bands such as Weedeater, The Obsessed, Kylesa,

Unsane ''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...

, and

Karma to Burn Karma to Burn, commonly abbreviated as K2B, is a Palm Desert Scene, desert rock/stoner rock band from Morgantown, West Virginia. The band are noted for their uncompromising, mostly instrumental sound. Their name comes from a sleevenote on Bob D ...

. 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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 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 and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

with Kylesa and

Pinkish Black Pinkish Black is an American experimental sci-fi avant-metal synth-doom band from Fort Worth, Texas. The musical duo includes drums and synthesizer/keyboard only. Formation (2010) In 2005, the members were part of an experimental hard rock trio ...

, shortly followed by a European tour with Kylesa and label mates Jagged Vision. They have since been on the road with Weedeater,

1000mods 1000mods is a stoner metal band from Chiliomodi, Greece, formed in 2006. The group consists of Dani G. (vocals and bass), Giannis S. (guitar), Giorgos T. (guitar), and Labros G. (drums). The name of the group is a pun linked to the village in w ...

, 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 Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, 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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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