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Mass Sky Raid are a progressive alternative rock outfit hailing from the Gold Coast.
Since the release of their debut EP Courage Under Fire in 2013, Mass Sky Raid have built up a strong reputation for their unique brand of melodic rock and dynamic live performance.
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This August, they are set to release their highly anticipated debut full-length album, Science of Fiction. Five years in the making, vocalist Adam Lomas is eager to share Science of Fiction with their swelling number of fans. “We’re super excited to finally release this album,” Lomas states, “it’s been a while in the making, since our last EP, Courage Under Fire [2013], we’ve been in the studio progressing our sound. We’re just so excited that now’s the time for releasing it, letting everyone have a listen, and really hoping they enjoy what we’ve come up with.”
Thinking back on how their sound has developed since their popular EP Courage Under Fire, Lomas offers, “well, as individual musicians and as a band we’ve progressed, always trying to challenge ourselves, just come up with new ideas and concepts … and hopefully the listeners will hear that. In the same breath, just being honest with who we are as musicians, and what we like individually and as a band. Really excited and happy with the results.”
“On a lyrical level, I like exploring other concepts and ideas” Lomas continues, “and I think I have done that on this album. And also as a band we have really challenged ourselves individually, each member has really pushed themselves to explore what their capabilities are. And I think we have done that and it has progressed.”
So what type of themes has inspired Science of Fiction? “Just in the lyric sense, we’ve written about chasing your dreams, exploring the struggle and sacrifices and sense of alienation you might have on that journey, finding true purpose and meaning in your life, so I think it has a really positive message and I hope it inspires people in their own lives in some way, to just go out and follow what they really want in their lives.”
The emotional journey through Science of Fiction is a varied one, with many different sentiments running through the album. “They all have different moods,” Lomas says of the ten tracks, “that’s one thing, on this album we have explored a lot of different moods, attached to that journey … I think there’s a song for every mood and every day of the week. I’m really proud of that diversity that we’ve created.”
The progressive rock scene is really strong here, with some amazing talent, breaking ground all the time and its amazing to be part of that scene …
[ Adam Lomas ]
Although it’s been five years since Courage Under Fire, Mass Sky Raid has been keeping in touch. They been gradually releasing tantalising singles from Science of Fiction since the first single Oceans went public in 2014, soon followed by Enemy, Chemical Design, and Closer. Most recently, Mass Sky Raid has released a music video for Edge of The Unknown. “We’re really happy, to get the film clip done, its an amazing achievement as a band, having it all come together, it was a freezing cold night in Melbourne, going through the streets trying to capture footage in zero degrees weather [laughs]” Lomas recounts of their filming experience. “It was quite a challenge but we’re really stoked how its turned out, and back on the Gold Coast we captured more footage just on a cliff face so it gives it a bit of a different energy at the end of the song which I think is really cool, can’t thank Tyson Lee enough, who directed and produced the whole thing, he’s done an amazing job on it, and super happy how it turned out.
Edge of the Unknown is quite a cinematic music video, showcasing the contrasts between urban Melbourne and the rugged Queensland coastline. Upon asking where that stunning cliff from the video is, Lomas casually replies “Just on the Gold Coast, we chose a cliff face nearby and just captured it one afternoon, just really lucky to get that footage in one go.”
Given that Mass Sky Raid are locals of the Gold Coast, why was Melbourne selected for the video filming? Lomas explains, “we really love the city, its got a real cultural feel about it, I love where we filmed it, in Laneway’s, its got a really good energy and busy vibe, I think we’ve captured some of the motion of it, which is really cool. So that’s why we wanted to go there, and also just getting away from what you’re used to, there’s a bit of uncertainty when you’re walking around a place you don’t know, which creates a bit more energy as well in the song.”
Mass Sky Raid have done a fair bit of Australian touring over the last few years, including with Dead Letter Circus, Twelve Foot Ninja and UK/Auckland visitors I Am Giant. Lomas, however, is looking mainly to the future, with a new band member to introduce to their audiences. “They all were amazing,” Lomas reminisces, then pauses “… being able to do what you love is always amazing. We’ve gone through a lot of the cities now, and we want to do a lot more touring in the future, getting these songs in front of people and doing it live is what we really love to do , it’s really exciting for us. We have a new drummer, Morgan Blake, he’s amazing, he’s brought a whole ‘nother energy to the live set and just really excited to get out there with him. We treasure each time that we get out there in front of people and be able to do what you love.”
Certainly, sharing music with fans and likeminded bands is incredible, and getting amongst the Australian live music scene is central to Mass Sky Raid’s mission, as Lomas passionately describes, It’s inspiring being in this scene, so much amazing talent, so many genres, I think we are leading the way in some of these genres. The progressive rock scene is really strong here, with some amazing talent, breaking ground all the time and its amazing to be part of that scene, just keep pushing our own bounds, challenge ourselves to get better, and it’s a great scene to be part of, the people go out to look at shows, and its really strong vibe crowds who really love their music, really know their music, and they’re open to new music, which I think is really important.”
Science of Fiction is out 3rd August 2018, pre-order here.
MASS SKY RAID SCIENCE OF FICTION ALBUM LAUNCH SHOWS:
Sat 4 August 2018 // Crowbar // Brisbane
Sat 18 August 2018 // Miami Shark Bar // Gold Coast
Sat 15 September 2018 // Wallapalooza X // Gold Coast QLD
