Rockers give it their Wall
Glasgow band make a cheeky request to support Biffy Clyro after their surprise chart success
SEEMINGLY out of nowhere, Scots rockers Mason Hill scored a No19 album hit last month with Against The Wall.
The Glasgow band are the first UK rock act to have a debut album in the top 20 and a No1 in the UK rock chart since Royal Blood in 2014.
Scott Taylor (lead vocals), James Bird (lead guitar), Marc Montgomery (guitar), Matthew Ward (bass) and Craig McFetridge (drums) talk about their success.
Were you surprised your debut album hit the top 10?
JAMES: Very much so. Due to Covid, we had no gigs to help push the debut album. All we’ve had is word of mouth from our fans, which just goes to show how strong people power is. Telling your friends, family and even pushing it to strangers in groups on social media goes such a long way, as is proven in our case. We are just so amazed and grateful to have had our debut album make a chart.
You must have dedicated fans?
MATT: Our fans are amazing. The album would never have existed without them all getting involved in our crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The support during the chart release week was insane, too. The amount of fan participation in the whole creation and promotion of the record has been really important to its success.
How did you celebrate?
MATT: We all felt the celebration was a bit low-key for the achievement – a Zoom call with some drinks isn’t what I imagined would happen if I ever was involved in a top 20 charting album, but it’s what we got. The minute we’re allowed to, and it’s safe, we will definitely throw a party to celebrate.
How do you describe your sound?
SCOTT: We see ourselves as more modern rock with some of the best bits of classic rock. It’s great to see young and older fans in the audience due to that. Our second album will still very much be Mason Hill but you’ll hear songs like We Pray and DNA, from our debut album, which have elements of classic but plenty of modern there, too.
Who are you influences? Guns N’ Roses? Foos?
JAMES: Yeah we love Guns N’ Roses and the Foo Fighters. We like so many bands just as music fans but other artists like Shinedown, Alter Bridge and Bring Me The Horizon have influenced us heavily.
What about Biffy Clyro?
MATT: We love Biffy. It’s amazing to see such a unique rock band right at the top of the game and bonus points for being from Scotland. We are waiting by the phone for the call for a support slot on their next tour if they are reading.
Tell us how you got together?
JAMES: The name Mason Hill has been going since 2015 but back then it was only me, Scott and Craig in the band. I moved up from England as a 13-year-old and met Scott. He was one of my first friends in music class. We won a battle of the bands competition called Surface Festival, which saw us play at the O2 Indigo in London. However, we were so overwhelmed by the scale of the gig we weren’t ready for it. We disbanded the high school band and started our new project, Mason Hill, making three demos and bringing Craig on board. After a few gigs, we made our debut EP in 2015. Matthew joined on bass and Marc on rhythm guitar so Scott could focus on lead vocals.
Has lockdown been frustrating?
JAMES: Lockdown has not
been ideal, to say the least, as it has stopped us in our tracks like everyone else. We can’t gig or tour and haven’t seen each other in a long time so we’ve been communicating through social media and Zoom calls, It’s very surreal but when Covid lifts, we will be gigging relentlessly.
You have a tour in September with Scottish gigs. Are you excited?
SCOTT: We actually can’t wait, the anticipation is palpable.
We’re fairly confident the tour beginning on September 2 will go ahead and we have to keep updated with the news until then.
We have the feeling that people are ready to rock – and so are we.
● Against The Wall is out now. Mason Hill play Tunnels, Aberdeen, September 2; Garage, Glasgow, September 3 and MacArts, Galashiels, September 4. Tickets viamyticket.co.uk