One album that I’m really looking forward to, although I do have a copy of it, is a full-length by Sacramento, California-based progressive metal project Lunar, titled “Theogony.” The project, with a core trio of drummer Alex Bosson, guitarist Ryan Erwin, and bassist Ryan Price, with singer Chandler Mogel, has completed an epic journey with “Theogony,” which is out on November 10th via Divebomb Records.

Alex Bosson spoke for Progarchy about the album, inspiration, and more.

Alright, first thing is first. Before we dive into all the music stuff, how’s life?

Life is wonderful! Really I love everything about my life these days. And music is a huge part of my life, obviously, so that makes things great since music stuff is going so well!  I’m really proud and excited about this album release.

What was it like working on the “Theogony” album?

There’s so many answers to that question… [laughs] In one form or another I have been working on this album for almost 3 years!! At times it was frustrating trying to coordinate with people all around the world for all the parts they played. I think by the end there’s over 20 or maybe 25 people that worked on “Theogony” in one form or another. So trying to match up everyone’s schedules and everything can be exhausting.  It sometimes was a full time job in itself. But it was totally worth it! Ultimately, working on this album was filled with fun, unforgettable experiences. The time spent in the studio with the musicians that contributed locally were always the most fun parts. I love being in the studio! And the other guest musicians around the world, when I would get emails from them with guest solos or something, my heart would just leap into my throat with excitement to hear what they had done. So although at times it was very difficult to make everything come together, working on this album was a fun, unique experience and I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished!

Are there any touring plans in support to “Theogony”?

Unfortunately, no, there are no plans for touring. LUNAR has actually never had a live performance. I tried for a long time to turn the band into a full lineup so that we could tour and play live, but, so far, it hasn’t been able to happen. Ryan Erwin, Ryan Price and I all live in Northern California, but still hours apart. And Chandler Mogel (the vocalist on “Theogony”) lives in New York. And all the lead guitar duties were divided up between numerous guest musicians. So I hope someday I will have a lineup that I’m able to tour with, but for now, this is just a studio project. I did it that way because I didn’t want to delay getting the music out there any more than I already had.

While we are on the subject of touring, what countries would you love to tour?

Personally, I haven’t had the opportunity to tour nearly as much as I would like. So I would love to tour anywhere really! But I feel that progressive rock and metal has a much better reception in Europe so I would love to do a European tour someday. In terms of specific countries, I’ve always wanted to visit Sweden, Norway, Germany and the U.K., so I’d love to hit those places on a tour!

Who and what inspires you the most?

Well as cliche as it may sound in a music interview, nothing inspires me more than music. Like most musicians I think, it just has this chemical affect on my brain when I hear incredible music that can’t be matched by anything else in this world. So whether it’s from the feeling it gives me, the incredible musicianship of the players, or some lyrics that speak to me, that’s what inspires me to create the music that I do. It’s an important part of everything I do music related. Even while I sit here doing this interview I’m listening to “Nil Recurring” by Porcupine Tree. In terms of the musicians / bands that inspire me the most, being a fan of progressive rock and metal, I love the bands that are the most diverse, but still catchy. Ones that are incredibly talented and when someone who’s never heard them asks you to describe them, you can’t, because there’s nothing else out there to compare them to. So these days my personal biggest influences musically are acts like Opeth, Steven Wilson, Haken and Ayreon. And I’m sure you’ll hear tons of influence from those acts in “Theogony.”

What other genres of music do you listen to? Have any of the other genres you listen to had any impact on your playing?

Honestly I don’t often seek out other genres of music to listen to, but I don’t believe in the restriction of genre, so I will listen to just about anything that someone puts on to show me and I’ll try to find something that I can draw some kind of influence or appreciation for in it. That being said, prog is such a broad category of music that you can listen to a few different bands that are all considered prog and find so much range of sound and influence. Spending a day listening to Steven Wilson, Ayreon, Radiohead and Ihsahn spans so many different sounds, but they can all be considered progressive bands. For my personal playing, I try to watch individual drum videos as often as I can to learn new things in my playing style and ability, and with that I find myself watching drummers from different genres. I feel that it’s important to not pigeonhole yourself in your playing, especially if you’re into progressive music. And while I love watching rock and metal drummers play, I often find I’ll learn more and open myself up to new ideas watching jazz drummers or gospel drummers.

I really appreciate you giving us your time today. Is there anything else you would like to tell us and the fans before we wrap things up?

I guess I just want to say thank you to you guys at Progarchy for taking the time to interview me and thanks to all the fans that read this and check out “Theogony!” The album will be out November 10th. I’m really excited for it and I really hope everyone enjoys it!!!

 

“Theogony” is out on November 10th; pre-order it from Bandcamp here. Follow Lunar on Facebook.