Meet Lord Of Horns

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lord Of Horns a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lord of Horns, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

Any great endeavor takes an immense amount of focus, determination, and sacrifice. More so, they require the planning and executions of many experiments – trials and errors – the laborious methods of fathomless minor tweaks that build into a calculable success time and time again. A repeatable success that creates a reputable consistency that garners respect from your peers and a returning clientele.
It is only through such strenuous and tedious research and development that someone can gain a strong sense of self-esteem and unwavering confidence. I am no different.
As a solo metal act, I have pondered many times over questions such as, “Is my music any good, will others enjoy it?” “Will my fellow metalheads and musicians take me seriously?” “Does my live show even hold a candle to other bands, in terms of sound quality and performance?”
Prior to releasing my full album, “The Forest at Dusk,” I sought to find the answer to my first question. “Few Ever Survive the Night…” was a demo I released to get feedback from fans and critics. I took criticisms from any- and everyone. I didn’t take everything to heart, but I at least got a generalized reception.
I remember at one point when I was still in the post-production stage for the full album, I questioned whether or not my efforts were worth it. Listening to the same tracks over and over and tweaking them to perfection can wear one down, as it had simply done to me. When I was finished on one particular night, upon going to bed I received a notification from a review I requested for the demo. It was overwhelming positive and instantly my questioned was answered and my spirits lifted. That one review was worth all the time I had been devoting to this project.
After I released the album, I had sent them out to be reviewed by experts in the genre. Each review could be a nail in the coffin for my project. If I am creating subpar music than what I expect myself to make, I have to have the maturity and self-realization to come to terms with reality and know that this just isn’t for me. I use this same method when I am writing songs – if I don’t like what I wrote or it’s not up to my own standard, I am not afraid to hit delete.
Fortunately, every review that came back proved that others had felt closely similar to me on the qualities of my music. These reviews grew my self–esteem and confidence to continue, as well as answering my second question..
The third question, however, was not something that could be easily answered in the positive. Many people liked my music, even loved my stage persona and performance, but sadly enough, the audio quality just did not match the intensity it required nor deserved. The most consistent piece of feedback I received was that I should get a full band.
Having a full band has it’s own set of immeasurable issues – ones I’d rather not deal with. So, it was solo or nothing, and I strongly considered nothing, and if it weren’t for the amount of fun I have performing, it would be nothing.
For nothing more than sheer fun, I continued to be persistent.
I went through countless iterations of mixes and remixes to acquire the right sound. It seemed no matter what I did, it was never on par with the power of live bands. Being a solo project, I can’t have all the power of a singular guitar amp, backed by the power of a bass amp, while competing over a live drum set. It’s not just how loud it is, but it’s also the physical intensity one feels standing in front of a stage. There are ways to achieve it, but require so much equipment, it’s ludicrous for one person to set it all up and strike it 30 or 45 min later. A generic PA simply does not compete in the slightest. So, I had to focus on something more custom.
I did a ton of research into speaker building and understanding which speakers are meant for which frequencies. I learned about how crossovers split the frequency spectrum so that certain speaker types only received a specific range of frequencies. When it was all said and done, I designed my own speakers that combined multiple speakers for each frequency range. I decided I would mix my backing tracks to those speakers specifically – as every speaker system is different – this way, regardless of the venue, my sound quality would be consistent. When I tried this for the first time, I asked the sound engineer at the show how the mix was. Usually, I get some long-winded feedback and some pointers to try out. This time, however, the reply I received was a simple, “It was great!”
That bolstered my confidence and assured me that I was definitely on the right track. The fact that I finally put on show where the sound matched my performance was a massive achievement. As I stated before, achievements build self-esteem.
But the journey does not end there, for you see, I am forever learning and accepting of all feedback. I found two speakers were not enough, I needed more, so I built two more to get a real powerful sound.
I had been using a powered mixer to power all the speakers, but was told by a prominent sound engineer that the problem with them is because everything is so compact, it cannot deliver as loud as another power amp of the same wattage.
So, I dug out an old 8 channel mixer that I loved and bought a basic power amp. That made a significant difference. So much so that the fuses on some of the speaker lines would keep blowing. So, back to trial and error. I had to figure out how loud I can make it without blowing fuses. Well, it’s not as loud as it definitely can be, but I don’t want to increase the fuse amps because I could cause more issues by blowing out the speakers. This was a previous issue I had when I first built the speakers. My proposed solution now, is to add a third of the speaker type to each speaker, so I can increase the fuse rating without damaging the speakers. I am on tour right now, so there is nothing I can do about it, plus it’s another $500 investment for the parts needed.
But, when I get back home, I am looking forward to tackling this project, too!
The constant drive for perfection stacks minor achievements where upon confidence and self-esteem sits.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I always had a penchant for shocking scenes – the macabre and grotesques – and this led me down a path in the discovery of heavy metal. I kept digging through that void and came upon Black Metal. This sub-genre focused a lot on terrorizing melodies and haunting atmospheres. I loved it and I wanted to create more things like it. Many of the songs were generically about Satan or depression. I wanted to take this type of music and tell a story with it. That is essentially what my project is. I infuse this fast paced music to invoke trepidation upon the listener and add horror-movie-like scores to build tension. The riffs, rhythms, and melodies paint a horrid foreground in the audience’s mind. The lyrics explain the grim deeds of the scene – altogether creating an intense immersion to escape into.
I am currently touring with Cabra Negra – another Black Metal band from Colombia. When I return, I will focus on finalizing the upcoming album. I do not have a release date, as of yet, but follow me on social media to stay updated.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

First, and foremost, my perseverance. Without my self-determination, none of this would be possible. I would not have the discipline to follow through on my plans, nor the tenacity to chase the vision I wish to create.
I would regard creativity as a force that has immense impact on my journey. It takes a creative spark to become inspired or influenced by something you see or hear and then make something that is like it, but completely original – NOT a watered down replica, a cook cutter, or clone. For instance, taking a riff I like and changing it in an interesting way, or a chord progression where I rearrange the chords to fit a scene.
Lastly, knowing when something is not working. Maybe a riff doesn’t sound good in a certain spot, or the whole song just doesn’t flow. Whatever the trouble, I am able to self-critique and work on the arrangements until I feel I can get lost in the music.
For aspiring writers of all kinds, the most important skill you must develop is the ability to hit the delete button, to throw something completely out. Let’s face it, 99% of the stuff you come up with will be crap. I have written so many riffs I never bothered to write down because I know they suck the moment I heard it. Other times, after listening to a whole song I spent over a week working on, I delete it. Now, there are some times, parts that can be salvaged, take those parts and build upon them. Also, never stop. Keep writing and most importantly, keep learning – keep an open mind when it comes to criticisms, they will usually help you more often than not.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Sometimes. Being multi-instrumental, I have a lot of bands who ask me to play for them. My main priority is my own time. So I ask myself, do I have time to put my heart into this project? If the answer is no, then it’s simple. But, if I have time, then I ask, do I like the potential of what I am being shown? If the answer to that is yes, then I am more motivated to help out. I am used to writing on my own, so it’s different when I am working with someone and deciding which riffs to use and figuring out the arrangements. I have recorded vocals for a project called Mountain Hermit based in Italy and I am currently playing bass and drums in an untitled war metal project.
If someone wants to collaborate with me, email me at [email protected] and send me whatever demo you have, no matter how bad they sound.

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