On the radar: Empress AD

London-based Empress AD are a metal band with a bit more up top. Guitarist Ollie Loring started the band with his brother Alex in their hometown of Reading back in 2011, before their soaring, space-metal caught the ears of Roadrunner, to whom they signed in 2013.

However, for Ollie, like so many of the names that pass through this here venerable guitar tome, it all started with Metallica.

"The first thing I learnt on guitar was //Motorbreath//," he recalls. "Then I got //The Black Album// tab book. I always just wanted to learn more difficult things. I learned the //Nothing Else Matters// intro and I was so pleased by that and then the //One// solo after a few months."

It soon became apparent to those around Ollie that he had something of a gift. "All of my mates were like, 'Fuck man! You've learnt that really quickly'," says Ollie. "I remember going to bed that night thinking, 'I really wanna play some more guitar' and it's just always been like that [since then]."

Gear-wise, Ollie currently favours a 2011 Gibson Firebird, though he's swapped out the mini-humbuckers for a Bare Knuckle set.

"I've got an Orange OR100, which sounds amazing and I want to get a Fender Twin as well," he says. "I just want a huge live sound and I'm going to keep adding amps and pedals until I've got like 50 amps…"

A metal band with more on top, and on the floor, too…

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Hear: Invisible Conductor

For more information visit the Empress AD website and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.