Interview With Michael Justin Lee of Solemn Pledge

How would you describe your music to any person who may have never heard it before?

We primarily create hard rock and heavy metal music, but our distinction is that we primarily create rock operas of classic stories. I consider our music “edu-tainment” because one motivation is to draw people to learn more about the classics as a result of having heard our music.

Is there any significance to the band’s name?

Yes, Maria and I named ourselves after our promise to always try to make the best music we possibly can. We will not take any shortcuts. We will not hold back in any music endeavour. We will develop our talents as best we can. We offer to our audience this Solemn Pledge.

What are your musical influences?

Maria Genevieve Elia and I are big fans of the classic era of heavy metal. But we also like other subgenres of rock. Blues rock and traditional hard rock are also great loves of ours. Exactly which style of rock we perform depends on the song. Our music always serves the song. As an exaggerated example, if we were creating a lullaby, we would not use speed metal music.

What are your musical inspirations?

All the greats! From my favourite guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, to far lesser-known rock musicians, truly innovative musicians inspire me.

If given the chance, what musician(s) would you like to collaborate with? Rather this is to either write a song or be featured on a track.

I regret that all those whom I hypothetically would most like to collaborate with have passed away. Eddie Van Halen, for example and also deeper into the past with Elvis. These two top my list, but actually, there is a very large number of musicians whom I would love to collaborate with.

What’s the song/album about?

There is no single theme for this album. Each song stands independently as a rock creation. But one coincidence is that several songs tell the story of a separate powerful woman. Among them are songs about Queen Boudica from British history, Judge Deborah from the Bible, Hypatia from Egyptian history and the fictional Xena, the warrior princess! I also have a song that pays tribute to my favourite musical artist, Eddie Van Halen.