After the release of Locomotive Breath’s “Heavy Machinery”, Janne got in touch with Joe Romagnola of Grooveyard Records in the US. Joe was, like Janne, a fan of guitar oriented, riff based heavy rock. The cover of Target’s “Can’t Fake It”, caught the attention of Joe, and he asked Janne if he would be into recording a cover album of 70s heavy rock. Janne first declined, not being a huge fan of cover albums. After some discussions back and forth, they came up with a concept. Mountain of Power is basically Janne’s tribute to his unsung heroes of the 70s. Bands and/or songs that have rarely or never been covered, by bands that should definitely be remembered. The idea was also that Janne handled the rhythm and lead guitar, but also invited other guitarists, plus of course singers, bass players and drummers to collaborate.
The debut was released in 2007 and featured covers of Stray Dog, Budgie, Goddo, Wireless, Captain Beyond, Samson etc. Guests included Mike Andersson (Cloudscape), Anders Johansson (Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall), Mikael Nord Andersson (Roxette, Scorpions), Chris Catena, Björn Lodin (Baltimoore) etc. Three years later the follow-up saw the light of day, paying tribute to bands like Trapeze, Marcus, Mahogany Rush, Resurrection Band, Blackfoot, Yesterday And Today etc. and featured guests such as John Norum, Ty Tabor, Rusty Burns, Conny Bloom, Pontus Snibb, Greg Martin and Paul Shortino.
In 2015 it was time again, and “Volume Three” saw the light of day. It featured covers of Captain Beyond, Neil Merryweather, Walter Rossi/Charlee, The Hunt, Rush, Kansas, Cain, Triumph, Diamond REO etc. The guest list featured Carl Dixon, Kee Marcello, Jonas Hansson, Hank Shermann, Michael Denner, Brett Ellis, Ken Hammer, Craig Erikcson, Mike Onesko, Jesse Jay Johnson, Jimmy Ryan, Martin J Andersen etc. This album was also the first one to be released on vinyl.
Even though Mountain of Power is a studio based project, a temporary gathering featuring Janne, drummer Peter “TrumPeter” Svensson, bassist Nalle Påhlsson, guitarist/singer Michael Nord Andersson and singers Chris Catena, Mattias Osbäck and David Fremberg played the Sweden Rock Festival in 2008.
Mountain of Power Vol 4 was released in 2020 and features some new faces such as singer Rob Lamothe (Riverdogs), Jani Kataja (Sideburn) and Paul Gurvits (Gun, Three Man Army), guitarists Jerry Zubal (Rockicks), Roger Romeo (Legs Diamond) and long lost Sir Lord Baltimore singer/drummer John Garner. Artists/bands covered features Three Man Army, Bang, Sir Lord Baltimore, Bux, The Sweet, Riot, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, Dirty Tricks, The Babys, Rockicks and Legs Diamond.
Mountain of Power Vol 5, the last (?) album, released in August 2023, features covers of Scorpions, Driver, Axis, Angel, Black Sabbath, Totty, White Wing, Humble Pie, Medusa, Black Sheep, Striker, Demian and Hydra. The album features for instance Jimmy Kunes, Brett Ellis, Tony Spinner, Craig Erickson, Matti Alfonzetti, Randy Pratt, Sebastian Sippola, Martin J. Andersen, Mikael Nord Andersson and Mats Karlsson.
Mountain of PO
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