The Seed: Montana Band Goes From High School in Great Falls to L.A. Recording Studio

Great Falls’ Call of the Awakened is gearing up for their debut Top Hat performance on Saturday, September 14, 2019. The story of how they got to this point is pretty incredible.

The young heavy metal rockers’ journey started in 2013 when Dillon Kuntz (vocals) and Jayden Harrison (drums) created the band in high school after becoming friends through football. Jayden’s brother, Noah Harrison (lead guitar), was only in 6th grade when he began playing with them. They asked Nathan Ross (Bass Guitar) to step in to play their senior year and he has been there since.

Before their first album, a stroke of good luck came when someone recorded the band performing and sent a clip to Mikey Doling, who was the guitarist for SoulFly, and is currently touring in Europe with Channel Zero. Doling reached out to the Harrison brothers Dad, Kris Harrison, and the plan was set. Doling was to produce their album at SonikWire Studios in Irvine, CA right outside of L.A., but they needed to raise around $25K for expenses.  

Plans were in the works when tragedy hit and Kris died in a car accident. The trip to California was put on hold, but the boys refused to give up. They recorded their first album, Simulated Consciousness, locally in Great Falls at 4th Ave Studios. The band received good feedback, but their dream of going to L.A to professionally record an album was unachieved. Members were all torn in different directions between separate colleges, high schools, and military commitments and the momentum of the band slowed.

Once again though, the band persevered, and in 2018 they rallied together to record the single “L.O.M.” at 4th Avenue Studios. The song received great feedback, garneed a lot of attention, and was the springboard the band needed. They buckled down, got serious, and set out to raise the $25K so they could record in L.A.

Through months of hard work, gigging, and advertising, along with some generous donations, they met their goal. They drove 23 hours to L.A. and worked tirelessly for two weeks straight. Their sophomore album, A New Reality, was released July 31, 2019 and Call of the Awakened’s future now looks brighter than ever. You can stream the full album below, but don’t miss it performed live at the Top Hat on Saturday, September 14th! Details here.