The Metal Crypt - Dark Haven Interview

Interviews

Interview with Brandon McLaughlin (Bass/Vocals), Nate Falzon (Drums) and Brennan Kilpatrick (Guitar)

Interview conducted by Sargon the Terrible

Date online: October 4, 2005

Sargon: Hey, how have things been lately in the Dark Haven camp? What's new?

Dark Haven: Things have been great, we have some really good shows coming up as well as getting some really good reviews for our ep "Your Darkest Hour." Our drummer Nate recently recovered from losing his left thumb, and although we were all skeptical at first he is playing better now than he's ever played. Right now we are planning on shopping our ep and hoping to get a record deal.

Sargon: Has the response to the the CD been good?

Dark Haven: The response has been exciting for us, it has been selling really well at our latest shows and has been getting great reviews. We are anxious to get a few more reviews back for our press-kit. We are hoping to be able to record a full length within the next year.

Sargon: Well, I might as well ask the obligatory question about How The Band Got Together, any good stories there? How did you pick the name?

Dark Haven: The band was formed right before the summer of 2004, with Brandon, Brennan, and Nate. The original guitarist and keyboardist were replaced by Amy and Kent not long after. At the beginning we were looking for singers and Brandon was strictly the bass player. After many many frustrating try outs Brandon mentioned trying out and it went really well. Originally we got another bass player, but when he didn't work out Brandon ended up doing both and we actually prefer it that way now. We were deciding between the two names Salem and Dark Haven, and after a long vote and several arguments we decided on Dark Haven.

Sargon: I understand you guys are all pretty young, how old is everybody exactly?

Dark Haven: Brennan, Nate, and Brandon are all 19 years old, Amy and Kent are both 21 years old.

Sargon: Rhett from Morgion once told me that SoCal is the lamest place for metal anywhere, do you find that to be true? Has that made it harder to build a following?

Dark Haven: The scene here is pretty horrible, which has helped in some ways as well as made it harder in other ways. It has helped us because we're unique in this area and we actually built our following very quickly. However, it makes it harder to get booked on shows because there is mainly hardcore/metalcore acts around here so in some cases we're too "metal" to get onto a show. It also makes networking go to shit. Out here there's very few similar acts, so we're held to the same standard as signed international touring acts, which keeps us focused as musicians.

Sargon: I'm told you guys play a killer live show, do you enjoy it more than recording?

Dark Haven: They are two totally different things, both equally amazing and fulfilling. There really isn't any feeling that comes close to the feeling you get playing to a packed crowd and watching them sing along and go insane tearing the place apart. However, listening to your songs come to life in the studio is so extremely rewarding. Plus the time we spent in the studio was probably the most fun us 5 have ever had together.... Which makes us all anticipate how much fun we'll have when we get our chance to tour.

Sargon: Any record company interest yet? You guys need to record an album in the worst way.

Dark Haven: At the moment we haven't attempted to shop our EP to any labels. Once we get more reviews, play more shows, and expand our fan base then we will start to try to get the attention of some labels and hopefully get some of them out to our shows. We figure we have a better chance of getting a good record deal if we present ourselves as an already functioning machine.

Sargon: What are the bands that influenced each of you? Obviously acts like Dark Tranquility and Arch Enemy are a big part of your sound, but what are the bands that influenced you individually?

Dark Haven: All the bands that influence us have done so in different ways, some showing through more than others. In Flames is the band that brought us into the Gothenburg metal scene. Some American metal bands that have influenced us are Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage. For the most part we all listen to the same group of bands, for our individual preference we have them all listed in our bios at our homepage www.darkhavenmusic.com.

Sargon: Everybody: what was your best and worst live experience?

Dark Haven: Our absolute worst show we ever played was at a bar and grill in Riverside, CA. That night we realized that playing to a bunch of people that are far more concerned in getting drunk than listening to a band is a bad idea.

For the most part every show that we play is a great experience. To pick one show at this point would be our EP release at a small venue here in our hometown. We sold out the place, played a killer extended set, and stuck around afterwards and signed autographs. It was definitely a wonderful experience for all of us.

Sargon: What band would you tour with if you could, if you could pick anybody?

Dark Haven: There is a shitload of bands, any National Headlining band would be awesome. If we could hand pick some bands would be In Flames, Soilwork, Arch Enemy, and Children of Bodom.

Sargon: What's in the works for the future of Dark Haven?

Dark Haven: We would like to take over the world sometime in the next ten years. haha, but if that isn't in the cards for Dark Haven we hope to get signed and build our selves up to hopefully become a National Touring act. With all the metal bands and metalcore bands that are coming out right now, we hope to be one of the few bands remembered for staying true to our style, and staying true as musicians.

Sargon: Anything else you'd like to say?

Dark Haven: Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to fill out this interview for Metal Crypt. We appreciate you giving us the chance to inform everyone what's going on with us and to get to know the band a little better.

Other information about Dark Haven on this site

Review: Your Darkest Hour

Review: Fallout

Review: Dark Haven

Review: IV