New Haven is a Hard Rock/Metal band out of Ohio. The band consists of John-Mark Howley (bass), Bryant Walters (guitar), Shawn Taylor (guitar), Troy Ferguson (vocals) and Zack Iiames (percussion). The band was founded in 2012, and has been through a few roster and sound changes over the year. If you are a fan of the classic hard rock style similar to that of Stone Sour, Shinedown, and Tantric, with a sound like that of A Day to Remember sprinkled in, then New Haven is the band for you!
At their most recent show, they were told that they were “Bullet for My Valentine on steroids”. If that isn’t one of the coolest compliments you’ve ever heard, than I don’t know what is! I had the opportunity to conduct a Skype interview with four out of the five members of New Haven this past Sunday. What I anticipated being a short, quick interview with basic questions turned into an hour and a half conversation that felt like I was talking to guys I’ve known all my life. Being able to talk to band members in such a casual manner is a huge selling point for me, as I’m sure it is with any music fan. New Haven completely understands this and stays for the duration of all of their shows to interact with their fans and other bands! I love a band that immerses themselves within the scene, and from what I learned about New Haven, they are doing it the right way!
The guys in New Haven stated it very clearly; they make music for the fans. Of course, they are hopeful for that big break just like any band is, but for now they are ecstatic with the path they are on. It doesn’t matter to them if they play in front of ten people or ten thousand people, they are going to put their hearts and souls into their performance. That is the perfect characteristic that anyone looks for to identify true, quality musicians! New Haven recently added their two guitarists, Bryant and Shawn to the official lineup. Both guitarists joined the band within a week or two of playing their first show as New Haven members. I am extremely impressed that both guys were able to learn their guitar parts of in such a short span of time. That takes some dedication! During the interview, both Bryant and Shawn went into detail about how welcoming and inclusive the rest of the band was to them. Almost immediately, the two guitarists were creating their own sound and incorporating it into the already recorded and finalized tracks. Instead of the other members shutting down their ideas, they adopted them and began including them in their live shows. That speaks volumes to me. The fact that the rest of the members of New Haven had complete trust in both guitarists musical abilities almost instantaneously shows the amazing respect they have for the new additions to the band!
As the interview continued, we touched upon many topics, such as the goals set for New Haven, the hardships and challenges that come with being a relatively unknown band trying to make their way into the business and the inspiration behind the music they make. The guys of New Haven stated that getting noticed is one of the biggest challenges they face. “In Ohio, you’re between two cornfields.” That quote alone should show the persistence the band has. Despite being located in an area that might limit their exposure, New Haven has tackled this challenge head on and have played all around their tristate area. In addition to playing local shows, the band has been lucky enough to play with a lot of signed bands throughout the past year, including Tantric. While at the show, the band got to chatting with Tantric’s merchandise girl, who already knew of them and stated she was a fan! Shortly after, New Haven was in for a HUGE surprise when the merchandise girl and one of the members of Tantric released a cover video of New Haven’s song, “Release Me”. This is one of the coolest stories I’ve heard when interviewing bands. The fact that a local band just trying to make a name for themselves was covered by members of such a profound, well known band is such an honor. Big shout out to Tantric (from both New Haven and myself) for supporting the local scenes and recognizing true talent!
New Haven referenced many influences that helped create their current sound, from well known Hard-Rock bands like Stonesour and Godsmack, to Pop Punk/Post Hardcore type bands such as A Day to Remember and Bullet for My Valentine. In addition to these bands, New Haven cited that a heavy influence was family members, such as Troy’s dad who was a Southern Rock artist. They even recorded some of his songs and spun them into their own Hard Rock style! New Haven stated that they are “aiming to bring back the Hard Rock/Metal sound”, an area that I think can definitely use some fresh blood. Currently, the market is saturated with Pop Punk bands, so it’s refreshing to see a band taking a different approach to their music.
New Haven released their album, “Within Us All” in 2018. This album is a five track record that is killer! The band was lucky enough to record the album with the producer that recorded with Underoath. What an amazing chance they got! New Haven stated that he was amazing to work with, and taught them better ways to structure their music that added so much depth to their material. The album begins with “Night Terrors”, one of my favorite songs on the album. The song (and album) immediately begins with the classic Hard Rock guitar chords and accompanying drumming that fans of the genre absolutely love. Troy Ferguson’s vocals are awesome on this; no doubt a song that will have everyone singing along at their shows. “We follow our dreams, it doesn’t seem fair, to see them all become nightmares.” This is my favorite line of the song, and one I’ll surely be singing back to the band at the top of my lungs! “Within Us All” continues with “Without You”, my top song of the album. I love this song because it is very relatable. Most of us have suffered some type of heart ache at some point in our lives, one where it seems like we’ll never come back from it. The lyrics in this song describe the emotions felt during this difficult time. “My heart was filled with happiness, then I cried tears of sorrow. I can’t bring back yesterday, and I can’t face tomorrow. I’m losing the will to live, day by day. What am I supposed to do, without you?”
The album continues with “Release Me”, the song that slows down the album and is perfectly placed in the middle of the track list. Fans of New Haven are going to love this song because it shows the diversity they are able to incorporate in their music. There are no heavy breakdowns or fast paced, crazy guitar riffs and drumming. It consists of soft vocals and calm instrumentals. A perfect buffer between the Hard Rock songs that dominate this album. “Within Us All” ends with “Dying Lights”, another hard hitting jam that fans of the Hard Rock sound will love. What hooked me on this song is the nasty guitar chords and heart pounding drumming! I am a sucker for Hardcore elements in music, and the instrumentals are just too good to not be obsessed with. Every time I play this song I can’t help but start head banging until it feels like my neck is going to break! Just wait until you hear the killer breakdown towards the end of the song and you’ll understand why! I can’t wait until New Haven makes their way to New York so I can experience this banger live.
Something we discussed in the interview was how no matter how big a band is, the members of the band are human beings just like everyone else in the world. New Haven balances family responsibilities, daily jobs, and everything else that the typical person has to deal with. New Haven has an extremely supportive group of people behind them and are on the road to greatness! They have new material on the way, and if it is anything like their most recent release, it is surely to be well received by their fans! If you’re a fan of the Hard Rock/Metal sound then you have no excuse not to check out New Haven! Head over to their website to hear more of their music, follow their social media accounts, and check out music from “Within Us All” on the blog’s Spotify playlist: After Hours Review!