Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Stormhaven started in Toulouse (France) in 2010, once Regis and I (Zach) had finished music school. After answering a few adds we found our drummer Alban and bass player Jo, who had recently stopped their previous band. I also called another guitarist friend of mine, Cl�ment, to complete the line-up. After a few months though, Cl�ment felt he couldn't keep up the pace and decided to stop. Since then, the band never wanted to seek another guitarist, for this gave a bit more room to Jo on bass and Regis on keyboards to express themselves and find more interesting parts to play.
We struggled for almost a year trying to find a decent singer but none of the contenders really suited. A deep growler or a powerful clear vocalist would have done it, since that aspect of the music had yet to be determined. Finally, Regis and I realized that if nobody could meet our expectations, we should probably try singing ourselves. This way, after some time and hard work, we became the voices of the band: Regis with a deep and heavy growl, and I fluctuating between a high pitched growl and clear vocals which give the progressive touch to the band.
After four years of work with their drummer Alban, the band decided to part ways with him. Then, Quentin, a young ambitious drummer, joined them to fill the spot.�
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?�
We play Progressive Death Metal, we love playing and composing long songs. The four "pillar" bands for us when we started were Opeth, Death, Dream Theater and Symphony X. Of course later on I discovered other great bands: Enslaved, Vektor, Haken, Edge Of Sanity, etc. which have also become a huge influence in my composing process. �
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Well first of all I think it's important to support your local music scene and if a band really does good work, you should encourage them. Go to gigs and buy some CD's (if you can), that's what beeing part of the musical family is all about in my opinion.�
I'm glad to say that I'm proud of our music and our artwork. Even those who aren't prog aficionados will enjoy our work. You can find grunt and clear vocals, heavy guitar riffs, smooth keyboards...check us out if you have the time and if you like what you hear get a CD!
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?�
We've released two albums so far: Mystical Journey (2014) and Exodus (2017). Our first album did rather good with the media and the public: we were a young band with a promising future ahead. So far Exodus is getting good reviews, we hope to really make a name for ourselves in the years to come.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
We played live regularly in southern France once the band's line-up was complete. It's been almost two years that we haven't been active due to multiple band issues but since the release of Exodus, we're back and ready to play live again.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
I think Stormhaven is a very unique band. We differ from others through the mighty two-singer combination which helps broaden possibilities and diversify our style. Sometimes brutal, sometimes black or progressive, the scenery changes many times throughout a single song, keeping the listener intrigued while the band travels through multiple musical landscapes.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
In the few months ahead we'd like to play gigs as soon as possible and try to promote Exodus the best we can.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can listen to us on multiple plateforms:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stormhavenband/
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBjoo3jygEp2TwC-xNEoJfA
Soundclound: https://soundcloud.com/stormhaven
And If you wish to buy a CD from us, go on our bandcamp page: https://stormhavenband.bandcamp.com/releases
June 2017