BIOGRAPHY
You may be wondering who or what is "They Come At Night."
Well,
wonder no more, because you have come to the right place to find the answers
you seek. In the world of Nashville, TN, it is hard for anyone playing any music
other than Country to really get noticed. Bout, oddly enough, there can be found
an incredible amount of local bands in the area who play everything but country.
In this vast sea of overlooked talent lies They Come At Night, a completely
original heavy rock group with songs that speak for themself. Individually,
the
members of this band have played in such local favorites as Crown of Thorns,
Awake, Mechanical Jesus, Excruciating Pain, Doom Factor, and Embodiment,
dating as far back as 1990.
With influences as diverse as Tool, Soundgarden, The Beatles,
Pink Floyd
and Stone Temple Pilots, the music of They Come At Night could easily be
described as a cosmic journey through the mind with lush soundscapes and
cognitive lyrics. Today, after numerous incarnations, They Come At Night remains
the same at the core of it's creative lineup. The band's center and driving
force is
and always has been the collaberation of Thorin Milliken on vocals and bass,
and
Todd Lappin on guitar. Though, they have always appreciated the help of those
who have joined in to make live performances possible. When asked about the
reason for being such an exclusive duo, both reply "it's just so much easier
to
make decisions and formulate new material this way."
The colorful, electric stringwork constructed by Todd Lappin
and Thorin
Milliken has long been dubbed "T&T". It seems to almost have a
supernatural
aspect to it. For example, in an early T & T recording, several bars from
Tchaikovski's Arabian Dance (of the Nutcracker Suite) mysteriously appear. The
similarity between Tchaikovski's piece of music from the 1800's and Thorin and
Todd's own original recording can only be described as haunting. The two say
it is
as if the legendary Russian composer had been spiritually channeled unintentionally,
at least to the conscious mind. More haunting melodies appear throughout the
music of They Come At Night only making for great songs that have a wicked
familiarity about them.
Todd (aka Lazlo) is a crucial component to the group. Not only
does he
play incredible lines on the guitar, helping add what it takes to create this
band's
huge sound, but also has valuable experience in computers. Recognition should
be
given to Todd for the tedious, but rewarding, task of recording, mixing, and
mastering
all of the music of They Come At Night. Oddly enough, Todd started playing music
as a bassist for Excruciating Pain, a local band he'd formed during high school.
Though, he says after hearing the Seattle grunge band, Soundgarden, he decided
to
become a guitarist and move toward a similar musical direction for himself.
To understand Thorin's contribution to the band is to recognize
his long
history of studying and playing music. He attended school for music theory and
classical guitar and has written an enormous amount of music while playing in
various
bands. It is interesting to note that while having played guitar for 14 years,
Thorin
began playing the bass in 2002 after having to continually find replacements
for the
position. When asked about the instrument switch, he laughingly says he was
more
than ready to pick the thing up and play it himself. Since that time the songwriting
has also moved to another level in effect. Last but not least, Thorin actually
only has
been singing since 1998, about the same time that early They Come At Night ideas
were being born.
Each member of this duo fueled music group adds his own unique
contributions
to the sound that is They Come At Night. Such a strong, confident sound fits
easily into
the mix of today's heavy radio rock bands like Godsmack, Evanescance, and A
Perfect
Circle. When listening to this band's music, it makes it even more remarkable
to know
that these guys have done this all by themselves.