Dark New Day Members Name Five Albums that Changed Their Lives
Dark New Day’s latest full-length, ‘New Tradition,’ packs a variety of hard-hitting rock sounds. That having been said, it’s no surprise that band members have a wide range of musical tastes and influences — and that breadth really came out when the guys recently rattled off their top five albums that changed their lives.
Speaking with Noisecreep, Dark New Day guitarist Troy McLawhorn named Led Zeppelin’s ‘IV’ as his choice album:
This album blew me away when I was a kid… I was teaching myself how to play guitar around that time and I spent countless hours trying to learn ‘Black Dog,’ ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and ‘Rock and Roll.’ It wasn’t the beginning of my love for music, but it was the album that jump-started my love for guitar. After learning a few Zeppelin songs things would never be the same again.
Singer Brett Hestla’s picks included Smashing Pumpkins’ seminal release, ‘Siamese Dream,’ and Stone Temple Pilots’ famed ‘Purple’:
I love [‘Siamese Dream’], because it encompasses an entire emotional galaxy. The production of the record brings guitar overload to a new level. I love Billy Corgan’s delivery vocally as well. He involves so many emotional movements that it’s impossible to get tired of the song. Definitely a desert island companion.
[‘Purple’] is melodic roller coaster. Every musician is on a journey and stringing together a beautiful chain of emotion that entwines to give you a virtual fabric made of music. Lyrically and melodically, it cements Scott Weiland into my mind as an icon to last forever.
Drummer Will Hunt went with Motley Crue’s 1983 classic, ‘Shout at the Devil’:
…From the flat black pentagram cover, to the double gatefold inside cover photos of the guys in these ridiculously bad ass costumes, to the video, these guys had and did it all. If there’s ever been a completely perfect album from songs to packaging to all out vibe, this would be it…
Hunt also counts Alice in Chains’ ‘Facelift’ as a major inspiration:
This record was a perfect blending of “heavy” and “melody” that changed what heavy music would be defined as and thought of. The intro riff of “We Die Young” (which unfortunately lyrically was somewhat prophetic) was the heaviest, evilest, meanest thing I had ever heard…
Check out the full list and complete descriptions via Noisecreep.