The influences behind Greyhaven

By Mark Johnson

Rising alt-rockers Greyhaven released their third EP ‘Breathe’ on January 12, a record we described as “endless creativity coupled with growing musical maturity”. With comparisons ranging from Alexisonfire, to 30 Seconds to Mars, to Bring Me the Horizon, we were keen to discover what lies beneath the band’s sound. Vocalist Sam Paterson and guitarist Alex Hills were on hand to reveal the songs that have influenced their journey so far.


Queen – ‘Spread Your Wings’

This has always been one of my personal favourite tracks, I constantly find myself drawing inspiration from it. The way Brian May manages to weave different licks together in an almost orchestral sense, has really had a massive influence on my phrasing when it comes to guitar. [Alex]

Def Leppard – ‘Photograph’

I was listening to this around the time we wrote ‘Truth’. I remember wanting a song with a big catchy riff in the intro and that’s kind of how that came about. We obviously went down a very different root with regard to the final product but that influence is definitely there. [Alex]

Angels & Airwaves – ‘The Adventure’

We drew a lot of inspiration from bands like Angels & Airwaves when creating the more ambient sections of the record. The way they manage to create such a massive, spacey sound never fails to realise the sense of wonder that you get when listening to them. [Alex]

Lower Than Atlantis – ‘Here We Go’ + 30 Seconds To Mars – ‘Kings & Queens’

For me, these both fall under the same category. We were definitely trying to move towards a more Stadium Rock vibe for this record, so I tried to create some big anthemic vocal hooks that you could imagine 30,000 people shouting back at you, which both of these songs showcase very well. [Sam]


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