They Come At Night

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.