The music scene in Lawrence is full of incredible artists and venues. Small enough for local bands to have a place to play, but big enough for touring bands to stop and enjoy the spoils of this incredible town. We come to Lawrence in this spotlight to focus on some of the areas best musicians. Since 2015, Lawrence metal band Horned Wolf have brought their unique brand of metal to LFK, taking the stage with some of the areas heaviest and loudest bands, and this week they take the stage of our Artist Spotlight!
“Our mantra was “Tone Takes Time”. So we worked on our craft and got good and tight before we ever played out.”
Photo courtesy Fally Afini / iheartlocalmusic
7eight5: Tell us a little about yourselves, the band, etc.
Horned Wolf: We are Horned Wolf based in Lawrence, KS formed in 2015. Our music is best described as a fusion of various metal subgenres, with an emphasis on experimentation and individuality. Don and Justin are on Guitar, David is on Drums, Zack plays Bass, and Sav is our vocalist.
7eight5: How long have you been playing together?
Horned Wolf: Don, David, and Justin have been together in Horned Wolf since the start. During 2020 Sav joined and then just last year in 2023 Zack took over bass duties.
7eight5: Where did you come up with the name “Horned Wolf”?
Horned Wolf: I am a big fan of werewolves and just thought the idea of a wolf with horns was very cool. I was shocked that it had not already been taken. At the time there was next to nothing online that paired wolves with horns. It conjures great imagery.
7eight5: How would you describe your sound?
Horned Wolf: We just call ourselves a metal band. We are what happens when you never decide what you want to be when you grow up. We take parts from all styles or metal and blend them naturally. It’s just what we do without having to plan or think about it. We let the music tell its story as we move through it.
7eight5: Who were your influences growing up?
Horned Wolf: Our influences are all over the place. No member has the same favorites as the others. Not even the same genres. We like to say everything from In Flames, KISS, Black Sabbath, to Madonna, Kate Bush, Pallbearer, etc. We love it all and don’t let any specific style hamper us. After all we love metal so whatever we do is gonna be filtered through our metal hearts and come out as it does.
7eight5: Where do you get influences from when writing music?
Horned Wolf: Sometimes one of us will really be into a certain band so we will write a riff in their style and see what our natural flow does with it from there. Going from a riff to a whole song will usually change it dramatically and end up sounding nothing like the influence and ends up sounding like a Horned Wolf song. Or one of the guitars will write some sick riffs and we will bounce them off each other until a song starts to form.
7eight5: What comes first for you? The Music or the Lyrics? Or is it 50/50?
Horned Wolf: Its kind of both. Sav writes all the lyrics and the instruments write the songs and then we put them together.
7eight5: Do you remember your first show? What was that like?
Horned Wolf: Our first show was a pretty good time! We were a band for about a year and a half before we played live. Our mantra was “Tone Takes Time”. So we worked on our craft and got good and tight before we ever played out.
7eight5: How have you grown since starting to play together?
Horned Wolf: We have changed a lot. Once Sav joined the band replacing our original singer we let them take over and write new lyrics instead of asking them to sing our former singer Fred’s lyrics. Sav and Fred are very different vocalists so we didn’t want to force Sav into being something they are not. We wanted them to be able to do what they wanted and we back them up. By the way we are still very good friends with all the past members of our band. No one has left on bad terms and that is something we are very proud of. We are all friends in and out of this band.
7eight5: Are you active on social media?
Horned Wolf: Social media sucks. It’s the worst part of being a band these days. We use it and do what we have to. From time to time Don will put in extra work to grow that presence but it gets old and at the end of the day we want to play shows and have fun. But we have all the social media and you can find us on nearly all platforms.
Practice as much as you can and get good early. It makes things easier years down the road.
7eight5: Where would you like to be as a band in 5 years?
Horned Wolf: No idea where we want to be in five years. We’d love to put out a vinyl and hit the road. We don’t like to put out expectations. One thing for sure is we will all still be friends and as long as that’s the case there will still be music.
7eight5: How do you go about setting up shows to play?
Horned Wolf: Depending on what we have going on we usually let shows come to us. We have a pretty busty schedule so we can only play so many shows. Some of us would accept every show if we could but we know that’s not always possible. We also really like matchmaking with bands and putting shows together so the bands we are friends can all be friends and play together. Just want to be part of a scene of bands that support each other and enjoy what they do.
7eight5: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned as a band?
Horned Wolf: Practice as much as you can and get good early. It makes things easier years down the road.
7eight5: How can people get ahold of you?
Horned Wolf: Facebook and Instagram seem to be how we get most communications. You can find everything here as well. https://linktr.ee/hornedwolf
As Horned Wolf works on new music, they’re putting shows on hold until the summer. Check them out on Spotify while you wait for them to hit the stage again! And check out their video for “Become Like They Are” below!
