Fort Worth Metal Band Nocturnal Spawn Just Wants to Riff

After releasing tracks “Necrotic Usurper” and “Breathe the Night” as a sampler from their upcoming full-length on Bandcamp, the Fort Worth four-piece Nocturnal Spawn takes fans on a journey through the depths of night, where darkness reigns supreme.

When Travis Woodson began searching for bandmates to form what would become the death metal-meets-black metal of Nocturnal Spawn, it took a year to find the right people. He knew that he needed dedicated members willing to put in the effort and take it seriously, but it was difficult to find other musicians with the availability and time to commit to the band.

“Everybody wanted the same thing,” Woodson says of the lineup he was finally able to assemble. “We all have the same vision of what we want for Nocturnal Spawn and the same goals, which is just to bang our heads with our friends and play hard-ass music that we just really want to play.”

Luckily, Woodson’s long-standing connections within the local scene helped secure the perfect lineup for hard-ass headbanging.

Woodson went to high school with bassist Austin Underwood and drummer Cameron Silva. He then discovered hardcore through lead guitarist Travis Cook; Silva had drummed in Woodson’s previous band, Disruption, which was also Woodson’s solo project. Woodson, while attending Midlothian High School, and Cook, attending Waxahachie High School, each grew up with classic metal, experiencing the luck of the draw by having metal venues in their respective towns.

“I can’t even tell you how many amazing musicians spawned because we had that outlet in these little country towns. We had two metal venues for no apparent reason. I still don’t know how it happened, but it did, and so many great musicians have come out of that area,” Woodson remarks.

The large pool of musical talent in Dallas-Fort Worth challenges Woodson and Cook to continually improve, and they don’t see that as a bad thing. “It’s been really cool to have everybody’s support, and I’m extremely appreciative,” Woodson states. “The scene’s sick here! It’s super competitive, everybody is in sick bands, all of our friends are in sick bands, and that’s awesome to see as well.”

Chris Bonner, guitarist for Frozen Soul, has been to almost all of the band’s shows, and Myth Carver vocalist Daniel Schmuck attends performances quite often as well. The camaraderie has propelled Nocturnal Spawn forward, whether it’s Schmuck helping Woodson with mixing, mastering and recording or Creeping Death’s Reese Alavi booking shows under Blind Dogs Booking.

The local metal scene’s wide range of sounds has allowed Nocturnal Spawn to be more open to different artists and perform in a variety of spaces.

“My goal with songwriting has just been to blend up just a bunch of aspects of just every influence over the course of the years of playing, pretty much. I didn’t want to be pigeonholed straight into like black metal or death metal or something. I just kind of wanted to take it to where it’s something we could do really differently every song,” Cook explains. “If you’re a metal band and you only take your influences from metal, then your band’s going to be boring.”

When discussing their influences, it’s clear that Woodson and Cook gravitate toward what is melancholy yet still catchy. Whether it’s the melodic death metal of Dissection or Beach House’s dreamy somberness, catchiness isn’t something a term that metal bands often use to describe their music, but Nocturnal Spawn are embracing hooks, simplicity, and the new listeners that come with it.

The group’s debut EP from this year, Emissaries of the Other Side, showcases the blackened death metal and catchy riffs that allow them to take their sound in so many directions. “Necrotic Usurper” and “Breathe the Night” furthermore accentuate hooky riffs with the heaviness.

“That’s been a big, big thing I’ve been focusing on, just trying to find that middle ground between the simplicity and the melody and the aggressiveness,” Cook says, citing Black Sabbath as a prime example of simple riffs with a groove.

Not only does Woodson keep his riffs simple because he has to sing at the same time, but also because of how they translate live. “We want to be able to play simple stuff that appeals to a large group of people. I want to be able to sign up and play at death metal shows and black metal shows. I want to be able to be all over the place as far as genre of shows goes,” he says.

Billing for heavy shows is more diverse now than ever before, and it’s a perfect time for a band with Nocturnal Spawn’s perspective. It’s not uncommon to see grindcore and death metal or shoegaze and hardcore on the same billing.

“A mixture of genres at a show really helps draw more people. Of course, if you book an all-death-metal show, you’re going to draw that specific niche of people. But if you had some other genres, now you’re pulling in people from that might not normally go see this particular band,” Cook explains.

Next year, the band hopes to expand its reach to new fans by playing festivals and releasing new music. It’s not about money or fame, but Nocturnal Spawn wants to take this band as far as they can. Receiving the support and help from great musicians has been flattering.

“I think that we’re extremely lucky and privileged to be able to say that we are friends with some of our legitimate favorite musicians,” Woodson says. “I think that I’m in a really lucky spot.”