Will Haven - History

History

In 1995, Will Haven, named after a fictional, self-created character, formed and released a six-track demo. The band was formed from members of Sock, a band that was formed with Shaun Lopez of Far. Will Haven's debut self-titled seven-track EP was released in 1996 to positive reviews. A year later the quartet was signed to Revelation. Singer Grady Avenell guested on two Far tracks - 9 Miles, and a cover of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas Time? with Chino Moreno of Deftones.

1997 saw the release of full-length El Diablo bringing them an increasing amount of attention and a growing fanbase. In 1999, they released WHVN, arguably their heaviest album to date. The song Jaworksi is named after Red Tape's frontman and friend Jeff Jaworksi, who was Jeff Irwin's guitar tech at the time; and Slopez is named after Shaun Lopez, who was the guitarist for Far. During this time, the band recorded a track called The Regulator for the Bad Brains' Never Give In tribute album, and toured with Deftones throughout Europe.

In 2000, long-time drummer Wayne Morse left the band. He was replaced by Mitch Wheeler. Later that year, Grady guested on Soulfly's track Pain, to be featured on the album Primitive. Chino Moreno also guested on that track.

In 2001, they released the critically acclaimed Carpe Diem, which saw a world-tour promotion, headlining shows in the US, UK, and Japan, and playing the Vans Warped Tour in Australia. Single Carpe Diem featured Chino Moreno in the promotional video; similarly, members of Haven are in the promotional video for Deftones' Bored, a single from their album Adrenaline.

Singer Grady Avenell left not long after the tour, to raise a family and attend college. Haven released a DVD called Foreign Films featuring what, at that point, was to be their last ever show in January 2002 - in a small coffeehouse in their hometown of Sacramento, called The Capitol Garage - and a wealth of footage from the final tour. Members of the band went on to form Ghostride (with members of Tinfed and Oddman), The Abominable Iron Sloth, and Death Valley High, as well as their own label, Distruktor Records.