Silver Talon join TheNwothm for a frank and often funny conversation about their origins, Portland’s DIY backbone, the chaos of early tours and the long path toward their next album. Bryce VanHoosen offers an unfiltered look at the band’s mindset, their creative habits and the community that keeps them moving.

Interview

TheNwothm: To start us off, how would you introduce Silver Talon to someone discovering you for the first time, and who makes up the current line‑up?

S.T: We are to heavy metal what Hank Hill is to propane. But seriously, I usually describe us as a “traditional” heavy metal band in the vein of Painkiller era Judas Priest, King Diamond, early (meaning THE GOOD) Pantera, and Nevermore. We’ve been called “power metal,” but I don’t know if I believe that. Lineup wise, it’s Wyatt “The Howler” Howell on vox, Devon “Oversize” Miller on guitar, Walter “Beefstick” Hartzell on bass, Nick “Van Drummin” Van Dusen on drums, and me, Bryce VanHoosen, on backup guitar. I’m also a driver and responsible for catering. 

TheNwothm: What brought the founding members together back in 2017, and at what point did the name Silver Talon feel like the right banner for what you wanted to create?

S.T: In 2017 my old band, Spellcaster, broke up, so we soldiered on with a different singer (Mr. Howell) and instead of calling it “Spellcaster 2: The Vengeance” or something, Gabe Franco (bass for Spellcaster, singer/vox of Unto Others) decided he really liked the name “Silver Talon.” The rest of the band at the time didn’t really like it, but Gabe has a way of being really convincing, so we went with it. He’s gone, making millions with Unto Others, but the name remains. I still don’t love the name, but whatever. 

TheNwothm: Portland is known for its DIY approach to music and art. How has that ethos shaped the way the band operates or sees itself?

S.T: The artist community is 100% DIY-or-die, and local politicians will always sell out their constituents to massive corporations. That’s Portland. But between Portland and Seattle, we’ve got a pretty good little metal community going. There’s really a lot of crossover going on between Portland and our bigger brother to the North these days, and a ton of cool stuff happening up there, like the Soldiers of Steel fest. As far as how it’s shaped our attitude, that’s harder to answer. Does a fish know it’s wet? We’re severely vitamin deficient in the winter and probably depressed, so we write music that reflects that

TheNwothm: Are there parts of your local scene or community that you feel have quietly influenced you, whether through people, venues, or the general atmosphere of the city?

S.T: Definitely! A big part of getting things going in Portland is just fucking doing it. Not waiting or an invitation or whatever. If you want to play more shows, book a show. If you want stores to carry your records, walk your ass in and drop some off. So that’s how we tend to do everything. I book tours similar to how I book local shows – just emailing venues and other bands I like and putting something together. There’s tons of people in the Portland area who are like that. They have no idea what they’re doing, whether it’s business or booking or what, but they do it, and somehow learn as they go. 

TheNwothm: Outside of music, what hobbies or interests help recharge your creativity or keep you grounded when the band’s schedule gets intense?

S.T: There’s not a whole lot we do outside of music and working. Sleeping I guess? But when Talon kind of becomes a drag, we tend to focus on other musical endeavors haha! We all have other projects we play with and we’ve played with LEATHER as well, so that tends to keep things interesting and makes Talon feel fresh once we come back to it. Other than that, Wyatt likes to arm wrestle. I like to travel and go on road trips with my wife, and read about occult shit like John Dee and Jack Parsons. Nick likes to smoke weed and drink coffee. We’re well rounded people. 

TheNwothm: Your first steps as a band came quickly with the demos “Devil Machine” and “Warriors’ End” in 2018. Looking back, what do those early recordings capture about who you were at that moment?

S.T: We were still trying to figure stuff out. I wrote both of those songs originally for Spellcaster, and the vocals were way different before Wyatt got to them. I remember jamming those in Gabe Franco’s basement in 2016 or something, thinking they would be released on the 4th Spellcaster record. So that time feels like a transitional period – it was the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. But still, my philosophy for those two in particular was still very much rooted in Spellcaster, and not really being myself. That being said though, the riff from Devil Machine is probably the best thing I’ve ever written. 

TheNwothm: “Becoming a Demon” arrived the same year. What pushed you to expand from demos into a more defined EP so soon, and what did you learn from making it?

S.T: We just felt like we needed to get something out as fast as possible to try and establish that this was a thing. There was also a part of me that really wanted to keep up with Unto Others, and since they released an EP, we of course had to release an EP. I’ve long given up on that method of thinking though. We had 3 years of absolutely no new music out, haha! 

TheNwothm: When you think about creating “Decadence and Decay”, what stands out most from the writing or recording process? Was there a moment where the album finally clicked into place for you?

S.T: I don’t think that one ever really clicked into place. Maybe it did once we had the final mixes back, but not while we were making it. That was a slog of an album! I wrote the whole thing in about a month in late 2018. We then spent the next few months demoing it out with vocals and rehearsals, and then started recording it in late 2019. Everything was going really smooth… and then the pandemic hit and we lost like 6 months. That being said, we pulled it together and delivered it in December of 2020. It was a slog, but it was also kind of cool because literally there was nothing else to do other than to finish the album. 

TheNwothm: “Bloodflow” arrived the following year. What drew you back to the EP format at that point, and what did you want to explore within that shorter framework?

S.T: Our previous drummer, Michael Thompson (who played on Decadence and Decay), had to move to North Carolina to help out with his family, so I wanted to get him in the studio to record a couple easy covers while we could. We pulled that out of our ass in about a week. It was also supposed to hold folks over while we finished working on our upcoming album, which I had hoped to get out in 2023. Well, that didn’t happen…

TheNwothm: Your 2026 single “Iron” marks your latest release. What sparked that track, and how did it come together behind the scenes?

S.T: This one has been in the works for quite some time! I played a demo of it on the EMG TV YouTube channel in November of 2023, so we’ve had it in the works since 2022. This will be one of the tracks on the new record, and kind of sets the tone for what to expect there. 

TheNwothm: Every band has a few formative memories that stick. Is there an early Silver Talon moment that still makes you laugh, cringe or feel proud when you think about it?

S.T: Our first tour was one we often come back to. So much happened on that tour that we still laugh about. Somehow we were 6 guys sleeping in a van sitting completely straight upright in WalMart parking lots across the country. I don’t know how we did that. We also set off numerous venue fire alarms with our fog machines, and in Philadelphia the fire department actually came in while we were playing looking for the fire. And then this dude in Worcester, Massachusetts at Ralph’s jumped off the stage and landed right on his face. There was blood everywhere. We also have a few stories from this place called JoyStix that we’ll tell you about if you find us in person, haha! 

TheNwothm: Your releases have distinct visual identities. How do you usually approach artwork, and what kind of conversations happen between the band and the artist before the imagery takes shape?

S.T: We’re actually having this conversation for the next record right now! Usually I come up with a concept, or provide a sketch and let the artist have it. I think typically most artists like it when you can give them just a bit to work off and then let them run with the idea. But the exact process is different every time. For example, on Becoming A Demon, we basically just let Alex go wild and he came up with the really cool winged crown serpent thing. I love that artwork! And for Decadence and Decay, I found that art in 2019 and felt really drawn to it. I emailed Brom to see if he’d be game with letting us license it, and indeed he was! We essentially wrote the Decadence and Decay album to that image, so if that image has a sound, it’s that album.