Back in 2012, I had the extreme pleasure and honor of seeing Indianapolis based band Draekon perform their first ever Atlanta concert as part of Pathfinder Metalfest V. After their short but sweet opening set I was floored and I knew that I had just seen something really special. What I had seen was a band that was just touching upon the greatness that lies within and I just knew that given time, that greatness would rise. A little over a year later Draekon would return by popular demand to Atlanta as part of Pathfinder Metalfest VI and without a doubt prove to be the reigning kings of the night blowing the minds and melting the faces of everyone in attendance.
After their monumental performance I had the opportunity to sit down over a few beers with lead vocalist Chad Barnes. Chad and I talked of his humble beginnings as a choir kid, his love of Kamelot, and his unique yet hilarious choice of career paths if he chose not to do music any longer. It was really great getting to know Chad and to speak with him. When these guys blow the fuck up and are larger than life, just remember that you read it hear first! I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know more about Draekon and their lead singer Chad Barnes.
Chad, thanks so much for taking the time out to talk tonight brother and welcome back to Atlanta!
Thank you Don. I appreciate it.
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You guys made such an impact at last year’s Pathfinder Metalfest that you were brought back by popular demand and it was very much deserved!
Thanks so much man. Well, I can get a little cocky with my music so I have to keep my head on my shoulders. I mean, look at my head, it’s huge [laughs]. When Hoyt told us that we had made such an impact on the people last year and that they were asking for us to come back we were blown away. This year everyone was singing the lyrics to the fucking songs and it was just so killer. You work so hard on these songs and the lyrics and you’re hoping that they’re going to catch on with everyone. You want to have songs that are worthy of people chanting back at you and that is such a fulfilling moment. The crowd participation this year was just awesome. This crowd is all about the metal and they love their metal. You work, you break your back, you spend all kinds of money and you get little in return but that one moment is without a doubt the big payoff. I love it so much and it’s the greatest feeling I’ve experienced.
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The last time you guys were here, Prelude to Tragedy was a pretty new release for you guys. Now you have a new EP on the way called Only Ashes Remain. Is there a concept behind this one as well?
Yeah. What you’re getting with Only Ashes Remain is the resolution and conclusion to all of the conflict that you’re hearing on Prelude to Tragedy. It’s the epic conclusion of all of that. This one is going to really tie it all together. We’re going to do as much as we can to tie the listener in to the story. I remember reading your review of Prelude to Tragedy and it was pretty much perfect when you talked about how “When Silence Still the Soul” made the album seem so unresolved and that the story just wasn’t over.
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Wow, I’m honored that you read all that.
[laughs] Oh yeah man. It was by far my favorite review that I’ve seen of us. But anyways, the character in this story is a dark and tormented character and he is just trying to figure out a way to rectify things within himself and with the outside world because his love has been burnt to ashes. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s darkness, tragedy, and a very small payoff for him in the end. Sometimes evil is just too overwhelming and it overcomes good whether or not we want to believe it. We often times want a little bit of sunlight to shine upon us but that doesn’t always happen and it’s just the way it is.
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The members of Draekon are spread out all over the place. You’re in North Carolina, Stanford and Josh are in Indianappolis, Alec (keys) is in California and Don (bassist) is in Indiana as well. How the hell is this conducive to having a band?
It’s not really at all [laughs]. We just trust each other to be on our game and we just show up and ready to go. You either know your shit or you don’t. We don’t get a lot practicing but we all have this crazy chemistry.
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How did you guys even get together being this spread out?
Josh and Stan were working together in a studio and then started getting together and writing with each other. They actually found me via YouTube doing Symphony X and Kamelot covers. They had been having a hard time finding a singer and were even at one time thinking of going with a female vocalist. Things would’ve been very different but they heard me and contacted me and sent me a demo. I love the songs so much and the quality of the songs was just amazing. Everything was so well done and it just felt like it was all ready to go. It’s really easy to work in this band if you have your shit together. They paid for me to fly out and welcomed me with open arms and there’s been a strong bond there ever since. I wrote most of the songs within the first week of hanging out with those guys and it was just awesome. When we started writing Darkness Falls, I remember just thinking that this was going to be the song!
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That song is just flat out infections. It’s got that Iron Maiden quality to it that just makes you chant and jump like a fool.
[laughs] That’s what we were going for and that’s what we feel is important. We want the listener to feel those emotions. We what you to like and sing our songs and the best way to do that is to make them as ear friendly as possible. A lot of our fans have compared us to Symphony X but I think we’re a lot more hooky than them. Don’t get me wrong. I love Symphony X but they can start to wank off just a bit too much sometimes. If you give Michael Romero a little rope he’s going to take all of it [laughs].
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Chad, what made you want to be a singer in the first place?
Well, I was actually a guitar player first and I was acting in theater. I was 17 and had never sung in front of anyone and for an audition they told me I had to sing. The only song that could come to me was a song from the Disney movie “Camelot” [laughs]. I was like, “What the fuck? You chose this?” Everyone was surprised that I had the range but I was really raw and had some power. After that, the concert choir teacher took me in and taught me how to sing with other people and after doing that for three years I just learned to have so much control over my voice. I also did a lot of folk music and what not. Playing a lot of those folk songs really gave me the ear that I have now.
Let me think about this? Hmmm. The first metal show I ever saw was Six Feet Under. I was underage and drunk [laughs]. I remember being in that crowd and being so pumped. Chris Barnes has this amazing death metal range. It was so insane. I loved that show so much.
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If you could sing for any band for just one night, who would it be?
Oh Kamelot during their “Black Halo” era. I would LOVE to do that. To me that was the peak. I would love to sit in for Symphony X, Iron Maiden. Man, I love singing Bruce Dickinson stuff. He’s such a huge influence.
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If you could have dinner with any singer alive or dead, who would it be and what would you eat and talk about?
Ronnie James Dio. I would love to pick his head and just hang with him. Ronnie was such a powerful person and singer. I’d love to hang with Roy Khan and just find out what the hell happened with him [laughs]. He’s just so talented and I would love to hear his story as to what went down. I mean, we all heard that “finding God” story but I would love to hear it from him. It was such a blow to me as a Kamelot fan when he left.
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What was the first metal album you ever owned?
It was Metallica’s black album actually. I’m from a small town in NC and it was the first album I was allowed to own coming from a small town with a mom with small town values [laughs].
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Did it make an impact on you?
OH yeah. It made a huge impact. They’ve become what they’ve become but they were such an influential metal band. They opened up the doors for me to bands like Megadeth and Slayer and what not. Metallica definitely started the metal itch for me and got the beast rolling.
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You listen to a lot of different genres of music. As not just an artist but as a fan how important is it to open yourself up to other genres of music?
It’s very important. Different styles of music can strike you different ways. I mean, I love reggae music. Bob Marley’s music makes me so happy and it makes me feel positive and I just love it. I just find that as a fan of music, it’s just important to listen to a variety of things. All music in some way, shape, or form becomes a part of the way that you construct the way you think and live. The influence of music is just undeniable.
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Word association time Chad. I’m going to list 5 singers and I want you to tell me the 
first word that comes to your mind about each one.
Bruce Dickinson: Icon and Originator. I mean, it’s Bruce Dickinson! [laughs]
Geoff Tate: Fuck [laughs]. Insane.
Roy Khan: God
James LaBrie: Meh [laughs]. I love Dream Theater as a whole but his vocals… [laughs]
Russell Allen: Beast. All out beast. Totalitarian [laughs]. He’s so strong and powerful.
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What is one metal album that everyone should own?
Every Draekon album!
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Well, you only have like 2 EPs…
Yeah, it wouldn’t be hard to do then would it? [laughs] Man, I’d have to say Black Halo by Kamelot. That album is just amazing. There’s not a song on that album that you can afford to not listen to. It’s such a great album.
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Finish this sentence: If I wasn’t a musician, I would be ________________.
A professional hot dog eating competitor [laughs]. I mean, hot dogs are pretty fucking cool and I like eating hot dogs. I think I could hang with the best of them so I’d probably give it a shot.
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Chad, thanks so much for doing this interview man.
Thank you Don. It was so great to see you again and finally get to hang out. This has been a real pleasure and thanks for the beer [laughs].
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