Dark Castle

Florida’s musical legacy, as far as those of us who walk the left-hand path are concerned, has always lain within the murky depths of death metal, spawned decades ago by the godless noise mongers of Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide and more. It’s fitting, then, that the two musicians behind Florida’s most crushing new export, DARK CASTLE, have spent most of their lives playing in metal bands and honing the tools of their trade.

From St. Augustine, FL; currently based in Portland, OR,
drummer/vocalist Rob Shaffer and guitarist/vocalist Stevie Floyd met in 2005 and bonded over a shared musical vision (and love for Death). They immediately began writing the music that would, over time, form the skeleton of their first release. Heavily inspired by spirituality, nature and the flow of creation and life itself, DARK CASTLE incorporate multicultural scales (particularly Hungarian and Japanese) and the kind of innovative time signatures that doom metal has always yearned for to create something new, exciting but always conscious of its bloody roots and the all-important groove.

Drawing upon their artistic backgrounds and D.I.Y. know-how, DARK CASTLE self-released the handmade, limited edition Flight of Pegasus EP in 2007. Their forward-thinking, psychedelia-laced doom epics caught the attention of At a Loss Records, who signed on to release their debut full-length, Spirited Migration in June 2009. Since the band’s inception, they have shared stages and toured with the likes of Baroness, Pentagram, Zoroaster, Rwake, Weedeater, Black Tusk, Sourvein and Jucifer and took the continent by storm on their first ever European tour with Kylesa in the spring of 2010. On stage, bathed in glowing red light and billowing smoke, DARK CASTLE summon the power to open minds and move mountains using only a guitar, a drum kit, two voices, two minds and a bottomless well of earth-shaking riffs.

They made their second release, "Surrender to All Life Beyond Form" in 2011 on Brutal Panda, touring with bands such as Nachtmystium, Yob, Kongh, and many others.

After a multi-year hiatus, the band returned in 2017 for a few shows including Psycho Fest Las Vegas. They are currently hand-making a vinyl box set discography called "Presence" to be released in 2018.

Stevie Floyd (Guitar, Vocals)
Rob Shaffer (Drums, Vocals)

Portland, OR