WASHINGTON, D.C., DOESN'T have a great rep for supporting heavy metal; it's more of a go-go, punk, hip-hop and indie rock kinda town.

And football-and-basketball-loving D.C. seems to always get a bad rep for its hockey fandom (or lack thereof).

But with the Washington Capitals having the greatest player on the planet in Alexander Ovechkin, winning the Southeast Division last week and heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the Verizon Center has seemed more like the center of Hockeytown, not Chinatown.

Meanwhile, the increasingly popular thrash-death-metal band Darkest Hour is comprised of D.C. residents who not only bang their heads on stages from here to Europe and beyond, they also love to smash the glass at the hockey rink.

"Hockey and heavy metal, to me, are just like peanut butter and chocolate," said guitarist and ex-youth puck player Mike Schleibaum.

It's a match made in underdog, arena-rocking heaven.

Fired up by the Capitals' run toward the postseason — which starts Friday at Verizon Center against the Philadelphia Flyers — Darkest Hour went into the studio and recorded a new arena anthem to pump the crowd and the players. "Let's Go Caps!" can be heard and downloaded from a special MySpace page Darkest Hour set up at myspace.com/letsgocapsmusic.

Express spoke to Schleibaum about his band's new fight song, his favorite sports anthems, hockey fandom and what sort of party Darkest Hour will throw when (not if) the Caps win the Cup.

» EXPRESS: What prompted Darkest Hour to write a stadium anthem?
» SCHLEIBAUM: Well, you know, actually there is this Pantera theme for the Dallas Stars that I stumbled upon. Super fans will find anything! And we would rock it all the time in the van on tour. We must have played that song for people all over the world!

One day we were like, "Man, we should record some jam for the Caps." We had some down time in between tours, and it was around when we were recording some B-sides for another record we were re-releasing. We had a couple of beers and were like, "F*** it, let's record that Caps theme."

So we set up a few mics in my friend's house and went to it. We recorded the whole thing for free on no budget. If you listen, the song is actually a spin-off of an older Darkest Hour song called "With 1,000 Words to Say but One." This is on purpose! It's in homage to Pantera who did that with their song "Cowboys From Hell" and their Dallas Stars theme.

It was something we did just for pure fun. I mean, when you play music — especially death metal — for a living, you start to take a lot way too seriously. This tune is pure fun. We recorded and produced it ourselves in one night after reminiscing about our love for hockey — and don't forget, the beers helped. If you listen to the backup vocals you'll hear many of our friends that love hockey. Yeah, the crowd voices are actually a big group of all our D.C. friends. We just called 'em up and said, "Hey, you guys want some beers and to scream 'Let's Go Caps!' for a few hours?" It was a hell of a night!

» EXPRESS: Did you consider having Caps superfans Horn Guy or Goat guest on the track? Maybe a future remix?
» SCHLEIBAUM: No, but, dude, that's a killer idea. I love Horn Guy! One time we got close enough to him that I was going to ask for his autograph but chickened out! Man, I still regret that. Let that be a lesson: Get the autograph or you will regret it your whole life if you don't!

» EXPRESS: What stadium songs helped inspire "Let's Go Caps"?
» SCHLEIBAUM: Other then the Pantera song I would say a lot of Van Halen, AC/DC, Kiss, Slayer, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Journey — you know, all the classic arena-metal bands. We just knew it had to be a sick riff and a sick chant! That's all a hockey song needs to be.

» EXPRESS: What are your favorite songs to hear at Verizon Center?
» SCHLEIBAUM: I love it when they play AC/DC, Guns n' Roses, Metallica — you know, metal. I know that it's a family game and all, but, man, nothing goes better as the soundtrack to hockey than metal. Hockey and heavy metal, to me, are just like peanut butter and chocolate. I wouldn't love anything more then to see Ovechkin slam down a game-wining hat trick to the sound of "Damage Inc." by Metallica screaming over the PA. God, that's what heaven is like!

» EXPRESS: What anthems should be playing at the arena?
» SCHLEIBAUM: Well like I said before, Metallica's "Damage Inc." But I also think "Angel of Death" by Slayer or "Mouth for War" by Pantera would be good. It's really funny, but when I was a kid they used to play "Simply Irresistible" by Robert Palmer all the time. What's really funny is, I swear to God they still do. Now I love me some Palmer but, dude, let's get some sick jams going! You can't really intimidate the Philly Flyers with "Simply Irresistible." We need something like "War Ensemble" by Slayer.

Oh, and they need to start a head-bang cam! You know, where instead of finding people to smile or dance they find people in the audience who want to bang their head! That's what I think would fire up a metal-ass hockey crowd!

» EXPRESS: Do you have any fave hockey-themed songs, or bands, such as Two Man Advantage or The Zambonis?
» SCHLEIBAUM: I don't think I would be a Caps fan if I didn't point out that there is another Caps theme out there. Its by the band Pummeler. They contacted us on MySpace when they saw our tune! Check it out on the Web. Their version is a lot more explicit — so be warned. At the same time isn't that how hockey should be? Explicit!

» EXPRESS: How long have you been a Caps fan?
» SCHLEIBAUM: I have been a Caps fan for almost 23 years! I started playing hockey when I was 7 out in Northern Virginia. I played travel hockey all the way up until it was time to play for college, and then at that point I chose to follow music.

Hockey took so much of my time when I was a kid that I think I may have just got all the love in early. Every Thanksgiving break or school holiday was punctuated with some kind of hockey tournament. I remember I used to make my dad listen to Metallica on the way to games full blast, just me and him in the car. I told him it was the only way to get fired up. When I discovered Pantera, he bought me some headphones.

When I was younger I played Northern Virginia Hockey for the DVHL — that's the Delaware Valley Hockey League. ... I was honored enough to play at the old Cap Centre in Landover, Md. And my little brother did pretty well in the Caps youth hockey shoot they have during intermission there at the Verizon Center. He was way better then I, but hockey was a family affair, for sure.

Our other guitarist, Kris Norris, loves hockey, too. He played a lot when he was younger down in the Richmond, Va., area. I don't know his exact story but I do know metal was his calling — not sports.

» EXPRESS: Who is your favorite Caps player on the current roster and fave of all time?
» SCHLEIBAUM: Man, I am going to sound like a poser but, dude, I love to watch Ovechkin skate. He is just so good it looks like he is flying. It's like watching Eddie Van Halen on skates — well, if Eddie could skate.

My favorite Cap of all time has to be Rod Langway. When I was a kid, he was the team leader. Now, I loved me some Dale Hunter and some Dino Ciccarelli — [but] let's not go there with those neon green laces. But no one said "Caps" more then Mr. Langway. Dude didn't even wear a helmet. Now that's old school!

» EXPRESS: What's you predictions for the post-season Caps?
» SCHLEIBAUM: Well, it's gonna be rough — I mean trying to figure out how we are going to spend the whole post-season celebrating. The Caps will have won the cup so they will be ready to party.

I predict Ovechkin is gonna throw a killer party at one of those empty mansions he has. I predict that Darkest Hour will play that house party and there will be at least a few Caps team members circle pitting [slam dancing]! That party might go on for a few days, so after that we will all fly down to somewhere in the Caribbean to shake it off!

Don't worry, Darkest Hour wont get too many of the team members arrested, and we will try to get them back home, but like I said: It's gonna be a hell of a celebration when the Caps bring the cup to D.C.!

» Read our previous feature on Darkest Hour here.

Posted by Christopher Porter at 3:19 PM on April 7, 2008
Tagged in Capitals , Entertainment , Free Ride , Music , Sports , The District , Top Stories