New Zealand’s largest theme park, Rainbow’s End, is a multitude of classic and not-so-classic attractions. From the Coca-Cola Corkscrew Roller Coaster to AA Driver’s Town and Kidz Kingdom, the park holds a special place in the hearts of many - including the members of Written By Wolves.

The Auckland-based band had their first gig at Rainbow’s End, and although it’s generally considered “pretty lame”, that first show taught them something that they knew would carry with them for the rest of their careers.

“We learnt from this show that no matter how cool the stage production is, playing in front of a hand-painted rainbow mural was probably not the best fit for our band,” Mikey Murphy said.

Murphy, along with Davie Wong and Bahador Borhani, were longtime friends and part of a band called Shotgun Alley. Karl Woodhams joined the band not long before its dismemberment, but their bond as a foursome stayed in tact. After a year of not playing together, they were itching to make music again.

“We sat down and had this amazing conversation about the sound we wanted to create and how ambitious we wanted the project to be and were all hooked from there,” Murphy said.

They started Written By Wolves at a time in the Auckland music scene where rock bands were beginning to make a resurgence. As all of these bands emerged from the shadows, they knew it was a movement that they wanted to be a part of.

A year or so into the band’s existence, they were looking to add a fifth member to accentuate the electronic and percussive side to their live sound. When meeting Oli Lyons through mutual friends, they asked him to join without having even seen him play.

“We are super lucky he doesn’t suck,” Murphy jokes.

Their latest EP, Prologue, was created to set up the next chapter for the band. It’s meant to take the listener by surprise with each track and as a whole be something that the listener didn’t quite see coming.

“Prologue is the beginning of the story that we as a band have been planning for the last three years,” Murphy said. “It is a signal of intent for what is to come and a snapshot of where we are at as a band right now.”

Rainbow’s End may be a cheesy amusement park filled with the sounds of laughter and entertainment, but on that one day that it was filled with the sounds of Written By Wolves, it was the beginning of their best chapter yet.