Golden Knights have been in ‘John Wick Mode’ for 4 years — now its creator explains the song

Few entrances in sports rival the intensity and showmanship of the Golden Knights when they take the ice at T-Mobile Arena.

Lights go out, leaving the arena nearly pitch black. The only exception is the beaming red lights emanating from the giant knight helmet that is slowly lowered from high above the rafters, down to ice level.

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For a brief moment, the fans go silent, eagerly awaiting the players as they walk down the mirrored tunnel toward the bench. Smoke billows out of the giant helmet, across the ice surface, and a slow electronic beat breaks the silence. Each deep, rumbling tone from the synthesizer sends a shockwave through the venue, beckoning fans to their feet. The beat gradually speeds up, crescendoing into an up-tempo song that accompanies the players through the helmet and onto the ice as the public address announcer screams, “It’s Knight time!”

The song is called “John Wick Mode” by Le Castle Vania, and its intense rhythm has become synonymous with the Golden Knights over the last four years. Dylan Eiland, who goes by the stage name Le Castle Vania, finally made it to his first Golden Knights game on Friday. Eiland watched the pregame ceremonies from the castle that sits high above the rink, as his song brought 18,000 fans to a roar.

“I got goosebumps watching it,” Eiland told The Athletic. “Literal goosebumps, I’m not exaggerating. The energy in the crowd. I was like, ‘this is awesome.’”

(Video from @GoldenKnights on Twitter)

The song was released in 2017 as part of the soundtrack for “John Wick: Chapter 2” starring Keanu Reeves. Eiland has produced songs for all three movies in the “John Wick” franchise, starting with the first film in 2014. He is close friends with film composer Tyler Bates, who has made scores for blockbusters like “Dawn of the Dead,” “300,” “Watchmen” and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.

“I approached (Bates) a while back to work together on an album that I was doing, and we became friends through that process,” Eiland said. “We had been talking about, it would be cool to do a film together, fusing his film sound and my electronic sound. He watched an early cut of (“John Wick”), and saw the really cool club fight scenes and thought, ‘This is the perfect one to do with Dylan.’ So he called me up and said, ‘Hey I have this Keanu Reeves movie, would you like to do it together?’”

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Eiland grew up in Atlanta, with a passion for music from a young age. He played the drums for a band when he was young, and started experimenting with electronic music as a teen.

“At the time, I didn’t really know anybody else that was doing that, but I was into that kind of music,” he said. “I started getting good at it, and in my 20s I put some music out on the internet and it started taking off.”

Eiland’s first hit was a remix of the song “Black Eyes” by Snowden in 2008.

“That song kind of blew up, and I started getting invited to DJ at these places all over the world,” Eiland said. “That’s kind of what springboarded the whole thing. I just kept writing music, and people were listening.”

Eiland signed with Deadmau5’s label and went on several tours with the house music superstar before eventually settling in Los Angeles to work on his next passion – music for films and video games.

“I always envisioned myself doing music for movies and video games, just because that’s something I was always interested in,” he said. “I love DJing and doing all of that, but I didn’t envision myself being the old guy at the rave, still DJing.”

Eiland met the right people in Los Angeles and has now produced songs for several movies and video games. His breakthrough in that industry was his work for the initial “John Wick” movie. He was then asked to return for the sequel, not only to produce the song “John Wick Mode” but also to make a cameo in the movie, as a DJ in the club where the fight scene takes place.

So what was Eiland going for when he created the song?

“I was just aiming for something that is going to make people feel badass,” he said. “It’s about John Wick, when he’s about to go into that John Wick mode. When you’re about to flip on your badass mode. That’s what this song is.”

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And he absolutely nailed it. The song accompanies one of the biggest fight scenes of the movie, perfectly blending the feel of club music with a cinematic twist.

“When I first wrote that riff, sitting in the studio, I was like, ‘This is pretty badass,’” Eiland said. “I was pretty stoked about it. I knew it would be featured pretty big in the movie, so I expected it to do well. But even that, it has kind of gone even further than I expected.”

Now, years later, it pumps up the Vegas Golden Knights players and fans before they drop the puck.

“What better song for the most badass hockey team to come out to?” Eiland said with a laugh.

In 2017, Jonny Greco, then the Golden Knights’ vice president of entertainment, was searching for a song to play as the team took the ice for the first time in franchise history. He ended up going down an internet rabbit hole searching for music by Bates when he stumbled upon Eiland’s “John Wick Mode.”

The arena entertainment team decided to try the song out during a preseason game and knew immediately by the reaction that it would stick. The Golden Knights have skated onto the ice to the song in every home game since.

The electronic beat has become so synonymous with the Golden Knights in Las Vegas that one couple even used it in their wedding ceremony. Scott and Chloe Koast held their Golden Knights-themed wedding in April, walking out in custom Vegas jerseys to “John Wick Mode” as team public address announcer Bruce Cusick announced the couple to the crowd.

Whether it’s at the arena, inside a wedding or in a bar for a watch party, play the song anywhere within the city limits and it will conjure “Go Knights Go” cheers.

“The song kicks ass,” said in-arena host Mark Shunock. “I don’t think there’s a better way to welcome the team to the ice. It sets the stage and certainly makes my job of getting the crowd pumped up a whole lot easier!”

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Eiland stood next to Shunock as his song accompanied the players onto the ice on Friday, overlooking an entire arena flipping on their “badass mode.”

“The song still does what I intended it to do, which is just get people pumped up and ready for action,” Eiland said. “It does what it’s intended to do, so it’s cool to get the reaction that I envisioned when I was creating it. The energy at the game is different in Vegas. They know how to play up the show and make it a lot of fun.”

🎶 John Wick Mode has rocked The Fortress for years, but tonight @LeCastleVania brought the noise IN PERSON 👏👏👏

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 23, 2021

Eiland used to DJ in front of massive crowds on tour regularly, but hasn’t in nearly five years.

“Seeing the energy of the crowd really took me back to the feeling you get playing your music for huge crowds like that,” he said. “So it was kind of inspiring for me. It took me back to that.”

Eiland never intended the song for this use but is happy it fits so perfectly.

“When you create something that’s authentic to you, I think it naturally finds its place where it belongs,” he said. “This song and the Golden Knights are a perfect example of that. It’s something that I wouldn’t have even thought of, but it found its way and it works so well. It’s all very organic.”

(Top photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)