DEVIL’S ISLAND featuring Thirteenth Sign

DEVIL’S ISLAND featuring Thirteenth SIgn.

Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil’s Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It’s not your average desert island and we’ll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.

This week when we arrived at Devil’s Island we found a Nottingham melodic death / thrash outfit Thirteenth Sign sat on the beach. Their home is far from the sea, let alone our Island, so how did they end up here?

How did they cope with life on Devil’s Island? Find out now…

Welcome to The Razors’e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don’t worry about it’s name I’m sure it’s not as bad as that would suggest.

Marooned here is Lloyd (Drums), Dale (Lead Guitar), Dave (Bass) and Reno (Vocals)… Chris wouldn’t ever get near a desert island as he has a phobia of water…. Truth be told he gets a bit giddy striding a large puddle!

So you’re marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn’t live without. Which album did you each chose and why?

Lloyd: Operation Mindcrime – it’s just so good on every level – every song is an absolute masterpiece. It gets better with every lesson…. Dave: So many choices, do you go for influence, listenability, awesomeness, technicalities, classic? Do I have to even stick to metal? guilty pleasure? I have several different favourite albums for all these things…Jesus. Right, I guess the best thing to do is go for the best all rounder. Slaughter Of The Soul by At the Gates. I was introduced to At the Gates through a terroriser sleeve cd, it had Konkra, 59 Times The Pain and others but, ATG stood out, hooky riffs, massive guitar sound, tight as a gnats chuff, playing, Awesome drums, ridiculous vocals just all round belting, so, that album…. Yep. Or night at the opera… or Master of Puppets… or Kill ‘em All… or Stomp 442… Demanufacture… Burn My Eyes… Dale: Metallica. And Justice For All. An all time classic and properly got me into metal. Reno: The first album I bought Pantera 101 proof

Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?

Lloyd: Peace Sells… by Megadeth! One of the coolest album covers ever!
Dave: Master of Puppets. Great image. Top Album.
Dale: Violence by Tear Out the Heart. It’s been my phone wallpaper for years!
Reno: Guns n Roses Appetite for Destruction to remind me of my amazing childhood in Madeira

There’s also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to chose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What’s your tipple of choice?

Lloyd: Hmmmm, Punk IPA. Not much to do on a desert island so might as well sink a few beers, listen to some music and bitch about Chris as he’d be stuck at home!!
Dave: Strongbow Cloudy… hmmm… tasty.
Dale: Punk IPA fresh water would be more sensible but…
Reno: Red wine.

Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. Whats the merch and for what band?

Lloyd: Probably my bright red Haken t shirt. Love the fact it’s not black! Love it so much that we’ve nicked the idea and are doing a run of red Thirteenth Sign shirts for the album release! Dave: Long Sleeve ‘The Return’ by Bathory top. Owned it as a teenager. Own it as an adult. It says Bathory down the arms in Gothic font. Killer. Dale: Shorts from any band. All you need! Lloyd: Haken do some nice ‘Virus’ shorts Reno: Opeth’s scarf to keep me warm Lloyd: I’d assumed it was hot on Devils Island? Maybe I need a Haken dressing gown and a flask of Bovril then. Is it too late to change?!?!

You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?

Lloyd: Definitely not my 3 toddlers!! ? haha. Probably my dog, a chef and Bob Mortimer / he’d make it funny! And Emily Blunt maybe… for obvious reasons ? (Hope my wife doesn’t read this!)
Dave: Somebody who could cook.
Lloyd: Can I cook Dave, and bring another person?
Dale: Anyone!!! My wife and dog to be honest (also to avoid getting in trouble!)
Reno: My 2 girls…..
Lloyd: I was thinking that this was going to be a wild party… not a family barbeque!

There’s a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?

Lloyd: Maiden – live after death. I had this on tape when I was about 12 or 13 and used to play it all the time. Fantastic album.
Dale: That was my bloody tape!
Lloyd: Yeah, but you don’t like Maiden so I stole it!
Dale: I’d choose Nevermore – Year of the Voyager
Dave: Live after Death… Maiden… ‘Scream for me Helsinki!!!!’
Lloyd: Dave. Isn’t it ‘scream for me Long Beach?’
Dave: Balls… it isn’t live after death… it’s a real live one….
Lloyd: FFS…. See what I have to put up with!!! Lol
Reno: Alice In Chains unplugged

You’re getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the one musician most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?

Lloyd: Dave Mustaine! I’d ask the Megacruise to pop by on it’s next voyage! Dave: Dickinson. He’s a boss and he can fly planes. Simples. Dale: Gotta be Bruce in that plane Reno: Bruce Dickinson rescue me with your plane!!

You’ve been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There’s only one thing for it… which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?

Lloyd: Hmmm…. considering how long it took to find Reno, I’d probably not eat him…. Chris would be a bit gristly though…. I’d probably go vegan. Or eat myself…. could do with losing a few pounds after the lockdown binging!!
Dave: None of them look like good eating… my own legs on the other hand..
Dale: Reno, we could eat his arms and legs! He doesn’t need them for singing!!
Reno: Dave cos we would have supplies to keep us going for a while lol

Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?

Lloyd: Well…. 4 of my top 5 drummers are already rocking out in heaven – Nick Menza, Neil Peart, Vinnie Paul & Michael Lee…. so it’d have to be the legendary Mike Portnoy. His playing has been a massive influence… as for shaping my way of thinking or my outlook, we’re like chalk and cheese…. I’m not sure we’d get on!!! But I’d still be the ‘person who saved Portnoy’ so would be good exposure!!!! Lol
Dave: Someone who could cook..
Lloyd: There’s a pattern emerging here Dave….
Dale: Jeff Loomis. I love his riffs and solos and could do with some tips!
Reno: SLASH

Sadly there is no room on our boat, so we have to leave them on the beach as we sail away from the island. As we sail away we can’t help thinking back to their excuse for Chris being missing. Is that just a cover? Have they already eaten him to survive this long? Has anyone seen Chris recently….?

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