DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Dreamshade
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 Swiss modern metal band Dreamshade sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, but how did he end up here and how did he 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.
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?
LUCA: I would say 'American Idiot' by Green Day mainly because that album is just a masterpiece and secondly I remember that when I started to play guitar with a friend of mine we used to play those songs and that’s where it all started.
FRY: It is a hard choice but if I have to choose one, I think I’d go with 'Evil Empire', Rage Against the Machine. This album means so much to me, the first time I listened to it I was just a kid and still play it now in my car. The drums are epic I remember I was just blown away with that sound when I heard it.
GIAN: 'Reggatta de Blanc'; from the Police, simple ‘cause it’s one of my favourite bands ever and the opening track fits perfectly with the joke. Moreover ‘cause my bandmates will take a lot of guitar driven album for sure, so I think we’ll enjoy havin’ some different stuff to listen to.
FELLA: That one is going to be 'Revolutionary - Volume 2' from Immortal Technique. One of my all time favourites. One of my first underground albums when I was a kid and I still blast it loud to this day pretty often. I love the vocal tone of that era and the beats really calm my soul. Eternal album for me.
KEVIN: It might perhaps be a bit obvious but I'd say Metallica's 'Black Album'. I have a lot of memories related to that record and it was groundbreaking for me. I wouldn't be here and I would never have started playing and singing if it weren't for the songs and attitude contained in that masterpiece.
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?
LUCA: not to be Bias but I would definitely put 'A Pale Blue Dot' as a unique poster on that wall. It means so much to me that nothing else really gets to that level.
FRY: Well in this case I have to go with something that helps me to recall when I started playing my instrument I imagine. Something that would make me smile maybe, since it is a very dramatic situation I guess lol we are on a desert island!! The Devil’s island?! So I choose the one that makes me smile every time I see it. The 'Mark, Tom and Travis Show', the live album of one of my favourite bands of all time.
GIAN: Probably something that will make me smile every morning ‘till I die, and/or something that will make me think that it’s not so bad to live on a desert island. I would say 'Pingu-Dance' by David Hasselhoff, it’s perfect ‘cause it is Swiss related thanks to our mighty Pingu and the picture was shot on a beach. May I have the song too?
FELLA: Since this one seems to be an all-men type of quest I would love to have some female company at least on my poster! There are so many great female artists that I like but this time I would choose the poster from Destiny’s Child’s 'Survivor' which is also jungle related.
KEVIN: In my opinion the most significant and energetic cover I remember and that I would hang on the wall is that of 'London Calling' by The Clash. It has always given me a sense of freedom and rebellion in a positive and genuine way. The right charge to face the everyday life.
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?
LUCA: I would definitely choose water over everything else. If water is not an option than let’s do a Moscow Mule
FRY: I love Moscow Mule
GIAN: I would like to have some fresh beer please, beer and beach sounds like a vacation I would like to have soon.
FELLA: Since this Island seems to be pretty hot I would love some ice cold beers. That’s my drink of choice when the weather is warm.
KEVIN: I guess it's very hot on this island, so I'd say a nice ice cold lager is for me!
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
LUCA: My 'Ghost Inside' burgundy t-shirt. Love that t-shirt man !
FRY: Killswitch Engage fisherman hat for the sun hands down ahaha!
GIAN: I’ve got a 'Straight Edge' windbreaker jacket produced by an HxC label that I don’t remember at the moment, unfortunately. It would be very useful on an island, and it will remember me to don’t drink to much of the beer I’ve asked before. Joking apart, I’ve been Straight Edge for many years when I was younger and I’ve got very good memories about that period of my life.
FELLA: Definitely my 2Pac 'All Eyes On Me' T-shirt. I love that piece and I would be pretty upset if I lost it.
KEVIN: For sure a Misfits T-shirt. I've always loved their historic skull logo and their design horror movie style.
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?
LUCA: I’ll be just fine with them. They’re my best friends.
FRY: Hey I love my bandmates, everyone knows when you are part of a band it is just like a family, so who would ever change anyone of his brothers? But thinking about it, hey, come on, no girls, on an island, for eternity?? I don’t know hahaha
GIAN: No one but them, but… there’s no chance that some girl will shipwreck too in the future?
FELLA: Well, I’d be super lucky to have been shipwrecked with my boys! I guess we would just party and wait for somebody else to be wrecked in the future to join us
KEVIN: I think I couldn't ask for better! We against eternity... let's see who gives up first!
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?
LUCA: First and only time I saw In Flames in Switzerland. Mind blowing. That was a really cool experience both for a musician and for a technician. They have the best crew ever. It sounded perfect, lights were just on point and the band were crushing us all !
FRY: First time I saw Killswitch Engage and As I lay Dying live in Bologna, Italy. It was just mind-blowing for me watching the show from the first row, just couple feet away from the stage. Epic.
GIAN: Queen Live at Wembley for sure.
FELLA: Last Linkin Park show I attended in Milan. Incredible experience, very emotional and just so close to the passing of Chester Bennington. I will never forget that day…
KEVIN: I'm with Gian. I would definitely say Queen live at Wembley '86. I remember that from an early age I have always loved it.
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 most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
LUCA: I would shoot a message to Celine Dior! That song for the Titanic movie was incredible, maybe she could help us out!
FRY: Jack Black . I don't know, out of all the artists I can think of, I believe he would come and rescue us in the name of rock.
GIAN: My dear friend singer songwriter Andrea Bignasca who lives close to the sea in Portugal. He needs me as a bass player, so he’ll maybe rescue me and the other guys (he’s a Dreamshade supporter too).
FELLA: I’d write a message to Sting since he probably knows a lot more about messages in the bottle than anybody else!
KEVIN: Why not David Hasselhoff? He gained a lot of experience as a rescuer as Mitch Buchannon on Baywatch hahaha. It could be of great help to me. Ok he's not a member of any band but he's still a singer and musician 😉
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?
LUCA: Kevin knows how to cook pretty much everything so it excludes him.. Let’s have a fried Fry hahaha
FRY: Alright! Easy I have to go with Luca because, for those who do not know, he's got more muscles out of all of us, meaning more to eat and more nutrition for us hahaha sorry Luca.
GIAN: ‘Cause I would never take this decision I will probably scarify myself, even if there’s not so much meat on my bones.
FELLA: I am the hungriest person in the band, I literally freak out when food is missing so I guess the smartest choice would be sacrificing myself since I wouldn’t resist anyway on a food shortage. There, take a bite boys!
KEVIN: Fella and Luca can get really intractable when they're hungry and so I'd sacrifice either of them if not both of them to keep them from stressing me out ahahah
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?
LUCA: Adam Dutkiewicz from Killswitch Engage.
FRY: Travis Barker - Blink 182
GIAN: I should say Sting, but thinking of the desert island I could consider Katy Perry…
FELLA: I have to go with Alexi Laiho (R.I.P) from Children of Bodom. He literally made me start a band after I attended the first show of my life: COB in Basel, Switzerland. Total game changer for me!
KEVIN: Sure I'd say James Hetfield from Metallica. His voice, charisma and energy have always shaped and motivated me since I was kid!
