DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Akiavel
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 French melo-death masters Akiavel 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.
Auré: Hey! Cool concept! Haha! So let's go on your island!!
Chris: OK, I can’t really swim, but I’ll follow you on your funny island!
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?
Chris: 'Master of Puppets' by Metallica, of course!
Auré: I think 'Ocean Machine' by Devin Townsend. This is an excellent album that will go very well with the beach atmosphere!
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?
Auré: First of all, I'll choose the cabin the closest to the restrooms, since I’m a woman… [laughs]. Then, I'll put up a poster of Benighted because I would miss these talented guys who happen to be close friends of ours. That way I’ll think of them!
Chris: I’ll put up a poster of 'Arise' by Sepultura because I’ve always found its cover artwork so special, I’d say strange and beautiful at the same time... This has always fascinated me.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Chris: Spicy Rum, for sure!
Auré: Without hesitation, Jäger Bomb! This is the best cocktail in the world! It makes me feel joyful, but never sick!
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?
Chris: Well, I think I’ll save the last vinyl we made for our album 'Vae Victis', I really find it beautiful
Auré: Like many metalheads, my wardrobe is full of T-shirts of various metal bands… It would be very difficult to save just one since most of them are rare and are true souvenirs… I think I'll save my Mortician T-shirts, because it is a gift from a friend, and it's almost impossible to find!
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?
Chris: Brigitte Bardot (French famous actress from the 70’s), but not now, when she was 25 years old (laugh)
Auré: Honestly, there is no one on earth with which I would spend eternity but my three best friends with whom I make music… We all have strong characters and especially them, but I truly love them!!
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?
Chris: 'Live Shit: Binge and Purge' from Metallica
Auré: Type O Negative. Peter Steel made me laugh so much in his interviews! And in concert it was really grandiose, I really loved them!
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?
Chris: I’d write to Manowar that if they actually rescue us, I will try to convince all the French metalheads to stop hating them for having canceled their show at the 2019 Hellfest edition. And it won’t be an easy one [laughs].
Auré: It's complicated! It's impossible not to think about The Police with this question… Sting knows what it feels like to be lost, so I'll trust him… [laughs] If I absolutely have to send a message to a member of a metal band, I'll write to Chris Barnes, because I quote him a lot as an example in many interviews since I'm a big fan of his voice. So maybe he will feel sorry for me if he happens to know I’m stuck on the Devil’s Island!
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?
Auré: OMG! So difficult to answer this question!! Chris is my confident, Jay (bass) is the best advisor, Butch (drums) makes the best jokes… Too bad, so I’ll cut off my own leg!
Chris: No! I’ll be the one who kills himself first, since I’ll be the tastier for sure!
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?
Auré: Outside my band? I’d save Julien Truchan from Benighted. He is my friend, he gave me confidence to start singing, he is an inspiration. A great singer and a great human being.
Chris: I’d say James Hetfield from Metallica, and I bet I wouldn’t be the only one to answer that!
Thanks for your time. We hope you get back to dry land soon!
Chris: We hope too, even if, unfortunately, there might be a couple of months (or quarters) before we can tour again, so we might stay wet for a while!
Auré: Thank you for this original and funny interview! I hope we may quickly find our way back to dry land so that we can play live everywhere!
