DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring In Regalia
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 find In Regalia sat on the beach. The island is far from his home, so 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?
Saurav: Tough choice but I chose ‘Brave New World’ by Iron Maiden. The album has a song for every mood and songs like 'Ghost of the Navigator' and 'The Thin line Between Love and Hate' are other worldly.
Vijay: Very tricky question but the one album that I chose was the untitled 4th album of Led Zeppelin popularly referred to as ‘Led Zeppelin IV’. The more I listened to that album, it gave me the spark that I needed to get into the music business.
Pete: I've been a life-long fan of Def Leppard and I firmly believe their 'Adrenalize' album started my love affair with rock. I love the guitar tones and their heavy gang vocals/harmonies which are big influences for me even today.
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?
Vijay: For me it’ll have to be ‘Ten’ by Pearl Jam. That entire album from the songs to the cover artwork is the quintessential grunge album. It also opened my eyes up to story-telling rather than the cliched song themes.
Pete: Again, for sentimental and fan-boy reasons, Def Leppard's ‘Adrenalize’. The artwork's pretty cool too to just stare off into an almost hypnotic/meditative an experience.
Saurav: And ‘Justice for All’ by Metallica. It's the album that made me want to become a musician.
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?
Saurav: A nice cold Cuba Libre.
Vijay: It’s a Virgin Daiquiri for me.
Pete: G&Ts should do nicely (with a grin).
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Saurav: My Sepultura - Chaos AD t-shirt... love the album, love the artwork... love the t-shirt.
Pete: I have an Aerosmith Road Crew tee from their 1979 tour. Most of my rock tees are black but this one is a nice blue, fits great and is super soft.
Vijay: My classic Van Halen logo t-shirt. Just love the simplicity of that design.
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?
Saurav: Being stuck on an island with the band doesn't sound too bad. We love being together on or off the stage. So, I can't do without any of them.
Pete: A music loving, bisexual, chef and doctor female duo! (laughs) And since the shipwrecked bandmates scenario is more likely, hopefully our instruments washed up onshore too. We'll be the tightest band in the world!
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?
Saurav: Death - live in L.A. Chuck Schuldiner's last show... very emotional and powerful performance.
Vijay: It would have to be Iron Maiden’s live performance in Indianapolis possibly in 2006 or so. I was in lawn area and I remember all three guitarists – Dave, Adrian and Janick literally trying to beat the other out at different corners of that stage. That moment gave me goosebumps and I still remember it to this day.
Pete: U2: Live from Slane Castle from 2001. I love how the crowd got behind the band and sang along in pretty much every song.
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?
Vijay: Its Tony Iommi for me given that he’s been through a horrendous accident himself and still fought his way through to becoming one of the all the time great guitarists.
Saurav: Sting - he has experience with this stuff (laughs).
Pete: Probably Keith Richards or Ozzy Osbourne. I mean if the varied multitude of drugs (and God alone knows what else they put into their bodies) didn't kill them, then I'm sure a few pesky ocean waves would hardly stop these two from rescuing us. Who knows they might even write a song about it (laughs).
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?
Saurav: I'd probably become the sacrifice. I have a fair amount of meat on me and the band could use my hair to knit hammocks.
Pete: Oh, that's clearly going to be me... with the amount of blubber I have got going!
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?
Vijay: Tom Scholz of the band Boston.
Pete: I'd have to pick Def Leppard as a collective because each of them contributed to making the band work through all these years and they're a massive influence for me.