DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Semprus
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 Semprus sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and 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.
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?
Travis - I’d choose The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails, and just sit there imagining a world where i wrote this…as if i definitely don't do that anyway. Sitting on the beach acting sophisticated probably.
Harry - Korn - Life is Peachy, Remember sitting in the garage at around 9 years old and finding this album on my dad’s iPod and learning every track start to finish. Not a single track on there I don’t like and its super nostalgic to me.
Aidan - After a lot of thought I think I would have to choose the album Dystopia by Deviloof. The mix of modern metal, Visual Kei, Deathcore, Hardcore and even elements of Grind and Slam make for a perfect album. The guitar work from Ray is, as always, incredible and Keisuke’s vocal diversity is ridiculously good.
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?
Aidan - I would really want to just annoy the others by plastering the wall with Kpop posters but sadly most of those album covers are really boring, it’s mostly the promo photos that are good. That being said the choice would come down to Slipknot, Metallica or Deviloof, and knowing that I’m going to be answering Deviloof more late (lmao) I’m going to pick All Hope is Gone by Slipknot. That album is still my favourite Slipknot album and boasts some criminally underrated tracks like Gehenna and Wherein lies Continue.
Harry - Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of inhumanity, Just a banger of a album cover to be honest.
Travis - It would have to be Post by Bjork, So i could just stare out her beauty all day and forget that i might starve to death on an island..
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?
Harry - Apple juice.
Travis - I'm one for girly drinks, so I'd definitely have some kinda mango monster cocktail inside a coconut. Mango one i could probably make myself on this tropical island.
Aidan - Well - seeing as I don’t drink, it definitely wouldn't be alcoholic. If this island somehow managed to have an unending supply of “Monster Reserve White Pineapple” (which is some random flavour that only seems to exist in a specific Londis in Guildford)that would be my choice. That or just regular Coca-Cola which I probably should cut down XD.
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?
Travis - Probably my Old Wharf white long sleeve, As it will stop my pale ginger self-burning to a crisp in the sun.
Harry - Organectomy "Nail Below Nail - The Third Mutation" Special Edition Pullover Hoodie, its great quality and has a killer design.
Aidan - Part of me wants to say the pick that Sean Delander gave me at a recent show in London, I was in the front row with Trav and his girlfriend and I must have just been admiring Sean’s guitar work, and his amazing looking Ibanez Destroyer 7 string, coz at the end of the set he knelt down and gave me the pick he had used for the entire decade of hate show. If it was a clothing item of merch… how do I say Deviloof again without people getting mad at me haha, it would be my Deviloof Dystopia hoodie.
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?
Harry - My partner as I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, i just hit stuff fast and hard and have no survivability.
Aidan - Gahyeon Lee from Dreamcatcher, Ray from Deviloof, Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie... yep
Travis - I’d rather be here with my dog indie, coz she’s chill.
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?
Travis - It would have to be Nine Inch Nails live at Woodstock 94, do i have to mention why…
Aidan - Motionless in White: Deadstream II - Pennhurst Asylum, the songs, the location, the sound everything was incredible. I know it's technically a livestream but the level of production that went into that was immense. I highly recommend watching the full video of it on Motionless’s YouTube
Harry - The First time i went to see and play with Old Wharf. The Drummers setup made me redesign my own as i needed that mega bell in my life and it works so well for Semprus. Also just heavy hitters.
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?
Harry - Patrick Mullen from Antidote, he’s the most sane logical drummer i know.
Travis - Mine would be CJ from Thy Art Is Murder, he lives in Australia which is probably pretty close to the island, so he could help us out.
Aidan - James Hetfield. Just imagine how sick that would be, you are stuck on this island for god-knows-how-long and eventually a helicopter arrives with god damn James Hetfield swinging down like James Bond. Yeah, something like that XD.
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?
Harry - Fabian, He eats a lot of steak... I like steak...
Travis - It would have to be Stavros coz he probably tastes like Greek Cuisine.
Aidan - Fabian, who needs a bassist anyways lmao.
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?
Travis - Maynard James Keenan, coz I’m that kinda Tool nerd.
Aidan - Mick Thomson of Slipknot, without them I would still be in drop C, and lots of mine and Trav’s early writing was fuelled by “what would Slipknot do?”
Harry - Joey Jordison From Slipknot. He's the reason I am a drummer.
