DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring The Fires Below
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 The Fires Below 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?
Sam (guitar) chose “Are You Experienced” by Jimi Hendrix, mainly because it has the 7-minute psychedelic epic “Third Stone From The Sun” which I will find calming. The album also has “Manic Depression” which feels appropriate, and “Fire” which could come in handy if we want a BBQ.
Smithy (vocal, guitar) - Iron Maiden's “Best of the Beast”. I wouldn’t normally choose a ‘best of’ album but since you only get to grab one before the ship sinks, I guess a compilation is ideal. It would also be on CD as I think the mirror would be useful for starting fires and for signalling passing ships.
Del (drums) - “Tumuli Shroomaroom” by Acrimony. A bit of a random one maybe but it’s one of those albums that doesn’t have any weak tracks on it and is one of my all time favourites. It has the right kind of vibe for Devil’s Island as well I think, especially if we start hallucinating from dehydration or find some interesting mushrooms.
Si (bass) - I think Megadeth “Peace” sells but who's buying, it has the track Devil’s Island so we can play it and maybe we will have some good fortune.
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?
Sam - would go for “Mother’s Milk” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, as I loved that album when first learning guitar and would need happy memories on Devil's Island to see me through.
Smithy - I think Sam has other plans for his poster, but on a Devil’s Island who am I to judge? Maybe Slipknot's first self-titled album as we could use it to scare away any potential hostile natives.
Del - Unfortunately I don’t own any albums with especially sexy covers so I’ll go for Kvelertak’s self-titled one. I just really like the art style they use for everything.
Si - Funkadelic: Maggot brain, cos that's probably how I would be feeling being stuck on Devil's 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?
Sam - would choose coconut water as it’s good for rehydration, although this could be a wasted choice if there are already coconuts on the island.
Smithy - Assuming there is drinking water readily available, then it would have to be rum to get the full pirate Devil’s Island experience.
Del - I don’t think I’d survive very long without tea, but if I’ve got to pick one drink other than water I guess I might go for a white russian. I don’t drink all that much but it’s one of my favourites.
Si - Rum 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?
Sam - T-shirt. It’s a black T-shirt though, which seems a poor option for the tropical sun.
Smithy - We don’t have any band-branded inflatable boats in our merch catalogue yet so will have to be a T-shirt, black.
Del - I don’t own much in the way of band merch these days other than a couple of t-shirts but I used to buy a few back in the day. I remember having a Testament one that was really cool and a Ride the Lightning shirt I wore a lot.
Si - My cap from the Nas/Wu Tang tour '23 cos it actually would be useful for keeping my head out of the sun.
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?
Sam - Prince, sorry King Charles III, as people would probably try to look for him. Plus, it’s probably a good idea to put a clear power structure in place in case someone else tries to claim the island throne. He’s also into organic farming, which could come in handy.
Smithy - The world's largest pig, so at least I can survive on some BBQ ribs for a short time. Sorry veggies.
Del - Alesha Dixon and Natalie Dormer. I have no idea what their survival skills are like, but I’ll take my chances.
Si - Probably someone like Bear Grylls so we can use his skills to get home or at least survive longer.
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?
Sam - Nirvana “Live At Reading” (recorded in 1992) - so much raw energy. Could listen to it when we wake up in the morning.
Smithy - Probably one of our gigs. Assuming we don’t have our musical instruments it would be nice to still have a record of our work.
Del - Maybe the first gig I ever went to.. it was Metallica, Megadeth, The Almighty and Diamond Head at the Milton Keynes Bowl in ‘93. Pretty memorable for obvious reasons.
Si - Hellfest '22, just the sheer amount of bands and songs will keep me going.
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?
Sam - Jon Bon Jovi from Bon Jovi. We’re not particularly fans, but saw a documentary on him once and he seemed extremely practical, very motivated and great at getting things done. He could probably organise a respectable search and rescue effort. We would then become fans.
Smithy - Bruce Dickinson since he can fly a plane, that would be one hell of a rescue.
Del - Henry Rollins since he travels all over the world all the time and he’s one of those guys that gets shit done with no fuss.
Si - Jay Z for me, he's so rich and powerful so would definitely have the resources to sort us out with a rescue.
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?
Perhaps whoever is meatiest at the time, so the others could then survive for longer.
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?
Sam - Neil Young, who would probably be a great person to have on a Devil’s Island.
Smithy - Dave Grohl, what an amazing life in music he has had and he continues to shape my way of thinking.
Del - It has to be god himself, Lemmy. I know technically he’s dead but it’s not like he’s gonna let that stop him and you know he’s got a bottle of Jack and some cigs on him somewhere.
Si - Jaco Pastorious, Cliff Burton or James Jamerson. Either one of them I would resurrect just to play bass with them.
