DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Verminthrone
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 Verminthrone 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?
Matt - Lamb of God's " As The Palaces Burn", it just absolutely slams from start to finish. Huge inspiration for me.
Adam - Carpenter Brut Live. The guys will need something to dance to on those dark island nights.
Alex - Bit of a diplomatic answer, but I’d grab Funeral for a Friend - Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. The two reasons are it’s undoubtedly right up there in my favourite albums that reminds me of my youth, but also I trust the others to have grabbed something heavier, can’t live without a bit of filth in my life!
Pal - Sepultura - Beneath the Remains. Great album. I came late to Sepultura, so I was able to get Arise and ...Remains at the same time. I would always flip back and forth between the two of them.
Dan - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard- Paper Mâché Dream Balloon. It's such a feel good album, when I stick it on it lifts my mood within the first 30 seconds. Shout out to KG&LW - phenomenal band.
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?
Matt - Arcane Roots' "Blood and Chemistry" is a beautiful cover and means a lot to me, musically and visually, and is also inspiration for one of my tattoos.
Adam - Growing up I had a lot of posters on my wall, including the lovely Jet from Gladiators, but one was my favourite and that was a poster of Sepultura's Chaos AD.
Alex - Easy, Verminthrone - The Cull.
Pal - Dinosaur Jr. Farm - I`m always staring at the album cover when listening to the album. This cover will get you high!
Dan - Old Gods - Valley of the Sun. I love the whole aesthetic, and maybe after the delirium kicks it I might be able to “communicate” with the gods on the poster.
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?
Matt - I guess I'll just be basic and choose a deliciously ice cold Heineken…
Adam - my usual Guinness, Ale or whiskey probably won't suit a desert island so give me pina colada's with a fancy umbrella.
Alex - Assuming I have access to water, I’d choose Rebellion Zebedee. The most delicious golden ale fit for both summer and winter!
Pal - Guinness!
Dan - Corona, refreshing as shit on a hot day.
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?
Matt - I am a sucker for a good long sleeve so would probably choose my Enter Shikari one from "The Great Unknown" tour cycles, as its got a really sick print and is just super comfy.
Adam - Mastodon board shorts so I can take up surfing.
Alex - The Cradle of Filth vestal masturbation t shirt. With no one else around you’ll never have a better opportunity to wear such an outrageous t shirt.
Pal - A nice warm hoodie, probably my Weedeater one…
Dan - Probably my camo Disembodied hoodie. Never seen another one out in the wild, plus it will get cold as fuck at night!
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?
Matt - That is a tough one, if we're allowed anyone dead or alive, then I'd choose Elvis Presley as he would definitely have some cool stories and be highly entertaining.
Adam - Stephen Hawkins so I could bore him with questions of the universe. Ray Mears because who the fuck wouldn't want Ray Mears when deserted on an island. BB King so we can have some chilled blues while having our Pina Colada's.
Alex - My dad, top bloke. Also pretty good at DIY so could knock up a good shelter for us…
Pal - Bear Grylls, He is good at surviving to find the way out.
Dan - Robin Williams. He has an aura that would just make anyone feel good in any situation. R.I.P Robin.
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?
Matt - Karnivool at The Roundhouse in Camden, 2016/17-ish? When they did a set from all albums in chronological order. Beautifully curated set and live show. Big stand out for me.
Adam - It has to be Dynamo 95. Absolutely iconic line up!
Alex - Lamb of God Download 2007. I wasn’t even there but I regularly watch it on youtube. Amazing energy, they play all the hits and the sound engineer deserves a medal, can’t ask for more.
Pal - Toxic Holocaust - Brazilian Slaughter. This Concert is more like an album to me. The Sound is Killer!!!
Dan - Alice in Chains - Unplugged. Probably would make me even more depressed at the situation but at least I could embrace 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?
Matt - Randy Blythe from Lamb of God as he's a hardened dude and seems like he would be suitable for it!
Adam - I would write to Municipal Waste saying we are having Pre Game drinks trying to learn The Art of Partying. We would all no doubt succumb to Beer Pressure and all believe we were seeing some Sadistic Magician play some killer Thrash set. But in the end, we'd all know we were Born to party and Thrashing was our business and business was good!
Alex - It would be to any of the members of Amon Amarth, hoping it would invoke their inner Viking and get them to sail to our rescue in a longboat. The journey home with them would be awesome.
Pal - Bruce Dickinson, He is the only one I know who can fly a plane. Bruce to the rescue!!!
Dan - Iron Maiden - Get Ed force one over here and save my ass!! Or Bruce in any plane for that matter.
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?
Matt - Probably not myself as I'm vegan so can't imagine I'll be very filling or enjoyable. I'd go for Adam as I imagine he would have a succulent Guiness flavour to him
Adam - Me because I obviously have the most to go round! Also, saves being on the island any longer.
Alex - Anyone aside from myself or Adam as we are the only non vegetarians/vegans. Desperate times and all that…
Pal - Well… technically half of the band is veggie including myself so I would definitely sacrifice a carnivore…. Alex or Adam. I would take Alex because Adam has too many tattoos and ink doesn't taste good.
Dan - Pal mate, you're getting eaten. He eats very clean and keeps fit so I think he'll be the most nutritional.
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?
Matt - Steve Vai is the the guitarist that gave me that musical awaken and changed the way I approached guitar playing. Overall he is just a fascinating alien of a human being and has had a huge impact on me.
Adam - Very close decision between Mike Bordin from Faith No More or Vinnie Paul from Pantera. But I had to save Vinnie. Monster behind the kit. Perfect balance of technical ability and groove. Something I have always strived for.
Alex - It’d have to be Matt Pike for me. An absolute riff god, no one manages to be the only guitarist in two amazing and massively riff driven bands like Sleep and High on Fire!
Pal - Geezer Butler - Nothing sounds like the menacing lower end of Black Sabbath.
Dan - It's a very hard question. I'd have to go to where it all started for me - Dropkick Murphys - Al Barr. Without that first gig outside of MK, at Brixton Academy, I might not have been the person I am today.
