DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Shrike
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 Shrike 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?
Liam: Just one? That’s tough. For me that’s gotta either be ’In Utero’ by Nirvana or ‘Crack The Skye’ by Mastodon. I’ll probably go with Mastodon as there’s more music on that record. Both insanely diverse records that I still listen to every year without fail.
Ste: Mastodon’s Crack the Skye for sure! An album I could listen to on repeat and never get tired of. The Czar gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Hearing it live at bloodstock 2016 was something I’ll never forget.
Danny: If I had to pick one, it'd be Nocturnal by the Black Dahlia Murder. It's a perfect record from start to finish, the songwriting is killer, the production is spot on and it's the quintessential Black Dahlia record.
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?
Ste: The Black Dahlia Murder’s Nocturnal album. Not only is it great album cover but it’s also one of my favourite albums. If I can only listen to Mastodon’s Crack the Skye on this island, I want some way to remember another one of my favourite albums!
Danny: While I'm not necessarily the biggest Mastodon fan, I'd have to put up a poster of the album Once More Round the Sun. It's one of the most gorgeous album covers I've ever seen in my life!
Liam: A poster of Baroness’ ‘Blue record’, for sure. Any John Baizley artwork. If I could paint/draw like anyone, it’d be him.
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?
Liam: Guinness babyyy. If I’m about to lose my marbles on a shipwrecked island, I’m getting silly on Guinness everyday haha.
Danny: I gotta go with Jack and Coke.
Ste: it’s a toss-up between Desperados and Strawberry & Lime Kopparberg. It’d have to be Kopparberg, it’s THE perfect summer drink, especially with a glass & ice (as long as it’s a tropical island!)
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?
Danny: I’d have to save my Aborted shirt. Specifically the Necrotic Manifesto shirt, firstly cos it's an awesome record, secondly the artwork lends itself perfectly to a shirt.
Liam: My The Black Dahlia Murder ‘Nightbringers’ tour t-shirt. It was the last tour I ever got to see and speak to Trevor on. RIP.
Ste: I’d say my Behemoth hoody for those extra cold nights. It’s a bonus that they’re one of my favourite bands so stranded or not I’d happily fly the flag for them
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?
Ste: Those guys you see on YouTube who build underground houses, swimming pools and fortresses using a stick. If I’m stranded, I might as well be sipping my kopparbergs, in luxurious accommodation
Liam: Anyone hahaha. No, I’m joking of course. I’d like to be stranded with Julian Barratt, just to see if he’d degenerate as quickly as his character did in the ‘shipwreck’ episode of The Mighty Boosh. That and I’m curious to know how he’s spent his last twenty years sort out of the public eye, and if he’d ever make that Boosh film that he and Noel Fielding had contemplated.
Danny: Madchen Amick from Twin Peaks
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?
Ste: Gojira live at Vieilles Charrues 2010. It’s an absolute masterclass in live performances. One of the best sounding live shows I’ve ever heard and one I’m incredibly gutted I wasn’t at.
Danny: No question, it'd be the Van Halen concert, Right Here Right Now from around 92/93. I grew up watching that concert just in awe of the sound, the setlist, Eddie Van Halen's solo and just seeing Van Halen at their absolute peak.
Liam: Moscow 91’. Easy. The Metallica/Pantera show. I still get pumped watching that.
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?
Liam: Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse. Ain’t no way that neck wouldn’t work as a floatation device! Haha
Danny: I’d send it to Brian Eschbach, purely because there's a good chance Dahlia's playing in the area.
Ste: I’d write to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. Provided he doesn’t think I’m an unhinged lunatic, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind putting his pilots licence to good use and come to my rescue.
You've been stuck here 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?
Ste: Sorry Danny, it’d have to be you. Liam is about half my weight so he’d keep me fed for about a day
Liam: Haha, I am a mere hors d’oeuvre to be fair. Danny (sorry mate haha.) Danny is the new guy, so he’s gotta be sacrificed by ritual yet.
Danny: Well I’m sacrificing Ste, drummer got meat on him...
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?
Danny: I’d probably have to pick Dave Mustaine. I've been a Megadeth fan since I was a teenager, and was always inspired by not only his writing, but his leadership and his vision for the music in general.
Liam: Probably Matt Heafy from Trivium. I think he was one of the first metal musicians, for me, that really made it okay to discuss mental health issues and how to tackle them in a positive manner. That, and I’ve been nicking his riffs for 15 years haha!
Ste: Dave Lombardo definitely helped put me on the path to drumming. If you believe in the butterfly effect; If I’d never heard Slayer I never would’ve joined my first (thrash) band back in 2012. Which means I never would have met my wife, all the people I’ve played in bands with, be in the band I’m in now, or met the hundreds of people in bands we’ve played with over the years. Plus he seems like a really genuine cool dude. Not sure what his survival instincts are like but I can at least thank him.
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