DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Perpetual Paradox
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 Perpetual Paradox 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?
Jorge: Innuendo by Queen. Queen was my escape when I was a kid!
Ollie: Master of Puppets by Metallica. I listen to a lot more death- and metalcore these days but that really was the gateway album for me.
Will: I'm washing up with nothing else than Saosin's 2006 self-titled album. The Hot topic phase never left me but it has it all: Soaring vocals, gnarly drum fills and polyrhythms, and riffs that stay stuck in my head for weeks afterwards.
André: I’d go with Dopethrone by Electric Wizard. No deep, philosophical reason. I just straight-up love this album. It’s heavy, it’s filthy, it’s the perfect soundtrack for building a shelter out of driftwood and questionable life choices. Honestly, if I’m gonna be stranded, might as well lean into the doom.
Adrian: I went straight for Sleep Token – This Place Will Become Your Tomb. The island's got the same vibe. Also, my bandmates are allergic to Sleep Token—like vampires to a crucifix. One play and I’ve cleared the beach.
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?
Jorge: Tough one…maybe Blood Mountain by Mastodon. It’s just beautiful, filled with details. I love that kind of artwork.
Ollie: The Nothing that Is by Fit for an Autopsy. How creepy yet beautiful is that artwork?
Will: I'd certainly choose Senjutsu by iron maiden. When it comes to artwork in booklets and on album covers Maiden really do exist in a league of their own. On top of that i think a massive sprawling landscape image may let me take more of the bunk space than the others!
André: I’m slapping up the cover of Vulvocrania: Societal Lobotomisation by Vulvodynia & Acrania. That thing is absolutely brutal in the best way
Adrian: It’s gotta be something like Loathe’s I Let It In and It Took Everything.
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?
Jorge: Red wine – no shame
Ollie: An ice-cold pint of Battin, my favourite beer from Luxembourg, which is where I grew up. The rest of the world is missing out.
Will: As for survival drink? while it is not my favourite by a stretch, navy strength gin is both a very stiff drink and is flammable from as little as a match. Torches, fire-starting, Molotov cocktails to chase off the local horrors, frankly it’s got too much utility to turn down.
André: Beer 100%. No hesitation. I could be stuck here for years and still not get tired of it.
Adrian: Rum. Strong, simple, Tiki.
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?
Jorge: A Trivium shirt!
Ollie: I had a Kill ‘em All t-shirt that I wore religiously when I was younger. I lost the fucking thing but if I could have it back, then that.
Will: My Parkway Drive hoodie, my favourite metalcore band in existence and gonna do well to not get my frozen to death (assuming we’re somewhere cold).
André: I’m grabbing Perpetual Paradox’s long sleeve with the “Condemnation” EP cover. It looks sick and feels great (also assuming we’re somewhere cold).
Adrian: Sleep Token t shirt. Probably not a secret at this point that I’m a big fan.
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?
Jorge: My girlfriend?! As much as I love those dickheads, a man has needs… although Adrian is cute. What happens on the island stays on the island
Ollie: Also Jorge’s girlfriend.
Will: Now here's where I run through technicalities off getting off this pirate of the Caribbean style hellhole and pick Jorge. With his networking and not to mention a vengeful girlfriend if he went missing, I'd give it maybe 2 weeks until search and rescue arrive. Maximum.
André: Snoop Dogg… for obvious reasons.
Adrian: My Vessel cutout.
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?
Jorge: Metallica live San Diego 1992
Ollie: Metallica in Seattle in 1989 for their Live Shit: Binge and Purge recording performance. What a performance.
Will: I'd have to pick Beartooth at rock am ring. It has no survival benefit in the slightest I simply really love it.. that attitude doesn't bode much for survival but if I'm dying, I'm going out enjoying a depressed man rip his vocal chords out for 90 minutes!
André: Led zeppelin live at the Madison Square Garden - absolute classic
Adrian: Perpetual Paradox at Signature Brew. Jorge dropped his guitar mid-song to dive into the pit, and I instinctively picked it up—forehead bleeding from being in the pit myself—and played the absolute worst riff of my life. 10/10.
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?
Jorge: “Hi Ozzy, did you really bite on a bat’s head? YOU FOOKIN LEGEND!”
Ollie: Not Jorge – a man who misunderstands a question so badly can’t be trusted to put together a rescue. Nah, probably Rob from Veiled. When we played with Veiled I got the sense that he’s the most organised man on the planet. He’s got their live setup and band admin bits on lock.
Will: Bruce Dickinson, man has a pilot license, a massive influx of money and a want to fix broken things (I'm looking at you 90's maiden..). Plus, the ride back would certainly be a party
André: Keanu Reeves (he’s in a band called Dogstar so it counts). We all watched at least one of the John Wick movies…. The dude is clearly the most skilled person for any job
Adrian: I’m sending it to Will Ramos. Man’s got lungs powerful enough to scream a hole through space-time. He’d arrive riding some beast summoned by his highs.
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?
Jorge: I would kill myself for them, but I am super skinny…so if we need food for as long as possible, sorry Andre.
Ollie: Not Andre, he’d give everyone food poisoning. Adrian has a phat ass, so probably him. Got some real cake on him.
Will: Andre. There's enough substances in that man to probably give us fucking magic.
André: Well, probably the other members of the band picked me to be sacrificed, since I’m the biggest dude in the band and would probably give them enough meat supply for months… but I’d say any of them could be the first victim since they can’t take me out even if they group up.
Adrian: Andre, our bassist. Nutritionally, we’d survive for days—and we’d be so high. Like… transcend space and time high. It’s not even cannibalism at that point. It’s a spiritual journey.
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?
Jorge: I would have to say Robb Flynn from Machine Head
Ollie: Either Dave Mustaine or James Hetfield. Again, not really into thrash or the old-school stuff these days but those guys influenced me more than anything else.
Will: Despite wanting to save a laundry list of drummers and musicians that I'd adore to save from the yawning abyss, I'd have to save my old drum teacher John Lewin. As far as formative teaching and moulding to be the drummer I am today? Accept absolutely zero substitutes.
André: Geezer Butler… one of my biggest influences and the dude that showed me bass is a sick instrument to play
Adrian: Randy Blythe. If we screamed “This is a motherfucking invitation!” across the sea, everyone would come right away.
