DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Orchid Symmetry
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 Orchid Symmetry 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?
Will (Bass, backing vocals): Origin of Symmetry by Muse. It will always stick in my head as the first album to influence my musical taste growing up.
Damo (Guitar, lead vocals): Dead Silence by Billy Talent. Absolutely no Radiohead though — not while we’re fighting for survival.
Chris (Drums, backing vocals): I’d be grabbing Songs for the Deaf. That album hit me as an impressionable 14-year-old and became the seminal experience of my music life. I’m assuming we’d have some way of listening to these albums? Otherwise, that would be a cruel torture.
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?
Chris: This is a tricky one. Maybe Rumours by Fleetwood Mac — that cover is iconic. I was tempted by Queen II, but if I woke up and saw those half-illuminated faces in the middle of the night, I’d probably panic.
Will: Black Sabbath’s self-titled. No real reason — I just like the style and eeriness of it.
Damo: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - there's always something new each time I look at it.
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?
Will: Guinness, dark and smooth.
Chris: Rum and Pepsi, sweet and strong.
Damo: Gin, tonic, and ice.
Chris: …worst haiku ever.
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?
Will: If Damo says a specific item of our merch, I’m walking into the sea.
Damo: I would indeed bring our very own branded… butt plug. It’s the most famous member of the band.
Will: I’d save our banner (or anybody’s, for that matter). It’d make good shade — or a sail for a raft.
Chris: I’d take a sweatband I got at Muse’s Wembley ’07 show. I was a broke teenager at the time, and it was the only merch I could afford. It was also the first merch I ever got at a gig.
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?
Chris: My wife and son. Or failing that, some kind of survival expert. Just not Bear Grylls — not sure I could stomach his idea of dinner.
Damo: Ed Sheeran or James Corden…
Chris: Surprisingly sinister, Damo.
Will: A dog — and maybe Ray Mears or something.
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?
Damo: The Hives, Leeds Festival ’06. Of all the bands I’ve seen — most memorable.
Chris: Queen, Wembley ’86. Freddie absolutely owning the crowd: unbeatable.
Will: Arctic Monkeys at Glasto 2007 — starting with When the Sun Goes Down. The whole crowd singing the intro still gives me chills.
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?
Chris: Duran Duran. I’d ask if they still have the yacht from Rio.
Damo: Sting — he’s had an experience, so I bet he’d be on the lookout for one.
Will: Robert Plant — hoping he’s still got use of The Starship. Providing the island is big enough for it to land.
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?
Damo: Will — he’s normally late for practice.
Will: I was going to nominate whoever brought the butt plug.
Chris: Either way, it looks like I’m off the hook. I’d vote Damo — I’m not convinced James Corden would satisfy his bloodlust. Plus I think he'd go further.
Damo: I hate this band
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?
Damo: Joe Strummer or Bowie.
Chris: There’s so many I could choose… I’m going to not choose a drummer (primarily at least) and go with Josh Homme.
Will: Rob Swire from Pendulum.
