DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Asira
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 Asira 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?
Jack: I’d pick ‘The Smokeless Fires’ by Lunar Shadow. If I’m shipwrecked with low odds of survival, then I’m going to need honest introspective lyrics and very fun riffs. Not many albums give you both quite the way Lunar Shadow did on this record.
Martin: I’d probably be pretty angry, right? I’d probably be losing my shit? So I’d probably want the angriest, most shit losing record I’ve ever heard. ‘City’ by Strapping Young Lad.
Ethan: I’d want something cold and miserable to counteract the effects of the lovely warm surroundings. Naturally that would be ‘Blackwater Park’ by Opeth.
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?
Jack: It would have to be something you can look at every day and notice something new each time. Probably ‘Somewhere in Time’ by Iron Maiden.
Martin: After losing my angry mind with SYL, I’ll probably need something to stare at katatonically, while keeping my mind on the escape. ‘Lighthouse’ by iamthemorning. Also the lighthouse might come in handy.
Ethan: After getting sad, I think I’d want something stupid to look at. Sticking with the Iron Maiden theme, it has to be ‘Dance of Death’ - there’s plenty to look at there.
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?
Jack: Make mine a scotch on the rocks. It’s a metaphor.
Martin: I need to keep my head clear if I’m going to get off this island. Green tea with a dash of absinthe.
Ethan: I’m sure the island has plenty of mosquitoes, so obviously it would be sensible to live off of Gin and Tonic.
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?
Jack: The official KISS speedboat, which I assume exists.
Martin: Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme official Metallica branded gasoline (to power the speedboat).
Ethan: Surely it’s got to be the Iron Maiden Plane. That fits on a boat right?
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?
Martin: Hironobu Sakaguchi. He can make me a new Final Fantasy game AND teach me how to surf!
Ethan: Bob Mortimer. He’d make every day a whimsical, hilarious adventure, plus he knows how to fish.
Jack: Brendan Fraser. Next question?
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?
Jack: Metallica, Seattle ‘89. Their best recorded show of their best era!
Martin: Children of Bodom’s Tokyo Warhearts. Still my favourite live album of all time.
Ethan: Mine would have to be the first time I saw Alcest in Southampton, even if just for the nostalgia of 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?
Jack: It would have to be someone hyper-competent, but who is always up for an adventure. Maybe Bruce Dickinson? He can probably captain a boat.
Martin: If Jack’s going after Bruce, who would’ve been my first pick due to, y’know, planes, I’ll go for reach. Tay-tay.
Ethan: Well I’ve already stolen Bruce’s plane, so I guess I’ll have to go for David Gilmour, apparently he’s also a pilot.
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?
Jack: I would elect not to share my thoughts on this until after Ethan has fallen asleep.
Martin: I’m feeling hungry, I’ll eat up the lot of ‘em.
Ethan: I’d pretend to be asleep and then eat Jack while he eats me. Oroborus time!
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?
Jack: It’s a very rogue shout, but I’d say Bruce Springsteen. I’ve really taken a lot of his lyricism to heart, in my lyrics and my life.
Martin: It has to be Steven Wilson for me. His disregard for genre convention and ability to be a sponge for not only all styles of music but art in general is a hugely important lesson for me.
Ethan: For me it has to Mikael Åkerfelt, he inspired me to pick up the guitar and showed me that it’s more important to play with feel and emotion than to play a thousand notes.
