DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Opensight
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 Opensight 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?
Ivan: Difficult question. If it’s Rock / Metal adjacent then Faith No more’s Angel Dust or King for a Day… If not then Pepe Deluxe’s Queen of the Wave. There. My nominations of the King and Queen of albums.
Redd: This is such a difficult choice. So many to choose from. Dirt by Alice In Chains is a possibility, as is Burn My Eyes by Machine Head - that was an album I remember exactly where I was when I first heard it. But maybe my choice would actually be a non-metal album. Piano I Thokunni by Icelandic electro-wizz Bistro Boy had an almost physical effect on me. It took me right back to the icy fjords and snow-covered mountains of western Iceland - perfect if you're stuck on a hot desert island.
Duncan: Karnivool - Sound Awake. It's so expansive, It's one of very few albums I can listen to on repeat without it driving me mad.
Neil: Thin Lizzy's 'Live and Dangerous'. I'm a huge Lizzy fan and I love twin harmony guitars... Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson were absolute masters!
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?
Redd: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. I had various Maiden single artwork posters around that time. There's just so much detail, so much to look at.
Ivan: I’d have to go with Maiden too. The richness, and sheer amount of Easter eggs and references in Derek Riggs’ Blade Runner-inspired masterpiece for Somewhere in Time, gives it the edge for me. It has to be the landscape version with the full artwork intact. No crops, no edits. The Director’s Cut version, always.
Duncan: InMe - Herald Moth, one of very few posters I had on the wall so it's quite nostalgic for me.
Neil: I reckon Mastodon's 'Leviathan'. The full album artwork is epic and I used to have a poster of it on my wall. On the other hand..it might be a bit triggering, considering we've just been in a shipwreck and there's an image of a white whale capsizing a ship on the cover(!)
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?
Ivan: Corpse Reviver No. 2
Redd: On a hot summer's day, it's difficult to argue with a hazy pale like Juice Forsyth from Brew York or Club Tropica by Tiny Tebel. We stopped by the Tiny Rebel brewery on tour a while back and they had this mad green Beetlejuice beer. Great stuff!!
Duncan: Water - hydration is probably pretty important on a desert island.
Neil: Being of Irish heritage, that would have to be a Guinness. As they say 'Guinness is good for you'! Plus it's pretty filling so it would help with the hunger...maybe.
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?
Neil: Like most metal fans, I have about a billion band shirts - almost all of which are black - so if it's a hot climate, I'd probably choose the green t-shirt I got when we played Z live! fest last summer in Spain.
Redd: We do have an Opensight cap somewhere. I'd need it for my baaldy heed.
Duncan: It'll end up being one of many Opensight t-shirts that I've stolen from our merch stand on tours.
Ivan: The official KISS inflatable kayak. They have that as part of their merch, 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?
Redd: Significant other excepted, Bear Grylls would be cool as long as he doesn't make me drink my own piss.
Duncan: My fiancé Kate, obviously (that's what I'm supposed to say, right?).
Neil: I think i'd have to say my girlfriend (altogether now "awww")
Ivan: You’d drag your significant other into this? Monsters! 😉
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?
Ivan: Testament “Live at The Fillmore” is an underrated collection of great songs, the first band of that stature that I’ve ever seen live and a top favourite band back in the day when I started playing music and started pursuing the dream of playing myself.
Redd: I seem to remember Pride & Glory at Donington '94 being particularly good but I haven't heard it since. I'd love get hold of a copy. Can I change my mind? The Almighty also played a blistering set at Donington '92.
Duncan: Devin Townsend - Ziltoid at RAH - Glorious
Neil: I think I used this answer up earlier, oops! Another live album I really love is Death 'Live in LA'. I watched the DVD of that a million times but I think it was released on vinyl too. Either that or Led Zeppelin 'How the West Was Won'
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?
Redd: If he were still around I think I'd have to try to get a message to Chris Rea. He was such a petrol head, he'd surely know how to pilot a speed boat. And he was a good old Boro boy.
Duncan: I reckon Bruce Dickinson would be a good shout, he can fly us out of there.
Neil: Maybe someone from Amon Amarth. I'm pretty sure they have a Viking ship right?
Ivan: Agree with Bruce Dickinson being a good shout. Lemmy is God, so we can also pray to him. Bruce for the rescue, Lemmy for divine intervention.
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?
Redd: You've seen Duncan, right? (Sorry, Duncan) An arm would feed the rest of us for a week. I'm too hairy, you'd be finding bits stuck in your teeth.
Duncan: Sorry Ivan. It's more about rationing, Neil won't eat any of Ivan so there's more to go around between the rhythm section.
Neil: Probably me...I don't eat meat so I would probably have to sacrifice myself...or the rest of the band can fight it out while I go eat some leaves or something?
Ivan: I should be able to eat the rest of the band easily…
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?
Ivan: Hey Doctor Frankenstein! Can you make a monster out of Ozzy and Ennio Morricone?
Redd: That's a tough one because influences come from all over. Nick Menza and Vinnie-Paul are big heroes of mine. Hmmm... I know I've already mentioned him, but Chris Rea's music has stuck with me from being a kid. It has the feeling of home and he writes about Teesside with affection and pride.
Duncan: Victor Wooten. I also reckon he'd be great to have around and keep the mood positive. There are no wrong notes!
Neil: Not sure about my way of thinking and my outlook on life but musically, probably Tony Iommi...he's the master of the riff and one of the main reasons metal music exists!
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