DEVIL’S ISLAND featuring Ashen Crown

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.

So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you each chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?

Kieran: For me it would have to be 'Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Have Children' It got me into making music generally when I was younger and a bit lost in what I wanted to do in my life, it inspired me to create music and express myself through my electronic project 'The Coldest Silence'.
Phil: 'Gojira - Mars to Sirius' One of my top albums that has a wide variety of different paced songs.
Ste: Perhaps 'Biohazard – Urban Discipline'. Aside from its brilliance, that album really helped me through some tough shit as a teenager and young adult. Really inspired me to build my character with resilience to things life throws at you.
Jay: 'Devildriver - Fury of our Makers Hand', because it's just an album I never get bored of... riffs for days.
Mike: Tough question! There are so many great albums out there that have been with me for a long time that I feel I couldn’t live without – quite a few come to mind. To name a few; 'Slayer – Decade of Aggression', 'Neurosis – Souls at Zero', 'Fugazi – In on the Killtaker', 'Sick of it All – Just Look Around'. However, if I had to pick just one it would be 'Neurosis – Souls at Zero'. Phenomenal album!

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?

Jay: Has to be Megadeth - Peace Sells...
Kieran: Would have to be Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity. Powerful piece of art commenting on our regressive tendencies as a species of violence and self-destruction.
Ste: Machine Head – Burn My Eyes, simply because it looks ace.
Phil: Gojira- Mars to Sirius.
Mike: Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time. It would take years to fully explore all of it so would be ideal for a desert island!

There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to chose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?

Ste: Ice cold Desperado, for sure!!
Mike: I’d be sat at the bar drinking chilled Thatcher’s Gold to quench my thirst!
Kieran: Definitely whiskey specifically Wild Turkey stuffs like nectar to me.
Phil: The biggest glass you can find of water... I want to live!
Jay: Dry cider.

Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. Whats the merch and for what band?

Mike: That would be my Earth Crisis long sleeve top.
Ste: Probably my Bolt Thrower T-shirt, just so I can still be a little fanboy.
Jay: Devildriver (again) Trust No-one T-shirt.
Kieran: Deffo my Mad Spanner shirt that I designed, it makes me laugh. You`d need to see it to understand.
Phil: My Parkway Drive jersey

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?

Phil: Gojira – Birmingham Academy, June 2019.
Mike: Pantera, Rock City in Nottingham, 10th February 1993. My second ever gig and my first ever stage dive! I would love to have that on tape.
Jay: Exodus :good friendly violent fun 1991 had it on tape and played it till it disintegrated.
Kieran: Gojira - Paris, France 09/06/2016, that show is immense! Wish I could have been there!
Ste: Megadeth – Clash of the Titans set NEC 1990, say no more!

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 one musician most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it? 

Phil: Jake Raybould from Netherhall.
Jay: Gotta be Bruce Dickinson that guy's got a plane
Kieran: I'd message Ronan from Ten ton slug, he's a champion guy and would definitely come to my rescue!
Mike: Cristina Scabbia, who wouldn’t want to be rescued by her?! I’m sure she would be very capable of rescuing me from my isolation! Cristina would be very excited to have the opportunity to rescue me, particularly as I’m on desert island – perfect romantic getaway! Now where did I put her address….
Ste: Yep, Bruce Dickinson... That dude's got a jet to come and get us.

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?

Phil: Kieran. Everyone else if stronger for carrying all their stuff at load in.
Jay: I think Phil, he's always on the move so reckon he would be leaner meat. It's all about quality bassist steak.
Kieran: Definitely Ste, the guys the size of a bear, feed the lot of us for days. Sorry Ste.
Mike: Steve for sure. Plenty of meat on the bone! His sacrifice would go a long way to furthering the band’s career. Unfortunately, I don’t think it would be a willing sacrifice so we would get Jay to take a hammer to Ste’s face before we turn him into some kind if Corporeal Jigsore Quandary! From there we would have a BBQ in Ste’s honour! I just hope Cristina likes meat…
Ste: Kieran would probably have been killed long before we got hungry... LOL!

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?

Kieran: Travis Ryan from Cattle Decapitation he is a huge influence on me vocally, one day I'll play with them I swear.
Ste: Has to be Dimebag Darrell, although he is sadly no longer with us, he is the guy that really made me want to play a guitar as a kid. Was not just his skill that influenced me, also the way he carried himself with no ego despite the abundance of talent... stay humble.
Phil: Chester Bennington.
Jay: Dave Mustaine, proof you can be an asshole and a cool guy at the same time... that's a life goal! LOL!
Mike: Lars Ulrich. These days that might be a controversial choice but Lars’ playing on the first 5 Metallica albums and those records in general have been a huge inspiration for me. The first ever song I played on the drums was Enter Sandman back in about 1992! Despite the detractors, I was always impressed with Lars’ business acumen and how he ensured Metallica stuck to the guns and did things their way without succumbing to music industry pressure to conform which would have been easy to do. Instead he ensured Metallica did things in a way that they didn’t compromise their integrity as a band. That has been hugely influential on me as an individual – follow your dreams, don’t compromise and don’t sacrifice your integrity for anything!

Thanks for your time. We look forward to the release of 'Obscolesence' on 1st November. We hope you get back to dry land by then!