DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Smile More
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 Smile More 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?
C: Only one album?! That’s almost impossible so I’m just going to have to go for the first one that came to mind. I’m going to have to go with Nightfall in Middle Earth by Blind Guardian. Whatever my mood, I’m always up for an epic telling of the Silmarillion, and no one will ever do it better than Blind Guardian. The choruses are incredible, the interludes add to the scope, and it’s long so will kill plenty of time while stuck on this island. If you haven’t heard this album, go fix that right now.O+J: We both intuitively picked the same album! Blizzard Of Oz by Ozzy Osbourne. Hands down one of the best metal albums ever made. Ozzy at his peak, Randy Rhodes… still alive and still better than everyone else. What’s not to love? Honestly, if you love Heavy Metal and you haven’t listened to it, you must love bland chicken and rice.D: Guess I’m grabbing the CD player. Otherwise, ‘Sailing the seas of Cheese’ by Les Claypool. Seems apt given our ship just sank.
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?
C: I just had the mental image of waking up every morning in a shack, seeing Mayhem’s Dawn of the Black Hearts looming over me. Probably not a good start to the day. Although in all seriousness, the best album artwork of all time is Metallica’s Master of Puppets. It’s so iconic. You notice more every time you look at it, starting with the haunting field of white crosses, then you notice the strings, then you notice the ominous red hands in the top corners. It demonstrates the meaning of the title beautifully. Haunting yes, but beautiful nonetheless.
O: Difficult one, my taste has changed a lot as the years have gone on. But for whatever reason my mind went to the Tenacious D Self-Titled album cover. Never ceases to make me smile.
J: Probably Infinity by Devin Townsend. We need at least one naked dude on the wall.
D: Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’. Cause it’s the only album cover I can remember. We couldn’t afford cd’s so I ain’t seen many
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?
C: Bottomless beer sure sounds good. May not live to get off this island so might as well enjoy myself. I’ll always say yes to a pint of Hobgoblin. They’ve changed the recipe so many times, but I love it all the same, reminds me of Bloodstock which is my happy place (or hoppy place?).
D: Gin. By the litre
O: Cheddar Valley Red.
J: Absolutely cheddar valley, strong as hell and good in all weather.
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?
C: I have so many band shirts, picking one is a nightmare. I recently got a Svalbard t-shirt with the artwork of their new album, The Weight of the Mask. I adore that artwork so I have been wearing that more than perhaps is hygienic. So for now I’ll go with that one.
D: We couldn’t afford cd’s. I’ve never owned merch. Simple as.
O: If I could have anything it would be the Marilyn Manson dildo.
J: Rammstein dildo box set.
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?
C: I wonder about people who don’t get on with the rest of their band. How do you stand that? I’ve spent a week in a caravan with these boys recording some singles and had a blast. A whole island with them would be no problem. If I could bring someone to join us? Probably my brother Mike, he camps with myself and the rest of Smile More at Bloodstock and it’s always a blast.D: Literally anyone else.O: The boys are great and all, but if I could live on this island with anyone it would be the folks in Moon Reaper, they’re wicked by the way, check out their music.J: I want to get trapped on an island with robert pattison and willem dafoe so we can re-enact The Lighthouse. We’ll get pissed and cook up some lobster, see how long it takes for us to go mental.
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?
C: The best live show I have ever seen was Devin Townsend headlining Bloodstock in 2021. After a year of bullshit, this was everything. The set was incredible in and of itself, but after all the hardship felt by everyone in the buildup, the song “spirits will collide” is the most emotional I’ve ever been at a concert. I wish I could recapture that feeling of euphoria. So for now I’ll settle with watching on a loop on this island.
D: I didn't have cd’s. I didn't have merch. I’ve never seen a band live. I lived on a council estate.
O: Mine’s another Bloodstock show, SKYND headlining the Sophie Stage in 2023. Granted not the most comforting thing for those surviving on a Desert Island with you to know you’re listening to, but it did; and still continues to, blow my mind.
J: Devin Townsend at Bloodstock for me too. Just the most incredible stage performance and the sound was huge.
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?
C: The obvious answer for this is Bruce Dickinson right? He flies a plane! Maiden tour all over the world, odds are he is flying overhead as we speak so he may as well do us a solid and pick us up.
O+J: Chris speaks for us both!
D: But I like it here. Rent is cheap and there's no council tax. I might even be able to save up for another Primus album by selling seashells to the bartender on this island.
You've been stuck here for 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?
C: I’m a skinny fucker, so no point throwing myself on the fire. I think Ollie would do the honourable thing and offer himself up. He is the band leader after all, lead by example.
O+J: Looks like Dale’s back on the menu bois, we’ll start with his feet he doesn’t need those.
D: ...
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?
C: Probably Devin Townsend. It’s very rare and special to have a musician who just treats music as music. Genres are irrelevant to him. He's done albums which are the heaviest thing you can imagine, or albums that are serene and tranquil. No matter the mood, Devy has you covered. That’s what I hope my music career can be like. He also just seems like a very introspective dude, I could listen to him talk about his career for hours on end.
O: Daron Malakian, after all his looks were iconic and his ability to write nonsense about fucking ANYTHING and have it still sounding deeply profound definitely shaped my career aspirations.
J: For me it has to be Devin too. It’s like the guy writes music personally for you, it just makes sense. He’s super versatile and looking at his music has taught me a lot about how to build my own songs.
D: Probably Taylor Swift. I work as an event crew and that upcoming tour this year is paying my rent.
