Interview by Kris Peters
New Zealand's finest exports Devilskin have epitomized everything rock and metal ever since unleashing their debut album We Rise on the world eleven years ago. Not only did their high energy and infectious brand of metal resonate with hometown music lovers, but it also quickly spread on a global level, resulting in the band supporting and touring with established acts such as Slash and Halestorm.
Such was the popularity of Devilskin following We Rise that the band became the first New Zealand rock/metal outfit in 18 years to go Platinum, equalling the effort of the mighty Shihad with the album Killjoy. Over the years singles such as Never See The Light, Little Pills, Start A Revolution, Endo and a cover of Heart's classic, Barracuda, have highlighted the personal nature of Devilskin's music as well as the sonic diversity at their disposal.
Eleven years after the release of the groundbreaking We Rise, Devilskin return with Re-Evolution, an album that has already been credited with displaying just how far Devilskin have come in 15 years. This is a bold and dynamic perspective of Devilskin and their continued growth plus the reinvention, and the re-evolution of the band as songwriters and as artists.
With Re-Evolution dropping today, July 11, HEAVY spent some time with bass player Paul Martin to dig deeper. We start by asking how he is feeling with the release date finally here.
"It's good, man," he smiled. "It's like that painful bit where you're in labour, and this beautiful product's about to pop out, but at the moment it's like getting everything squeezed into the right places and mailing everything out. Man, we've had so many orders from all over the world, so I've been busy licking stamps and sealing envelopes (laughs)."
We ask about two of the singles - Swelter, and Half Life of Dreams - and if they are a good sonic representation of what to expect.
"I think there's a little bit of everything on this album," Paul measured. "I don't think there's two songs that are quite alike, they're all kind of different in their own way. It's a glimpse into what's on the album, definitely. With the whole album, we wanted to be bold. We just wanted everything to be… we just wanted more of everything."
In the full interview, we discussed Re-Evolution in greater detail, including the title of the album, and it's significance to the band. We spoke about the opening song, Red, and why it was chosen as an introduction to the body of music plus Devilskin's growth in their musical journey to date asnd how much growth is left in them.
Talk also centred on how the new songs went down live on their rTalk also centred on how the new songs went down live on their recent New Zealand Tour, the guest parts from Nik Barker (12 Foot Ninja) and Joe Hottinger (Halestorm) and what each brought to the song, their recent People's Choice Award victory at the AMA Awards and more.
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