STACK NZ Nov #79

visit stack.net.nz

back in black

Issue 79 NOVEMBER 2016

x

EXTRAS

• Devilskin rise again. Pg 6 • Technology: Netgear’s Nighthawk X4 EX7300. Pg 8 • Competitions, quiz, STACK Social. Pg 10

FEATURES

DVD Finding Dory: Ellen DeGeneres on why she always wanted to reprise her role from Finding Nemo. Pg 12 Star Trek Beyond: Justin Lin takes the helm of the USS Enterprise. Pg 14 GAMES PlayStation Pro: A console for gamers seeking the best experience that current technology has to offer. Pg 16 Titanfall 2: Art director Joel Emslie and Respawn's Dusty Welch on what us pilots can expect. Pg 18-19 Pokémon: What better way to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary than with two new titles? Pg 20 Dishonored 2: Harvey Smith on the role of women in the Dishonored sequel. Pg 22-23 Watch Dogs 2: Boasting a GO-GO-gadget belt’s worth of new toys, Watch_Dogs are back. Pg 24-26 Call of Duty: Video game veteran Brian Horton takes us through the latest CoD title Infinite Warfare . Pg 28-30 MUSIC Shapeshifter: Nick Robinson on the Kiwi dance maestros 4th studio album Stars . Pg 32 The Last Waltz: Graham Reid revisits The Band's seminal farewell concert. Pg 34 DVD/Blu-ray Ice Age: Collision Course, Preacher: Season One, Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates , Three Wise Cousins , Game Of Thrones: Season 6 and more Pg 36-40 MUSIC Hopetoun Brown , Lady Gaga, Soft Hair and more Pg 44-46 All information believed correct at time of printing. All images used for promotional purposes only. Copyright of respective owners is acknowledged. © 2016 Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. RATINGS GUIDE REVIEWS

There were no second album nerves for Devilskin on Be Like the River , according to Paul Martin. Words John Ferguson

I t might seem that Devilskin appeared out of nowhere with what turned out to be their very accurately named debut album We Rise , which debuted at No. 1 in the New Zealand charts in 2014 and has gone on to become a platinum seller. However, the hard-rocking Waikato quartet had been honing their craft for four years before venturing into the studio, so there were no second album nerves for the band when it came to delivering their eagerly awaited studio follow- up (in between Devilskin released Live at the Powerstation ). “We had three or four years being a band together before we recorded the first album,” bassist Paul Martin tells STACK . “Some of the biggest songs like Fades , Little Pills and Until You Bleed were all written during our very first jam together. Then we had all that time to hone those songs live. “With this, we knew we were writing for the next album and we had the luxury of taking our time with it. We are writing all the time and we ended up demo-ing something like 30 songs for this album – we had a lot to choose from.” Be Like the Rive r was recorded at Modern World Studios in the UK and reunited the band with producer Clint Murphy; Martin says that the band were keen to play some European days, so it made sense to record the new record over there. But just because Devilskin has now enjoyed

chart success, their loyal fans will be pleased to know that there has been no softening of their sound. “It did take us by surprise,” says Martin of the unexpected success of We Rise . “We have all worked very hard in bands for years and never received this sort of attention before, so it’s a special feeling. But our music is our music, we just write what we feel – we certainly didn’t write anything on the album to be a radio single or anything.” The band has followed a determinedly independent path – as with the first, the new album is being released on their own label – and they remain a very close-knit unit. That’s not particularly surprising given that they are all related: Paul’s brother Nail is the guitarist, his son Nick is the drummer, and vocalist Jennie Skulander his sister-in-law. “The more we are together as a band, the more comfortable we are,” Paul says. “We are all family in this band, so we are pretty tight anyway. We all trust each other and know exactly what we are doing.” And what about playing with his son, Nick – are there times when he has to be the dad and warn him about partying too hard? “He says that to me,” laughs Paul. “He’s the sensible one!” • Read the full Devilskin interview later this month at www.stack.net.nz Be Like the River by Devilskin is out on CD and vinyl on November 11