STACK NZ November 2016 Issue 79

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Ice Age: Collision Course, Preacher: Season One, Mike & Dave
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Issue 79 NOVEMBER 2016
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.
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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 River 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
Be Like the River by Devilskin is out on CD and vinyl on
November 11
There were no second album nerves for Devilskin on Be Like
the River, according to Paul Martin. Words John Ferguson
back in black