Three years after "A Fragile Hope", english six-piece Devil Sold His Soul return with "Blessed & Cursed",their first release with Century Media .The Bearded Russian talked with keyboards/electronics meister Paul about Download Festival, the new album and changing labels.
Please introduce yourself and explain, to those who don't know, what DSHS is all about.
Paul - Hi, I'm Paul from "Devil Sold His Soul". We're a metal band based in the UK that writes, records and tours heavy, epic music. We like to write stuff that has melody, riffs, quiet and heavy parts all thrown into the mix.
Your new album " Blessed & Cursed" comes out in July. What can you tell us about it?
Paul - Hopefully we've managed to push on with the styles and ideas started in the last album "A Fragile Hope". A mix of light and dark, despair and hope expressed in a medium of sound.
How different are the new songs from your previous material?
Paul - We're hoping that they are quite different but without being totally detached. They feel like they've come from the same place, but hopefully there's a lot more in the mix with these songs and enough of the DSHS essence to keep our fans happy and also interested by some evolution. We also have Leks on drums now, so there should be a lot more depth to the drumming parts -- we lost our last drummer just before we started writing "A Fragile Hope".
"A Fragile Hope" was released 3 years ago. Since then you changed labels, from Eyesofsound / Black Willow to Century Media. How did that happen?
Paul - Eyesofsound did a great job for us and were stoked for us when we signed to CM (I've been friends with Ryan for years). We received quite a few offers, but Century Media seemed like the right place for us to go. Black Willow is the management company that we're signed to, so we're still working with them.
How do you think that this change will affect the band's future?
Paul - The theory is that we will now have enough muscle behind us to get to the next level, somewhere that just wasn't possible to get to without signing to a big label. It should be the catalyst for some exciting times for us.
In the past couple of years, the sludge/post-metal scene became a lot bigger, with bands like Isis and Neurosis getting more and more recognition and drawing attention to the genre as a whole. What do you think of this?
Paul - We hold both of those bands in very high esteem and the good they've done for the scene and heavy music in general is fantastic. At the end of the day they're both very talented bands and deserved the recognition; the attention to the genre was just a byproduct of their skill and hard work.
Your debut "A Fragile Hope" was often compared by reviewers to those bands. Do you think that it is fair to be compared to those (or any other ) bands?
Paul - It always funny for us reading or hearing people's attempts to try and pigeonhole us, as we're a crossover band and it's basically impossible to put us in one genre. Anytime that we're compared to a good band is taken as a huge compliment.
You will be headlining the RedBull stage at this year's edition of Download festival. How do you feel about it?
Paul - It's a massive honor to be asked to headline a stage at Download, as the festival in it's various guises is steeped in history and it's an achievement just to play the thing -- being asked to headline a stage is just nuts.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Paul - The new album "Blessed & Cursed" comes out on July 12th in the UK and will be released outside the UK at later dates. We'll be touring the album in the UK and mainland Europe and anywhere that we can get to to help promote it, which should include the USA, Russia, Japan, Australia and more.
You guys recently released a song from your upcoming album called "Callous Heart". How were the fans reactions to it?
Paul - The reaction to it has been really good -about 95% of people seem to be really happy with it.
Please introduce yourself and explain, to those who don't know, what DSHS is all about.
Paul - Hi, I'm Paul from "Devil Sold His Soul". We're a metal band based in the UK that writes, records and tours heavy, epic music. We like to write stuff that has melody, riffs, quiet and heavy parts all thrown into the mix.
Your new album " Blessed & Cursed" comes out in July. What can you tell us about it?
Paul - Hopefully we've managed to push on with the styles and ideas started in the last album "A Fragile Hope". A mix of light and dark, despair and hope expressed in a medium of sound.
How different are the new songs from your previous material?
Paul - We're hoping that they are quite different but without being totally detached. They feel like they've come from the same place, but hopefully there's a lot more in the mix with these songs and enough of the DSHS essence to keep our fans happy and also interested by some evolution. We also have Leks on drums now, so there should be a lot more depth to the drumming parts -- we lost our last drummer just before we started writing "A Fragile Hope".
"A Fragile Hope" was released 3 years ago. Since then you changed labels, from Eyesofsound / Black Willow to Century Media. How did that happen?
Paul - Eyesofsound did a great job for us and were stoked for us when we signed to CM (I've been friends with Ryan for years). We received quite a few offers, but Century Media seemed like the right place for us to go. Black Willow is the management company that we're signed to, so we're still working with them.
How do you think that this change will affect the band's future?
Paul - The theory is that we will now have enough muscle behind us to get to the next level, somewhere that just wasn't possible to get to without signing to a big label. It should be the catalyst for some exciting times for us.
In the past couple of years, the sludge/post-metal scene became a lot bigger, with bands like Isis and Neurosis getting more and more recognition and drawing attention to the genre as a whole. What do you think of this?
Paul - We hold both of those bands in very high esteem and the good they've done for the scene and heavy music in general is fantastic. At the end of the day they're both very talented bands and deserved the recognition; the attention to the genre was just a byproduct of their skill and hard work.
Your debut "A Fragile Hope" was often compared by reviewers to those bands. Do you think that it is fair to be compared to those (or any other ) bands?
Paul - It always funny for us reading or hearing people's attempts to try and pigeonhole us, as we're a crossover band and it's basically impossible to put us in one genre. Anytime that we're compared to a good band is taken as a huge compliment.
You will be headlining the RedBull stage at this year's edition of Download festival. How do you feel about it?
Paul - It's a massive honor to be asked to headline a stage at Download, as the festival in it's various guises is steeped in history and it's an achievement just to play the thing -- being asked to headline a stage is just nuts.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Paul - The new album "Blessed & Cursed" comes out on July 12th in the UK and will be released outside the UK at later dates. We'll be touring the album in the UK and mainland Europe and anywhere that we can get to to help promote it, which should include the USA, Russia, Japan, Australia and more.
You guys recently released a song from your upcoming album called "Callous Heart". How were the fans reactions to it?
Paul - The reaction to it has been really good -about 95% of people seem to be really happy with it.
What do you guys do, besides the band?
Paul - Work- between tours and around band commitments- plus try to live as normal lives as possible. We also try to be nice people and try to contribute to society, which tends to bring us back full-circle to the music.
Can you share with us some of the best and worst memories from touring?
Paul - Having the brakes on a hire van fail at 70mph on the motorway wasn't fun. Playing car park football with tour vans as goals is always fun. Seeing loads of cool places and meeting interesting people is amazing. BBQs are always good. Sleeping in some rubbish places isn't nice, but does make for good stories when it's over.
When can we expect to see you guys in Portugal?
Paul - If all goes to plan, we should be over to push "Blessed & Cursed".
What inspires you, when writing music?
Paul - Lots of bands old and new, and a desire to write heavy music that is exciting, interesting and innovative. Some good melody, bad-ass riff or killer hook is always cool if you can pull one out.
Paul - Work- between tours and around band commitments- plus try to live as normal lives as possible. We also try to be nice people and try to contribute to society, which tends to bring us back full-circle to the music.
Can you share with us some of the best and worst memories from touring?
Paul - Having the brakes on a hire van fail at 70mph on the motorway wasn't fun. Playing car park football with tour vans as goals is always fun. Seeing loads of cool places and meeting interesting people is amazing. BBQs are always good. Sleeping in some rubbish places isn't nice, but does make for good stories when it's over.
When can we expect to see you guys in Portugal?
Paul - If all goes to plan, we should be over to push "Blessed & Cursed".
What inspires you, when writing music?
Paul - Lots of bands old and new, and a desire to write heavy music that is exciting, interesting and innovative. Some good melody, bad-ass riff or killer hook is always cool if you can pull one out.
1 comentário:
acho bastante cativamente a parte simplista do acustico a ser brutalmente interrompida por um girto gutural...mas isso é só a minha opinião de quem não entende nada de musica mas mesmo assim diz algo xD
quero ver realmente se vêm ca a portugal...to a imagina-los em cacilhas ou no cineteatro de corroios
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