Devil You Know
Metal super group Devil You Know are riding high at the moment celebrating the release of their second album They Bleed Red and being announced on the Soundwave line up. The band started when drummer John Sankey (Devolved, Divine Heresy, Fear Factory) and guitarist Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish, Hiss of Atrocities) began jamming and writing together in 2012 and as they say in the classics the rest is history. John Sankey spoke to Across The Ocean whilst on holiday in Australia.
Congratulations all round being added to Soundwave and the release of the new album They Bleed Red.
Things are really good right now, obviously we’re relieved to have the record done and knowing it is going to be released and stoked with the news that we’re doing Soundwave. All is good right now mate!
Relieved? Was the album more challenging than you thought?
Not at all, it was a lot easier but I think no matter how easy a recording goes you’re always relieved when you’re done at the end just because of the amount of work that goes in to it. To finally sit back and know that it is finished and be able to listening to it from start to stop it is a good feeling. I’m always relieved when that part of it is over.
Two albums in two years is pretty good going for any band, did you think that you would be so prolific so early in the band’s career?
It wasn’t the plan to do that but the way that Francesco and I write all the music and the way that I write I’m really not surprised because both of us are terrible at sitting still and doing nothing. If we have spare time we’ll just work on more and more music and just keep writing.
Strike while the iron is hot hey and build the band’s profile?
Exactly, towards the end of last year we had some time off from touring and there was a fair chunk of downtime there so we decided let’s just write and at least that way we’ll have a bunch of material there. When it comes to thinking about doing the next record we’ll already have a catalogue of songs to work on. We spoke with the label and management rather than wait let’s get in and knock out this album because we were happy with the songs. We had enough material so why not knock it out so we can hit the road with another album to work with.
Did you have many songs left over?
There were a couple of songs and bits and pieces here and there but for the most part I think ninety percent of what we wrote is on the record. There were one or two songs that we disregarded and whenever we decide to go back to those who knows. From the first record we had so much material left and we really didn’t revisit that at all. I felt that we didn’t run out of ideas so we were happy with the direction that it went. I don’t think there was any need to go back and dig around through stuff we had written previously.
Do you think you can keep up an album a year?
We’re not going to try and force ourselves to do that. Honestly, I feel that we could do it but it really comes down to the touring schedule. Like I said at the end of last year we got a good chunk of downtime where we could focus on new music. We’re on the road a whole lot and don’t get that time off makes it really difficult to concentrate on new stuff. We’ll see what happens but like I say if there is some downtime Francesco and I we can’t help ourselves, we have to keep working.
Is that harder for most bands nowadays to earn an income you have to be on the road a lot longer?
I think that’s just part of the age of music we’re in now with the internet and such. It is so saturated with a million bands and the turnover of music is just so vast. It is one of those things that you have to adapt to. Some bands have the luxury of being able to take a lot of time in between records and as I say if you are out touring, that’s how you earn your money to pay the bills. It isn’t really a bad problem to have and just utilising any time off or any time being away from the road rather than have a break and just around getting away from music entirely. At this point we prefer just to keep working as this is still a new band. We’re trying to keep the momentum going and keep busy.
Does the digital age influence the way that you release your music now?
A cassette would be awesome! To hold a Devil You Know cassette in my hand I would be so stoked dude! That’s all up to the record label to be honest, they decide as how things are released and when and all that. For me, if I’m in to a band I much prefer to pick a whole album and like them for a whole album or pretty much not at all. Once again, today’s age and the way things are a lot of people just listen to just a single from a band and then move on to another band. I didn’t come from that era and I would check out a whole album from a band that would either make me a fan or not. I’m still big on vinyl, the artwork and the layout and the whole presentation – the whole package. I love all the conceptual stuff and that’s something that gives your band personality. When you download one single you lose some much of it. A lot of the art has gone out of it and I’m still a little old school in that regard.
Did you come up with the artwork for They Bleed Red?
I worked with Travis Smith who did our first record album artwork, he is based in California. He is amazing! He’s literally done a million different bands and we didn’t even speak with anyone else. Once he did the first record it was great work and so happy with what he did. So when it came to start working on ideas for this I spoke with him and we collaborated a lot during the whole process. Obviously there was input for everyone but we just gave him general ideas and he came back with a whole bunch of different ideas, just cool pieces. When I get that back I thought how cool would that look on a festival banner? We’ll see what happens, I’m super happy with it.
Being in this band is this the most satisfied you been as a musician?
The recognition and knowing that people are enjoying our music – that’s great. I think you get satisfaction out of everything that you do. Every album that I have been a part of, song I’ve written or whatever it may be its all very rewarding and satisfying to me for sure. Whatever it is you put a lot of work, time, energy and effort in to it everything. I’ve never been the kind of person that will just half arse anything and I focus on all or nothing, get it done and do the best you can. This band has been super cool and everything is going good but it has been a bit of strange journey so far because a lot of people were interested in checking who we are individually and what all have done respectively in other bands. As this band it is still all so new and it all has happened really quickly, we have had to cut some corners and let ourselves get thrown in to the deep end. That is a cool part of it as well and not many bands get that luxury and we’re enjoying what we’re doing.
Excited about Soundwave?
We’re all extremely excited and very honoured to be a part of Soundwave. For me, it is a little more special being from Australia and I get to take my family and friends and do a lot of catching up. I’m super excited man! The first time we played Soundwave that was the first tour that we did and first shows that we did. No one even knew our music back then and only had only demo song online at the time. To come back two years later and have two albums worth of material and knowing the profile of the band is much bigger now will be a cool moment.
Devil You Know play the following Soundwave dates:
SATURDAY 23 JANUARY 2016, BRISBANE
SUNDAY 24 JANUARY 2016, SYDNEY
TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2016, MELBOURNE – AUSTRALIA DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Whether it is rummaging through vinyl at record stores such as Clarity and Title finding hidden gems to scouring the internet to find that album by the next big thing or chasing bands to get that elusive autograph and photo his passion is music all the way.
- Aversions Crown - January 27, 2017
- Sick Of It All - January 19, 2017
- Refused - January 11, 2017
