DEVIAN

Metal anthems

Swedish death black metallers DEVIAN don't have an ambition to take their music where no one else has ever gone before. They are neither genre's innovators nor instrumental wizards nevertheless their songs still sound very fresh and vital. And...it's no wonder. DEVIAN's commitment, passion and dedication are genuine and determination is truly inspirational. On the occasion of "God To Illfated" release I talked to Legion (iron lungs and venom tongue)

-Hello Legionaire! How are you doing? Is everything working fine at DEVIAN's cave?
Hey Darek my friend! All is really great here, we´re currently keeping busy with one off shows, promoting the new album and rehearsing material for the third Devian album, we´ve got a ton of drafts and ideas that we are looking into molding into a new attack before the summer so we can keep the pace high, just like Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath did back in the day. No school like the old school!! Hope all is fine on your end too.

-On January 8 you kick off another European tournee alongside DEICIDE, SAMAEL, VADER, ORDER OF ENNEAD and THE AMENTA. What are your impressions just before the tour, the package and so on?
Well I´m a huge fan of the three top acts on the bill and been playing together with all of them before so I´m expecting a great live experience and lots of good times there. Order.. and The Amenta I´ve just heard a few tracks from so far so it´s gonna be interesting to check it out.
But the overall gutfeeling of being offerend this tour at this stage of Devians carreer is a superb one, this is a strong package and will draw alot of attention and we have a new disc out just in time that we are really proud of so I couldn´t really think of a better way to unleash "...Illfated" on Europe.

-Last year you appeared on a very long European tour with VADER, SEPTICFLESH and INACTIVE MESSIAH. Could you share your best memories from that trip? Make a brief summary of these over six weeks of unstoppable killing?
It was pretty extensive wasn´t it? We were gone all in all 7 weeks from home, I got back and my kids had learnt so many things I was just like WTF how long was I gone for!? But thing is it didn´t feel long at all being on it, we had so much fun and good times bringing the music to the stages and being Metalheads together with the other bands and the crowds that we were kind of bummed out when the last show was over. There were numerous great times on the tour, I can only begin to address the highlights really, but the parties both on and off the bus were insane fun, getting to meet one of my big heroes - tattoo genious Robert Hernandez in Madrid, forgetting Emil at a gasstation, getting dillusional from Absinth and performing "Reign in Blood" together with the mighty Vader as a tour wrap up are evergreens in my book already!

-How do you usually prepare yourself mentally and physically for such extensive touring? It must be quite hard to go on tour and stay in a good shape, not only because exhausting gigs, but also never ending afterparties, fulfilling your groupies' dreams and so on. So?
Hahaha good question! I don´t know, I used to work out a lot in the past but this last year was so busy that I starved myself to fit the stage act instead. The physcological thing I guess it´s either it´s a calling or it´s not. I love all the aspects of touring, visiting places and meeting people is the most important part of my life and on stage is where I feel I belong the most. It´s something I need to do to keep sane. Then everything else is just icing on the cake and it all adds up to something unbeatable, it´s a world once you´ve been in it a civil life is nothing but shit and that´s always the hardest part for me, to get off the road and come down from the high and realize that at home absolutely nothing has been going on takes its toll on my mentals. After some tours I´ve been so metally fucked clashing with everyday life again that I´ve been sleepless for days on my couch with the TV and stereo on just because I couldn´t stand the silence but not been able to go out either hahaha, it´s always some fucked days before the head adjusts to living in the slow lane again.

-It seems you really like to go on tour. Does it also come out of some kind of awareness that without getting out and play as many live shows as possible your albums won't sell that much?
Yes for sure. Metal is live music and the atmosphere generated at gigs can´t be duplicated onto DVD format or YouTube, you gotta be there and live it. And of course mainstream media is not very willing to touch none but a few of us guys so tours is the inevidable way of getting the name out and entertain the people. Cause if you just have an understanding of this music it doesn´t matter if you put up boxes on a conveyor belt or being a CEO for a living, nothing beats the good friendly violent fun at a good Metal show. Uncorrupted. Undilluted. The best invention since the book.

-Can you imagine yourself living an ordinary life, going to work every day, paying your bills, watching TV, not touring and playing music at all? Would it be possible?
No. Been there already haha. It fucked me in the head. I just needed a break from my music but stepping out for a while didn´t get me the rest I thought I´d get. Instead I found myself going to the gym everyday, always at parties, the only people I could hang out with were real hardcore bikers and their fellows, in general people that is the outspoken nightmare of the clean cut middleclass in the suburbs and we did nothing but pushed adrenalin and detested the norm.

-You had been touring quite a lot over the last few years with MARDUK. Now you are touring with your new band. I'm wondering where's the difference, if there is any?
It´s a smoother ride this time because there are different driving forces behind the two bands. Marduk sounded like we did because we were always harrassing eachother, squibbling or brawling like a bunch of orcs. When Emil and me got to know eachother we clicked on so many levels that I knew if it was anyone I wanted to found a new band with it was him and we were lucky to come across the other people in this band because they all brought their unique contribution but we´re a machinery with less gravel in than Marduk ever was, which makes a higher pace and greater efforts and sacrifices easier because the pressure only comes from the outside, which makes it mere a great adventure in the fellowship of your best friends. If Devian would have a moniker it would be "The Pals"

-Time for congratulations and compliments. Your newest effort „God To Illfated" really impressed me with its quality. It's much better than your previous work in terms of songwriting, arranging and performing. Also the production is more powerful this time. Can you agree with this opinion?
Talk to me that nice and I´ll buy into anything you say hahaha! No but for sure I think you´re right. Ninewinged Serpent was a quest for a sound by a three guys in a project that wanted to rid themselves of too many similarities with past ventures. The four of us that ended up recording the album grew together very quickly as a unit and it´s the creativity and bonding in the rehearsal room you hear on the new album. Everybody got involved with eachothers material and ideas until we all felt the right feelings when playing it together, also the time on the road showed us what we´re good at and where we did not succeed too well, people would riot to certain parts and be pretty chill to others and that became the new blueprint that we used when shaping up the songs before the studio, we wanted to bring as much as possible of the storm from the stage into peoples livingrooms.