20.6.14

Devil You Know, The Beauty Of Destruction, LA Times

Devil You Know is the intersection of three undeniable talents from the world of metal music : the singer Howard Jones (Killswitch Engage, Blood Has Been Shed), the guitarist Francesco Artusato (The Francesco Artusato Project, AllShall Perish) and the drummer John Sankey (Devolved, Fear Factory, Divine Heresy). The sum total of the three has come together as Devil You Know. Interview with Francesco.

Can you give us a brief history of Devil You Know ?
Francesco : John and I started working on some songs a few years ago, initially just for fun but then, once we started having a good amount of tunes we were happy with, we decided to look for a singer. We got in touch with Howard and he liked the material. So we met in Los Angeles, a little more than a year ago,LA Time and we started to make plans. 

Can you describe your songwriting and recording process for "The Beauty Of Destruction" ?
Howard, John and I first decided to work on some demos with Logan Mader, our producer. That helped us a lot to define the sound we wanted for this record. After that, we kept writing and writing until we had so much material we could have recorded three albums. Then we went back to the studio with Logan a few months later and made this record.

Is there any concept behind this album ? Can you tell us more about the lyrics and your inspiration ?
It's about overcoming difficult times and becoming stronger from the process. Most of the lyrics are very personal and Howard wrote them thinking about his past few years. It was obviously not an easy time for him. I personally get inspired by many different things every day. Sometimes it's because of a story, sometimes because of a movie or sometimes just by a memory that comes back. Sometimes just because of an overall feeling that I have inside and that makes me want to write music. 

What will be the next step for you : a tour ?
The album will be out soon and we'll be on tour during that time. We are going to be on the road with Black Label Society, Down and Butcher Babies. That's going to be our first full US tour. Very exciting ! 

Edited by Markus Schenker
Photo : DR

Devil You Know, The Beauty Of Destruction (Nuclear Blast)
Out on 24th of April 2014

Devil You Know, Seven Years Alone, official video