It seems things have certainly been stepped up a notch on this release – the production ensuring a bigger sound than their past releases, the musicianship also being showcased a lot more on certain tracks.

The first track ‘Do You See Birds’ hits you like a kick in the teeth, lead singer Jennie Smathers adopting a metalcore growl that would rival both Walls Of Jericho’s Candace Kucsulain and Jinjer’s Tatiana Shmailyuk, backed by the ’bouncy’ metal riffs Paul (Bass) and Nail (Guitar) have come to be known for. With their ten year anniversary as a band fast approaching, and with two studio albums (plus a live album & DVD) under their belt, Devilskin hit the legendary Roundhead Studios in Auckland to record their new album ‘Red’, and what an album it is! Historically I have always sat somewhere in-between the two groups – as part of my other life as a live music photographer it has been almost impossible to not catch these guys performing as either a support act for some of the biggest acts in the world, or as a headliner on one of the many tours across the country – Devilskin surely are one of the most hard working bands on the circuit today, and as such it’s very difficult not to have some sort of opinion on their music. While they have one of the most intense dedicated fanbases ever seen by a New Zealand band, they are also the subject of much derision from others in the heavy music scene for whatever reason. The Kiwi hard rock band Devilskin are often considered to be a bit of a “Marmite” act.

Devil skin band