Devilskin is a four-piece

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band from

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, formed in June 2010. The band consists of lead vocalist Jennie Skulander, guitarist Tony "Nail" Vincent, bassist

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

and drummer Nic Martin. Devilskin's debut album, '' We Rise'' was released on 11 July 2014 and peaked at #1 on the

Official New Zealand Music Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...

, and spent 47 weeks in the chart. It was

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Platinum by

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

in March 2015. The band's sophomore album, ''Be Like the River'', was released on 11 November 2016 and also peaked at #1.

History

Early years (2010–2013)

Devilskin originated in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's fou ...

in 2010. Founding member

was going through bands that were sent to him to play on his

The Axe Attack The Rock is a New Zealand mainstream rock music radio station. The station targets 25–44 with a male skew, but has a significant female fan base. It plays rock music and showcases up-and-coming New Zealand bands. The Rock has unpredictable ...

radio show and found a demo from a Rotorua band called ''Slipping Tongue'', with member Jennie Skulander on vocals. Martin bumped into Skulander in

in 2010, moving there after the breakup of ''Slipping Tongue''. After much persistence from Martin, they both agreed to form a band, enlisting Nail Vincent from ''Chuganaut'' (one of Hamilton's leading hard rock bands) and local drummer, Rob McWhanell, to play drums for the band. After a few shows, Rob was involved in a motorcycle accident and need to have an operation, forcing Martin to "press-gang" his son, Nic Martin, into temporarily replacing him. The band then decided to take on Nic as the full-time drummer. With the band lineup settled, Vincent and Paul Martin solidified the Devilskin image by adopting their distinctive pink goatees. Devilskin released 'Little Pills' on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in 2012 to positive reviews, eventually getting second in the 2014 The Rock 1000, a countdown of the best 1000 rock songs as voted by listeners.

''We Rise'' and subsequent tour (2014–2015)

The writing of material for ''We Rise'' occurred over a period of several years. The album was recorded within three weeks at

York Street Studio York Street Recording Studio was a Recording Studio based in Auckland, New Zealand. Founded and built by producer and engineer Martin Williams, producer Malcolm Welsford and Jaz Coleman it quickly became New Zealand's leading music recordin ...

s in Auckland. In May 2014, Devilskin released the single 'Start a Revolution', peaking at 28 on the NZ Singles Chart. Following this they released their debut album, ''We Rise'' debuting at number 1 on the national album chart in 2014, knocking Ed Sheeran's X album off the top of the chart, and became the nation's biggest selling independent release of the year. By March 2015, ''We Rise'' went platinum, having sold over 15,000 copies, being the first NZ rock/metal album to do so since

Shihad Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), ...

's ''Killjoy'' album 18 years prior. ''We Rise'' stayed in the national album Chart for 95 weeks from 2014 to 2016. The band accompanied ''We Rise'' with the live CD/DVD ''Live At The Powerstation which debuted at number 12 on the NZ Album Chart in December 2014 and stayed on the chart for eight weeks.

''Mountains'' and ''Be Like the River'' (2015–2017)

After sold-out album tour for We Rise and an eight-date 'Summer Surrender' tour in late 2014, Devilskin went offshore to play a series of promotional gigs, where they attracted the attention of international record companies and festival organizers, where they played the iconic

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...

. The band returned home after this tour, to record to release a follow-up single ''Mountains'', recorded whilst they were over in England. Following the supporting ''Mountains and the Moon'' tour, the band went to England to finish fully recording their follow-up album, ''Be Like the River.'' The album's first single, "Pray" was released on 11 August 2016. The full album was later released on 11 November 2016, and peaked at #1 on the

, like its predecessor. To follow the album release, Devilskin went on a promotional tour, opening for acts such as Airbourne and playing at festivals such as the

Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...

NZ/UK tour and new single (2018)

At the start of 2018, the band announced their ''New Year 2018'' tour, with Skinny Hobos and Seas of Conflict as opening acts. The band also played some new material throughout this concert. On 28 June, Devilskin announced their New Zealand and European tours via their

Facebook page Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of ...

. In an interview with Paul Martin, he said he would like to take some of the band's new material "on a road test", opening up the potential for new music from the band. An interview with lead singer Jennie Skulander also confirmed this. On 7 September, Devilskin announced their new single "Endo". Skulander has stated the song is about her surgery for Stage 4

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease of the female reproductive system in which cells similar to those in the endometrium, the layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus, grow outside the uterus. Most often this is on the ovaries, f ...

. The song was also played throughout their NZ tour, along with some new material. This was followed up with the release of "All Fall Down" on 5 April.

''Red'' (2020)

On 17 January 2020 Devilskin announced the forthcoming release of their third album

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

along with a new single, "Corrode". This was released to streaming platforms on 3 April 2020 with the plan to follow up with an appearance at Homegrown Music Festival and an international tour. However due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in New Zealand this, along with physical disc copies, has been postponed.

Musical style and influences

Lead singer Jennie Skulander has said that her influences include artists such as

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for which ...

Claudio Sanchez Claudio Paul Sanchez III (born March 12, 1978)Sanchez, Claudio: "The Amory Wars Sketchbook", page 30. Evil Ink, 2007. is an American writer and musician of Puerto Rican and Italian descentKitchen Chronicles: The Menna Family (New York, 2003, p.3 ...

and

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

, to name a few. The band itself lists Saidaya, Subtract,

8 Foot Sativa 8 Foot Sativa is a New Zealand-based extreme metal band formed in 1998. Their most famous single is their self-titled song, "8 Foot Sativa", which was number one on the M2 (a late night New Zealand music show) top 12 list for 12 weeks, and sta ...

, Cripple Mr Onion, Team Kill, World War Four and 8-Forty-8 as inspiration during the recording of their debut album; ''We Rise''''.''

Band members

Current members

* Jennie Skulander – lead vocals (2010–present) * Tony 'Nail' Vincent – guitars, backing vocals (2010–present) *

– bass, backing vocals (2010–present) * Nic Martin – drums, piano (2010–present)

Former members

* Robbie McWhannell – drums (2010)

Timeline

Awards and nominations

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

* 2014: Best Rock Album – " ''We Rise''" (nominated) * 2014: Breakthrough Artist of the Year (nominated) * 2014: Best Engineer – "Clint Murphy" (nominated) * 2017: Best Rock Album – "''Be Like the River''" (won) * 2017: Best Group (nominated) * 2017: Best Engineer – "Clint Murphy" (won)

Discography

Albums

Devilskin's debut album ''We Rise'' was ranked at number 8 on

's year-end album chart for 2014, and at number 40 for 2015.

Singles

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2010 establishments in New Zealand Female-fronted musical groups Musical groups established in 2010 Musical quartets New Zealand heavy metal musical groups