EMQ’s with DVL
Hello everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Scotland, UK based Rock/ Heavy Metal band, DVL. Huge thanks to their vocalist, Ryan, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
I’m Ryan and I sing in the band! Alan and I started off in a band called Annihilation when we were about 14/15 years old. When I went to college in 2011 (The Academy of Music and Sound) I met Mark and Kevin and we formed D3VILMAYCRY. Our first album under that name was funded by Creative Scotland in 2013 and we played a ton of shows with bands like In This Moment and Jinjer as well as being nominated for a Scottish Alternative Music Award. Fast forward to 2022 and we’ve evolved into DVL and are currently promoting our upcoming sophomore record!
How did you come up with your band name?
Well when we were originally called D3VILMAYCRY we were named after the video game. We started getting kinda worried that if we were gaining a lot of popularity that people wouldn’t be able to find us over the game. Also we might get sued! So we shortened it down to DVL. 😈
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We’re from Glasgow, Scotland. The Metal scene here is pretty small but it’s die hard. It’s a very strong, loyal Metal scene around here.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
We just released the first single from our upcoming album. The song is called Eternity and you can check the music video out on YouTube! It’s also been doing rounds on the radio, including Kerrang!, which was a big milestone for us.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Matt Heafy from Trivium, M. Shadows and Syn Gates from Avenged Sevenfold. I learned pretty much everything I know from those guys. When I was first starting to get good at guitar at around 14 years old, I learned a lot of the more advanced stuff from those bands. In terms of songwriting it was eye opening, just opening up a guitar magazine and figuring out what they were doing and why they would do certain things. Vocally; Axl Rose, David Lee Roth, Eric Adams and David Coverdale have all hugely influenced my style. That powerful 80’s style of singing has always been my favourite way to go about things.
What first got you into music?
My dad really started me off on the path. He’s a great musician himself and he would be playing guitar and singing every day when I was a wee boy. A lot of Blues stuff and Classic Rock tunes. He was always listening to bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Twelve Foot Ninja. I think we have similar influences and could come up with something really wacky. Also Tatiana Shmailyuk from Jinjer. She’s an unreal vocalist and it’d be unreal to have her on a song with us.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
It has to be Download Festival for me. The Donnington one that is! I think it’s widely regarded among bands and fans alike that it’s the biggest Rock and Metal festival in the world. You’d feel like you’d truly made it if you were invited to play there. I’ve been as a fan a couple times and it’s always been a great atmosphere / vibe.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I don’t know that we’ve ever received a weird gift. We’ve been given beers and things like that but never anything weird! Watch this space 😂
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Thanks for sticking by us while we’ve been quiet for a few years and hopefully this year will be a big one 🙏
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Freddie Mercury. I would have a lot of questions about singing techniques and songwriting! I’m sure there were many more great songs yet to come from him that hopefully we’d get to hear.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I enjoy the fact that you never get bored. You always have guitar/vocal things to practice and learn, songs to write etc. etc. I hate that I can never just appreciate my own music. I’m always nit-picking at all the little things in songs I’ve written. It’s a curse in that way!
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I would massively increase the amount of money that artists and songwriters earn from streaming services. You’ve got multi-billion dollar companies like Spotify, who literally wouldn’t have a business without the musicians that they exploit. Time to make some changes and do better.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
This is difficult because I have 3 all-time favourite albums. I’m gonna say “City of Evil” by Avenged Sevenfold. I learned so much from that album. That level of talent should be illegal.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Vinyl, I have a record player in my house and it gets the best sound by far. But it’s got to be downloads. Music on your person 24/7. You can’t beat that!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
November 23rd, 2017. We supported Jinjer at a place called Audio in Glasgow. Capacity for the venue is 300. It’s a small venue but they must have crammed about 600 people into it. It was absolutely mental. Packed from front to back. People could hardly move and yet during our set the crowd still managed to make a pit. Seeing people get lost in your music is a very special feeling that you don’t get anywhere else. The Jinjer set was madness. So great live.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’m mega into gaming so I’d probably be attempting to become a full time streamer!
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Ozzy, Paul Stanley, David Lee Roth, Cristina Scabbia and Amy Lee. I’m sure there would be a lot of good stories at that dinner party!
What’s next for the band?
At the start of May we’ll be releasing our second single/music video and then on May 27th our new album, “Hush”, comes out!
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
YouTube – https://youtube.com/c/DVLBandUK
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DVL.BAND.UK
Twitter – https://twitter.com/dvlband
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/vl.band
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@dvlband
We’re especially active on Facebook and Twitter so do keep a close eye on those!
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
Oh god, are you trying to get me killed? They’re a cake! C’mon, it’s in the name, people! Biscuits have crunch and while you may argue that the chocolate kind of has a crunch when you bite into it, I would argue that you were wrong. Good day, sir.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank YOU for having us! Nothing else to add really except please do check out our new album when it drops on May 27th and you can pre-save it here: https://orcd.co/dvlhush
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