EMQ’s With Devolver

EMQ’s With Devolver

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Groove/ Deathcore band, Devolver. Huge thanks to their Bassist, Jaylen, 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?

My name is Jaylen, and I play bass in the band. Yeah, so, Devolver was formed in 2015 by our lead guitarist, Devin. It was really just him making all this stuff, and he roped Bevin into it to play the drums as well as produce and record the self-titled album. Over the next few years of playing live, the current lineup was formed around 2018, and it’s been that way ever since.

How did you come up with your band name?

Devin 100% stole the name from a Whitechapel song, haha.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

We’re from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. It’s remote, there isn’t a booming metal scene in our area, and we really have to drive at least 4 or more hours to play most shows. Things are few and far between up here, and you really have to try to make it happen. You have to give a shit.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

We just released a brand new album titled Non Compos Mentis! It’s been a ton of work over the last few years making it all come together, but we’re so proud to finally have it out in the world. We worked with Mark Lewis on the production, and he really helped us push this thing to its limit.

Who have been your greatest influences?

We pull influences from all over, really, the musical tastes of everyone in the band are so diverse, and we think it all seeps in in some way. However, it really comes out sounding like the stuff most of us loved growing up. Swedish melodic death metal and 2000s metalcore, and all that stuff that made us want to play music in the first place.

What first got you into music?

Personally, Hearing Ozzy was one of those moments that made me really think differently. Then once I found Pantera it was over. I was hooked.  

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Tough question. I would love to have a guitar solo feature from like, David Davidson from Revocation, or a vocal feature from one of the GOAT’s like Anders Friden or something. I dunno, maybe something like that. 

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Probably Wacken or one of those European festivals. Being from Canada, I’ve never had a chance to go to any of those festivals, and that really feels like a holy grail kind of thing.

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I don’t know if we’ve ever gotten a gift from a fan before… That I remember at least, haha.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

We are so thankful to every single person who chooses to spend their time listening to us, coming to shows, and supporting us. We still feel like a band that’s always throwing everything we have out into the void. So, anybody who sees it, hears it, and actually gives a shit is so appreciated.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Dimebag Darrell, not a second thought, next question.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

Making music with my friends is number one, and then getting a chance to perform that music live is such a gratifying experience then if people have a good reaction to it, even better! Honestly the only thing I hate about it is the state of music streaming right now, and how hard it is for a band like ours to make any money off of our music. The system is due for an overhaul.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Just that artists get paid fairly for their art. It’s not so much to ask that profits be given out fairly instead of hoarded by CEO’s. (Looking at you, Spotify).

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Off the top of my head, The Fall Of Ideals by All That Remains. That album was such a huge influence on me and my introduction to screaming, metalcore, and the kind of music I really wanted to play.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

I love any physical media. I love looking at the art, reading the lyrics, and really having something to take ownership of.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

Easily, without question, the album release show we just played in our hometown. We did it at this great local brewery (shoutout Grain Bin Brewing), which was also awesome enough to make us our own beer to commemorate the album release. We got an amazing lineup of local bands (more shoutouts to Nazzy, Matt Stanyer, and Lero), and it was all ages, which is honestly so important to a small local scene like ours. It was so much fun.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Something revolving around music. I do some graphic design, so I design band merch, and I would just need to be involved or close to music and art. So, realistically, working any shitty job to pay the bills so I could do that stuff, haha.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

See, I feel like I see this question and people just name all their biggest influences or heroes they would like to meet, but, realistically, I don’t know that I would want to have dinner with those people, haha. I don’t have that much to say, and I think the length of a whole dinner would be weir,d haha. I’m gonna choose my 4 bandmates, Jayde, Bevin, Devin, and Chris, and… Our buddy Taylor. Just let me have dinner with my friends, haha. Maybe I run into Dimebag in the bathroom and have an awkward hello while we’re at the urinal.

What’s next for the band?

The fall and winter is looking pretty quiet for us besides promoting the album like crazy, but we’ll probably start on some new music and start planning for next year. See if we can’t tour around and show off these new songs a bit in 2026.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? Please include any links

We’re mostly on Instagram, you can check out some music videos and stuff on YouTube, but mostly we just want you to check out the new album wherever you stream music. Check it out, front to back, and then come find us online and tell us what you think. Show your friends, show your mom. You can find all that stuff at our Linktree here:

https://linktr.ee/devolverab

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK, either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll, or a Tea Cake.

Wow. As a Canadian, some of these are wild to me, haha. The one and only thing I personally would ever call it is a bun.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you for taking the time and letting me talk about our new album!

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