Our Lives In Music… The Devil In Faust

The Cult – Love  I’ve been listening to The Cult since I was little. My parents used to take me travelling across Europe, which was fortunate, as we listened to lots of music. This album reminds me of exploring and visiting lots of new places. We went to castles, palaces, cathedrals and museums. It was awesome. This was one of the albums that I always wanted on repeat, blasting from the speakers or my headphones. Sonic Temple was amazing as well, I can remember performing Fire Woman on guitar at college. They’ve influenced my guitar playing. I love their style of performance and fashion sense.

Moonspell – Alpha Noir / Omega White  I only discovered Portuguese band, Moonspell, a few years ago, but instantly became hooked to their sound, with albums produced by Tue Madsen & Hiili Hiilesmaa. I’m a big fan of The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and Bahaus. I feel that Moonspell is a progression of that dark rock/metal culture. Alpha Noir / Omega White is essentially 2 albums in 1, put together very well. Alpha Noir is heavy and full of angst which reminds me of Cradle of Filth, who I grew up listening to. Whereas, Omega White is full of love and raw emotions, the reference to Type O Negative is appealing. Fernando is a great lyricist, I admire his talent for writing in Portuguese as well as English. I can speak Spanish but not to a song writing level. Al Pritchard

Placebo – Placebo I started listening to Placebo whilst at school, aged 14/15. It was just as I started singing when writing songs. Beforehand, I was just playing guitar and writing lyrics. Brian’s songwriting had an influence on me, I love the punk foundation for his songs. I began by playing local, solo shows with an encore copy of an ovation acoustic guitar. It has a huge crack in the side and I still have it. Ben and I formed a band during this time where we used to rehearse in the school hall. Later that year, we were both playing main roles in a Jesus Christ Superstar production that the school was putting on. I can remember not being able to hit this certain high note during my solo, eventually I did but it was challenging! Al Pritchard

Alice In Chains – Dirt  When I was first writing songs on my acoustic guitar as a young teenager, which is often where I now develop song ideas, I loved the sound of the MTV Unplugged albums from Alice In Chains and Nirvana. This encouraged me to discover more music from both bands. You can really feel the emotion in the songs. Layne’s vocals are just so unique and when you combine that with the harmonies and guitar playing of Cantrell, you just get pulled in and want to hear more. Dirt really appealed to me because it’s so dynamic, songs such as Junkhead and Down In A Hole are great examples. Al Pritchard

Green Day – American Idiot  American Idiot has to be one of my all-time favourites because it has an old school punk vibe to it interspersed with modern ballads. The tempo of the songs all vary ranging from fast headbangers to slow burners. Tre Cool has always managed to use a simple drum beat whether it be fast or slow and make it sound massive, with some clever drum fills thrown in. His drumming technique have influenced me on a lot of our own tracks, especially the faster punk influenced ones which have yet to be released.  Ben Codd

Slipknot – Iowa  IOWA was the first metal album I listened to as a young lad. After hearing Left Behind by chance, I was hooked. The whole album contains aggressive vocals and strong meaning to the lyrics. People = Shit was the first song that I learned to play on drums. I have always enjoyed Jordison’s use of blast beats, double pedal and fast tricky fills. I always used to listen to it more if I was angry or someone had pissed me off, that’s why I wanted to learn people = shit, ironically. In our heavier tunes, I use some similar double pedal techniques to Jordison along with some blast beats I throw in every now and then. If it wasn’t for IOWA I probably wouldn’t have even given drums a second thought. Ben Codd

The Eagles – Hotel California I have been a fan of the Eagles for as long as I can remember. It came from years of my parents listening to them alongside artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, Bob Dylan and the Doors. There are many tunes off this album that are timeless and I think they will be played for many years to come. We have a diverse mix of tunes ranging from fast and heavy to the more chilled out slow burners. I do a lot of backing vocals in the songs and Don Henley has been the inspiration for that. I used to believe that drumming combined with vocals was very hard to achieve, but then I thought, if he can do it then so can I one day. Now, we have found our sound as The Devil In Faust. Ben Codd

Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures I picked up a copy of Unknown Pleasures after one of my teachers in high school told me I should give them a listen. I fell in love with it straight away. Firstly, with the artwork, then the sound. It sounded so different from anything I’d heard before. At the time, I couldn’t speak much English and therefore couldn’t understand Curtis’ lyrics but it didn’t matter. The power of the emotions within the record were enough for me to understand. Of course, the bass lines were something else. I had never realised until then that the bass could have such an important place and not just be there for rhythm. Hooky’s sound and style of playing totally changed the game for me and influenced me a lot. Jess Lomas 

The Pixies – Doolittle This is one of my favourite albums and once again, one that’s been very important and shaped up the way I play bass today. I remember the first time I heard the song “Hey” and how I loved that bass line. It’s not very complicated but carries the song very well, just as it should and adding melody. I had to pick up my dad’s bass straight away to learn it and knew I wanted to play bass from now on instead of guitar. To top all that, the fact that it was all played by Kim Deal made me believe that you can be a woman and be a badass in a great rock n roll band. Jess Lomas

Eagles of Death Metal – Peace, Love and Death Metal  At the time, I was introduced to EODM, I was listening to dark stuff like Joy Division, The Cure etc. This album felt like a bit of fresh air and reminded me what rock n roll was all about and why I liked it so much: Pure, fun and honest music. Similarly, it’s still very well produced and full of catchy melodies. It really took me back to my roots and reminded me how important honesty and fun is in music. Otherwise, what’s the point? Jess Lomas 

The Devil in Faust  release their new EP Come Apart on April 28th

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