Devil Sold His Soul: The Road Beckons

Following on from their first album in nine years [Loss], DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL are finally heading on tour across the UK. Taking place between the 4th and 9th of April, they’ll hit Nottingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, and London. Joining them for all the dates as support are URNE and FORLORN. Ahead of the tour, we caught up with co-vocalist Paul Green to find out their plans for the tour.

Hey DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL, how’s 2022 been treating you so far?

Paul Green: It’s been good so far in all honesty, not without its challenges of course but that seems to be this decade for anyone in music (and anything else for that matter). It’s been so great to be back together as a unit playing tracks we’ve never played together before. It’s made us feel like an actual band again after so long out of the touring game.

You’re about to head out on your first headliner in five years – how does it feel to be getting back on the road?

Paul: It’s a bit surreal really, after so long away from the stage we’ve got practise room ready but there’s no feeling quite like the first kick drum blast through your chest during soundcheck, or the nerves when the set intro starts playing out and you’re backstage – we’re excited and ready of course, it’s just surreal.

With both yourself and Ed at the helm again, do you feel your live show has a whole new dynamic to it?

Paul: Absolutely, even more so than the A Fragile Hope 10 shows. We now have a whole album worth of material that has been written for two vocals. It’s great doing the older tracks as a duo but with the new ones, the additional layers and harmonies add so much more to the sound. Ed & I have also gained a greater musical connection from writing together so we’ve embellished the tracks even more during the rehearsals, it’s truly exciting for us.

You’re hitting some iconic venues, from Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms to Bristol’s The Fleece and Manchester’s Rebellion – do you feel these venues add to the atmosphere your music creates?

Paul: 100%! When we went about booking this tour we knew where we wanted to play, every venue on it has that atmospheric quality that adds to the experience for everyone involved in the night. The only one I’ve never personally played is the O2 Academy in Islington but it’s our biggest London headline show to date and it’s one I’m truly looking forward to.

Last time you were touring A Fragile Hope in full, this time you’ve got last year’s Loss to support – back then, did you think you’d have a whole bunch of new songs to take out on tour?

Paul: No way, I couldn’t see another note being written at that point and the AFH shows were nearly our last as a band. We’d reached the point where we weren’t having a great time of it and those shows were a huge catalyst to get to where we are today. They made us realise that it was worth it still and that there was more left in the band. I’m so glad we stuck it out and created Loss, it’s been an amazing year having that out in the world.

What’s the song from Loss you’re most excited to play live on the tour?

Paul: Personally I’d say Witness Marks, it’s got so much to offer as a track and the lyrics are very personal to me, I know they’ve resonated with a lot of people out there so I’m hoping it translates as well live as it has in the practise room.

Your show at the O2 Academy Islington in London takes place exactly a year on from Loss – could we expect something special to mark it’s anniversary?

Paul: We’ve tried to cram the set with as many favourites from Loss and our previous records as humanly possible, let’s just say, the encore is going to make a lot of the OG fans very happy. It’s also going to be an amazing celebration that night and we’ll finally get to celebrate with the label team who made the campaign what it was, we owe them a few beers so expect a party atmosphere.

We’ve seen you’ve been tweeting about playing Crane Lake, from Blessed & Cursed – it’s been a long time since you played that one live, what brought it back into the set?

Paul: We’d always planned to but never found the right moment. It’s actually the first time I’ve ever performed it live with the band but it’s always been a favourite of mine from before I joined. We’ve had a few messages from fans saying how much they love the track and how it has genuinely helped them through hard times, it’s just mind blowing to receive those messages, and It’s going to be a great moment to see people enjoying the track live again.

Can we expect any other deep cuts or fan favourites popping up in the set?

Paul: There are some really exciting additions to the set and some hugely controversial omissions haha. I guess now we have four albums and two EPs to pick from, we’re always going to struggle to please everyone. but for us, it’s a really exciting set and we know people are going to love the mix of tracks.

You’re no strangers to long songs, so just how much of a struggle is it picking a setlist?

Paul: It’s the toughest part of tour prep for us. We’re really careful with our ordering to ensure there’s flow and energy when it’s needed. The last thing we’d want as a band that writes long atmospheric tracks is to not feel momentum through the set. It’s got to be exciting for us and the audience. Thankfully we spend a lot of time up front and during practises on transitions and that feel.

It’s a stacked lineup of British bands, do you feel it emphasises how strong the scene is right now?

Paul: The British scene is unreal right now! The best place to see that is through the young bands coming up. Bands like STATIC DRESS, PUPIL SLICER, HERIOT, HOLDING ABSENCE… the list goes on. The really exciting thing for me about this new wave of bands is they’re looking at music as part of the art but the effort going into all departments is equal. The art direction and the insane energy they’re all putting into the music, socials, video, appearance, marketing… it’s so impressive, they deserve to be massive.

Once these dates are done, what’s next for DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL?

Paul: We’re really hoping to tour overseas. It feels like that’s not too far off now that restrictions are ending in many places, so let’s get out to as many countries as we can. We’ve also spoken about new music so potentially some more writing this year if it feels right, fingers crossed it does.

Loss is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. Get ready for the tour by checking out our feature with the band here!

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