dude, you were in Münster/Breitefeld too? Man, I've seen crappy local concerts with 14 year old musicians with a bigger audience Damn, it's not even funny. I found it quite embarressing actually. Maybe it was the location (Hessen's Anus as I call it) or the lack of promotion (there really wasn't much for that concert) but there really were not many people there. And I think Alien DID sell pretty well here in Germany because a Century Media dude that I had contact with told me so. I think one reason might be the lack of festival shows. I mean, we have TONS of Metal fesitvals here. I think Germany is one of the best places on the Globe when it comes to that. But I can't remember when SYL played a festival here the last time. And it IS a fact that bands get MUCH better exposure on festivals. That would definitely help. And I can't imagine that no one's trying to book them. I know that the With Full Force Festival tried to this year. And Germany is definitely no bad market for Metal in general. Dimmu Borgir, Nevermore, Anthrax, Slayer...you found all those in our Album Top 50 and many more. Here where I live for example pretty much every Metalhead that I know personally loves SYL or the DTB. And a buddy of mine sold SYL merch at Wacken and the people there were CRAZY about it, he sold almost everything now. So I really have no idea what went wrong with the concerts here. But maybe I'm totally wrong and the people here are just too stoned for Devy music, or whatever

Hmmm, maybe it really has to do with how Devin's tours are being managed here in Germany then. You are right, I don't think that Aussie-Land is the anus of the world, but Münster-Breitefeld where we watched SYL! The interior of that venue (Live Arena) is very good, but that whole area is totally out in the woods and used to be barracks obviously. Talk about peripheral...

Add to that the fact that both suport bands where infinitely inferior to Zimmer's Hole and the DTB in 2003 (what a package that was!) and as you mentioned the overabundance of rock- and metal-festivals here in Germany. Maybe it would really be a smart strategy for the german market to play metal festivals exclusively in the summer and club tours in the winter. There is only so much money metal fans can spend on concerts in the summer when there are tons of great festivas to attend (even Rock Am Ring rocks again).

Hey Chris, got a problem with my nick?
You know that Faith No More song, don't you?

Oz and Japan seem to be the obvious contenders for the title of Devy-Kingdom; what about other countries? What about the US? UK? Afghanistan? Nepal? North Korea? Iceland?

Add to that the fact that both suport bands where infinitely inferior to Zimmer's Hole and the DTB in 2003 (what a package that was!) and as you mentioned the overabundance of rock- and metal-festivals here in Germany.

Well, I don't think the two German dates were even supposed to be a proper tour. To me, it seemed those were just two shows played to fill the gap before their next festival show (Gods Of Metal in Italy, IIRC).

Maybe it would really be a smart strategy for the german market to play metal festivals exclusively in the summer and club tours in the winter.

Oh god please no.
What we need is LESS shitty, overpriced festivals where the bands you really came to see get 20 minute sets during early afternoon, not more. There are just too many festivals, some really need to die, they're ruining summer. Ergo we need more club shows also during that time.

The UK does pretty well festival-wise.....Leeds, Reading and Download for your rock/metal needs....

Well, I don't think the two German dates were even supposed to be a proper tour. To me, it seemed those were just two shows played to fill the gap before their next festival show (Gods Of Metal in Italy, IIRC).

Maybe, but a bit more promotion would have helped nevertheless me thinks.

Oh god please no.
What we need is LESS shitty, overpriced festivals where the bands you really came to see get 20 minute sets during early afternoon, not more. There are just too many festivals, some really need to die, they're ruining summer. Ergo we need more club shows also during that time.

I agree that we are plagued by a disease called "festivalities aestatis" here in Germany; it's simply getting inflationary. But Devin/SYL can't stop them from happening and as long as these festivals actually happen, they can use them to their advantage.

Personally I don't care during what season Devy tours my country.

As long as he plays Heidelberg next time!

[EphelDuath666]

well, Festivals are a good thing even if the shows are short. I would have NEVER seen some of the bands that I saw live otherwise. And we seriously have TONS here. Probably at least 10 BIG festivals that only concentrate on Metal. It WOULD give SYL, for example, more exposure. I can't believe that there would only be 150 people infront of the stage and with the awesome sound they had at the With Full Force this year they could have kicked huge amounts of ass! I remember Devin played the WFF once in 2001 (I think) and who wasn't there? Meeee! Anyways. I personally think the countries with the most Devy fans right now are Canada (of course), the US and Australia probably.

well, Festivals are a good thing even if the shows are short. I would have NEVER seen some of the bands that I saw live otherwise.

Of course, in theory, a festival is a great idea: you come to see some bands you like, check out some interesting new ones, all relaxedly outside in the sunshine with a cold beer in hand. As said, that's the theory... in practice - well, in practice this didn't work back in Woodstock already.
What you get today is an overpriced, overcommercialised, awkward event that, in the best of cases, is a little fun when you're drunk enough. I HATE festivals. "Seeing" a band at a festival doesn't really count unless they're in a headlining spot: shortened setlists, daylight, no stage production, shitty sound... I could go on.

And on topic, France seems unusally strong to me (for a metal artist, that is), too.

[EphelDuath666]

well, at the WFF this year every band played at least 30 minutes and the sound was phenomenal. It sucked in the past years but this year the sound couldn't have been better. I think it always depends. I'm pretty satisfied with the WFF. I take everything I need with me and so the prices don't bother me either.

Hey Chris, got a problem with my nick?

Why should I? Your nick is about three times more metal than mine!










...which still is a harsh insult

Should I speak about the situation of Heavy Music here in Italy?

Naaah... Forget about it!

Metal stands strong in Poland, yet we're pretty conservative, with a fanbase severed into several groups supporting a certain genre/sub-genre/band...
Therefore, it's hard to please everyone, and there's not too many festivals to make different metalheads flock...
Still, the metalparties make up for that a bit. Morever, the bands that have already visited Poland know that they have dedicated fans over here, willing to go whacko on a concert, and not only there...

As for the SYL/Dev fanbase, it's small, humble, yet expanding rapidly

I've tried my best to spread the SYL gospel in Greece, don't know how succesful ive been as most metalheads here are pretty oldschool, even THO metal in greece is HUGE.

ive seen shows in 3 different continents, and i can say without bias that Greek metalheads are a hell of a crowd. sheer numbers alone... ive never seen a group NOT play an encore here. Iron maiden loves it, iced earth claims we're their favorite crowd, Cavalera comes back each year, Slayer show was nuts, Rob from Machine head announced in a show last year that "you guys are fucking out of ur minds, we're gonna play some cover songs for u". bah im just ranting and reminiscing on awesome shows now...

anyways, festivals ARE the way to go, and i PROMISE that Devy's scandinavian/power metal flavored brand of mayhem (more of those influences than say Pantera, imo at least) would be right at home in europe.

so COME TO EUROPE, DUDE!! (especially Greece)

A little OT, but...

Vesper: I totally LOVE Behemoth!! If I'm not wrong they're Polish, right? AWESOME band!!


Snaga: I'm a big Nile fan and their drummer, George Kollias is from Greece. He is a hell of a drummer, one of the best Death Metal drummers in the world IMO... He says the same things speaking of Greek crowds!!


Sorry for the OT!!

A little OT, but...

Vesper: I totally LOVE Behemoth!! If I'm not wrong they're Polish, right? AWESOME band!!


Snaga: I'm a big Nile fan and their drummer, George Kollias is from Greece. He is a hell of a drummer, one of the best Death Metal drummers in the world IMO... He says the same things speaking of Greek crowds!!


Sorry for the OT!!

LOL, a claim to fame now....
the website of George K. from Nile [http://georgekollias.com/] was created by one of my friends and quite a good guitarist (I think I pimped a link to his site earlier on )

Behemoth are .pl, for more info on metal bands and their origin you can always check the http://www.metal-archives.com
... and Snaga's nick makes me think of Druss the Legend, again

...and to be on topic... I think that SYL/Dev fans are also quite numerous in... lemme think... Burkina Faso

The Devy metaller population in the UK is kind of odd...I'm pretty sure there's a lot of us but it seems like a hell of a lot of them are just lazy and can't be bothered to get to the few shows he plays here. I'm pretty sure the fanbase here is growing though..and getting stronger and more determined too..definitely here in northampton! Anyway..yes..the festival circuit here is actually pretty shit! Reading and Leeds are just filled up with emo, pop punk and indie bands with random "big metal bands" thrown in in an attempt to keep us happy..and download...great line up..well, pretty good anyway..but it all seems to be executed in a farcical way! Just seems a waste of time (and an atrocious amount of money) to me...bring back the monsters of rock festivals! And get SYL/Dev on the line up!!! Every year!!! In fact..twice a year! Dagnammit!



I get the feeling that's not gonna happen...ah well, I can dream!

get him to go to the Bulldog Bash or something, that would rock!