The Other — The Devils You Know
If The Other didn’t exist already, you’d have to invent them. Right now. Because what would life be like without the world’s weirdest horror punk band? We’d all be worse off, missing out not only on countless uncompromising rock songs, but first and foremost on a uniquely comprehensive audiovisual spectacle. The Other are set to unleash their latest album, The Devils You Know. And they have grown, in every respect!
A number of things have happened musically since the arrival of their most recent release, New Blood: along with vocalist Rod Usher, guitarist Sarge von Rock and drummer Doc Caligari, Viktor Sharp has joined the fold as a new band member. The man plays his bass with the precision of Swiss clockwork and is also an accomplished guitarist, songwriter and arranger. “Lots of ideas on the new album were spawned by him, which not only relieves but also supports Sarge’s and my creativity,” explains Rod Usher, who also claims that the head of his new colleague houses “the brain of a medieval executioner.” How very suitable for a band with The Other’s idiosyncratic attitude. Viktor Sharp also happened to be involved in the most unusual song on the new album: ‘Ewigkeit,’ a – wait for it! – real ballad! Usher: “The melody has been buzzing around in my head since We Are Who We Eat (2006), but there’s never been a good concept. Thanks to Viktor, we felt confident enough to go over the top for a change and come up with a really schmaltzy ballad. Kitsch as Kitsch can be.”
The Other go pop music? No way! The very idea is nipped in the bud in view of The Devils You Know’s familiarly gruff approach. Because as usual the band charge ahead, all holds barred, practically continuing the Misfits’ legacy and consistently evolving their classic punk rock sound with a singalong chorus and a sprinkling of metal influences in numbers such as ‘My Home Is My Casket,’ ‘Fright Night,’ ‘In My Veins,’ ‘Fire From Outer Space,’ ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ and the first radio single ‘Puppet On A String’. The Devils You Know combines the speed and singalong compatibility of punk, the tough riffs and aggression of metal and the atmosphere and attitude of 80s wave and death rock. Usher: “We have continued to grow over the years, allowing a range of different influences and giving our songs more atmosphere and complexity. At the same time, they have more power, perhaps even more than in our early days.” They owe this quality to a large extent to producer Waldemar Sorychta (Grip Inc., Tiamat, Moonspell), whose love of detail has impressed Usher in particular: “Waldemar has succeeded in getting more out of our songs and out of every single musician.”
And there’s another real sensation to be announced: after the band’s first comic book ´Tales From The Other` was published five years ago by a small horror publisher, the 40-page sequel ‘The Other – Der Fluch des Kultes’ (The Other – The Curse of the Cult) will be released at the same time as the new album on Panini, who produce not only football stickers and trading cards, but also Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Simpsons comics and comic adaptations of Stephen King novels. ´The Other – Der Fluch des Kultes` was drawn by Schwarwel, who has also worked for Die Ärzte. Movie icon Jörg Buttgereit (´Nekromantik`) wrote the preface to the turbulent story, in which Dr. Caligari brings the members of The Other back from the dead and has them conquer the world as rock stars. But a mysterious cult tries to stop them on their ascent to power. Usher: “There’s horror, sex, action and rock’n’roll – all the things that fans of The Other and comic books in general love.” In other words: ideal conditions to really shake up the world with the 14 powerful songs on The Devils You Know until the band’s 10th anniversary on Halloween 2012.
