Hamilton locals Devilskin have chance at awards show success

Hamilton rock bank Devilskin are riding the success of their platinum debut album with three nominations in the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.

Their 2014 album We Rise earned them nominations this month for Best Rock Album, Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Best Engineer (Clint Murphy).

“It was a proud moment to have our music recognised by the industry after many years of hard work,” said lead guitarist Nail Vincent.

The band, which also includes Jennie Skulander and father and son Paul and Nic Martin, was formed six years ago.

We Rise debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks. In the second week after its release it went gold and is now platinum. It’s gone on to become the highest selling NZ rock album in the past five years.

Vincent said he has been overwhelmed by the album’s reception.

“We’re still amazed at how many people know the words to the songs and sing them back to us,” he said.

“The one I enjoy playing the most live would be Violation. It kicks you in the face from the beginning to the end and is usually when the crowd is going its hardest.”

Creating the award-nominated album was a long process.

“The biggest hurdle we faced was choosing songs from our catalogue,” Vincent said

“The recording process was an awesome experience working alongside our producer Clint Murphy, he really brought out the best in all of us.”

We Rise is also set to be released in the UK in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, the band are working on new material. “It’s an exciting time and we are working on getting the content up,” Vincent said. “Watch this space.”

• The 50^th Vodafone NZ Music Awards are announced on November 19.