Name: Deven
Location: Namur/Charleroi (Belgium)
Active since: 2003
How do you define your overall style?
All school hardcore!!! We have so many different influences... so, we try to mix them the best way we can.. when you listen to the demo, there are songs that are completely newschool with moshparts, some others are definitely old school & most of them mix the whole shit.. you know, we don't want to play a sound that's always sounding the same... So, we decided to mix it all & to qualify it as « All school hardcore »...
Whats your goal with this band?
We have no specific goal. We just want to play the music we love, to share our point of view, our values or our frustrations, but always if we're having fun in doing what we do. Our songs talk about friendship, disgusts and hopes for this world, staying true to ourselves,.. You know, the usual stuffs.. That's usual, but that means so much to us...
What do you have recorded so far?
«Demo 2004 » (unreleased, kept in a secret place for the good health of everyone, ahah! ), « Eat a pitbull and become a super hero » (2005), « Games Are Over » (2008).
Why did you choose to release "Games Are Over" by yourself?
We have no label & we're not especially looking for it... So we decided to make it DIY.. According to us, that's the first demo we recorded that reflects the sound we want to play... We are proud of that demo and want people to hear it.. That's why we share it in free download..
Any favorite songs off the album that really stand out for you?
If we had to choose, we'd say « Hardcore Family » & « All United As One ». We like the mass sing along on them, especially in the shows... But in each songs, there's a part we particularly like... So we may say that we stand out for all of them...
You’ve got a song called Hardcore Family. Do you think that such a feeling of unity is still present in the scene?
It can shock some people but : « Definitely, no we don't ». Nowadays, when you go to a show, there are always some fights. A crew against another crew, a band of brothers against another band of bros. We're young (average 22), we didn't live the true unity that you could see like 15 years ago (not even sure it truly existed..). So we can't talk about it... But nowadays, when you're in a show, all you can see is a competition between people.. « Hardcore Family » is not a song about the unity in the scene. It's about the unity between us, the unity with our friends, our families and few bands that became friends. Unity exists but not with everyone... and that's the same message in « All united as one ». The sing along is « Hardcore family united for party », we try to make people understand that they come to a show to have fun, not to find enemies... you know, it's a « party song », hehe. We feel so glad when people come to sing with us.. for few seconds, they're not there for violence but for fun..
Where are you guys from? How did the band get started? We began in March 2003. At the beginning, every members were from the area around Namur. We were 5 members: Thomas (vocals), Pierre and Olivier (guitars), Charles (bass) and Denis (drums). We were relatively young, the average age being 16 years old, and we didn't really know each others. We shared a similar ambition : a desire to create a powerful sound. So, Deven's story began. We had like 20 shows with this line up, played with bands such as Broken oath, Burning Skies, Arkangel, Surge of fury,... & recorded 2 demos (that are not in anyway what we're playing today). Then, in 2007, the group’s line-up is modified due to the drummer’s departure. Two Violent Thought members (from Charleroi's area) are integrated, bringing their influences at the same time: Julien as second vocalist and Kacem as the new drummer. Few months later, we recorded « Games Are Over ».
What are your primary musical influences?
uh.. seriously, we can't say.. Hardcore, for sure.. but we like so many type of music.. from true hardcore to punk/oi to thrashcore to new school to beatdown to metalcore to deathcore to metal to hip-hop... It depends of the members! If we should choose some bands, we'd say Agnostic front, Madball, Terror, Knuckledust, Sick of it all, Backfire!, Settle the score, Discipline, Warzone, Die...my demon, Shattered realm, Walls of jericho, CDC, Murder practice, Nasty, Blood for Blood, Broken oath, Ninebar, Pitboss 2000, Trash Talk, Extortion, Pushed too far, Surge of fury, Bun dem out, TRC, Six ft ditch, Parkway drive, All shall perish, As blood runs black, Waking the cadaver,.. So many different styles and so many other bands that influence us, we can't choose!
What do you reckon are the most exciting bands on the French hardcore scene?
We're belgian (hehe) (sorry guys, my mistake!! - Dloogi), so on the (active) belgian scene, we'd say Pushed too far, Nasty, Surge of fury, Deviate, The set-up, Reproach, True colors,... but check our friends from Dirty fingers, Truth in blood (side project of some Deven's members, hehe), Boxing crime, Glory goes down, The last shot of war,... For France we'd say: Danforth, Alea jacta est, None shall be saved, Kickback, Kill for peace, Providence, Tiger Joe, Back 2 Fist,...
What are the future plans for the band?
Just keeping it up and real! We're working on new songs... Not really sure when we're going to record them and what we're going to do with them.. maybe a split cd or another mcd.. who knows, maybe a full lenght later!... We just can wait to finish the set, then we'll make more shows and look for shows in farthest place..
Deven at myspace
