We’ve interviewed a great many band members at Devolution but never until now have we spoken to beings from another world. Stranded on Earth and hiding in plain sight as a metal band are Sick N Beautiful. Gary Trueman sat down a little nervously with Big D and alien hybrid Herma to discuss music as a universal language and why Japan is a place the band really want to visit.
This is the first time Devolution has done an intergalactic interview so welcome to Earth. Can you tell us a little bit about where you’re from?
Herma: “We are from Archeron and it’s very far from here. We came here due to an accident. I was abducted and am the only one of the band with terran origins. We are enjoying this planet very much.”
What attracted you to Earth, apart from the fact you’re a hybrid?
Herma: “We are enjoying the food. We love sushi, of course.”
Big D “It depends on which one of us you ask. If you asked Evey our drummer she would say human blood. Mainly we were attracted by gravity because we crash landed. We crashed in the vicinity of Rome in Italy so that’s where our current base is. We can fly to places like the UK with a spaceship with a broken hyperdrive.”
How did you all come to know each other?
Big D: “The main part of the crew already knew each other from out intergalactic travelling. We crash landed and lost our original pilot. So we took some of her organs and abducted this beautiful human and put the parts that we needed with her and made a hybrid. We put her together and people seem to like the result.”
So is your music that you play now that people enjoy here on Earth, is it the same as what you would play elsewhere?
Big D: “The radio waves from your planet meant that we got all this great music, from Kiss and Alice Cooper and Lady Gaga.”
Herma: “We didn’t know what you enjoyed the most so we just put them all together.”
So your music is a hybrid like Herma?
Herma: “Yeah.”
You have a new album out.
Herma: “Yes. Element Of Sex is not released yet, it’s coming soon on June 29th. You can get it early as an exclusive release while we’re on tour in the UK. It’s our second full length album. We’re very proud of Element Of Sex.”
How has the tour gone so far?
Herma: “Very good so far. We are very excited to be visiting the UK for the first time. People are enjoying the shows and they love to have fun with us. That’s our aim, we want to engage with people and have fun. That’s the main idea of playing our music. The UK is responding really well to this. I love how people are reacting to the shows.”
Have you found that music fans in the UK differ to music fans elsewhere?
Big D: “Actually they don’t. That’s the beautiful thing, their reaction is pretty much universal. Especially when it comes to hard rock and metal where it’s just a huge family. Where ever you go it’s kinda the same with the black t-shirts with band logos. You don’t find that in any other kind of music, you don’t find that in pop or indie. It’s something that’s been going on for decades now and it’s still true to itself. It changes a little bit here and there but you can always see who is part of the family.”
You travel around in a spaceship with a broken hyperdrive. If you found a way to mend your hyperdrive would you leave planet Earth?
Herma: “That’s a hard question. I think we have a lot of things to discover here so now that we are here we might as well stay. We are discovering that this planet is wonderful and there are so many things that we are in love with, with people, and with food, and music. We are discovering very good music here. Maybe we wouldn’t leave so quickly. There are plenty of beautiful planets out there but why not stay here?”
Are there places on Earth as a band you’d like to play but haven’t yet?
Herma: “Oh I think Japan and the USA. I think Japan because their culture is just so interesting to us with Manga and sushi.”
There’s a bit of Japanese anime in Sick N Beautiful. What you do as a band there’s a very visual aspect to that. Do you think it’s important for any band these days no matter what sort of music they play, to put on a show and make an effort with their stage appearance?
Big D “Well honestly it depends. With us it’s something we didn’t plan it just came naturally for us to do, being that we are aliens. It just allows us to be who we are. It’s really up to each and every musician what they want to do. There are many great bands that are less theatrical than we are and still they play great. So everybody should really be what they want to be. I think an audience does get more involved if you put on some kind of show but that doesn’t necessarily mean costumes and make up. I think there should be a rapport and involvement. When you play a show you need to be able to give something that the fans cannot download, it has to be special.”
If the inter-galactic police came looking for Sick N Beautiful and you could pick a film world to hide in which one would you choose?
Herma: “It would be Aliens which is where Archeron comes from. Even though there are dangerous creatures we are too and that is our home.”
Interview and photos: Gary Trueman