Doom-Merchants Desolate Pathway Take On Our 10 Questions Of Biblical Proportions

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Doom Metal merchants Desolate Pathway are cutting a swathe though the UK Doom Metal underground with their well received debut The Valley Of The King but how did the whole band fare when faced with our 10 Questions Of Biblical Proportions?

1. So….what are Desolate Pathway up to then?

SIMON STANTON (Vocals): “Writing and composing the 2nd album due out 2016 with a taster coming later this year in the form of a single with a special guest guitarist. Looking to get gigging on as many festivals next year as possible.”

JIM RUMSEY (Bass): “We are having a great time at the moment; settling Nuno into the band, just had a new photoshoot, still working on our second album and gigging as much as we can. It is very special to have such a creative and busy time and we are all a bit high with it, I think.”

2. Which album/artist/gig/experience made you first realise you ‘Worshipped’ Metal?

SIMON: “Growing up my older brother introduced me to metal through Iron Maiden, Metallica and leaving me with the taste and the want to explore!”

NUNO JB SILVA (Rhythm Guitar): “I think it would be Iron Maiden. Especially the gig they played on Rock In Rio III. That made me want to dig deeper into the realms of Metal and planted the bug for the desire of playing guitar someday.”

JIM: “The first Black Sabbath album and Judas Priest Live at Hammersmith in London, both made an enormous impression on me. I was never the same after.”

MAGS (Drums): “Black Sabbath’s self-titled album.”

VINCE HEMPSTEAD (Lead Guitar): “Iron Maiden, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son tour, late 1980s I won tickets and I didn’t think I would get in because I was underage. That gig changed my life.”

3. Name the one album that epitomises Heavy Metal over all others.

SIMON: “Number Of The Beast probably epitomises Heavy metal in my opinion, but in my collection, Appetite For Destruction has been the most played album I own and for me holds everything.”

MAGS: “This is a hard task as there are so many subgenres but twist my arm and I will stay with my roots and say Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath.”

JIM: “Well this is a very personal view but I would pick Paranoid by Black Sabbath OR Blackwater Park by Opeth. Realistically I suppose it would be Paranoid though.”

VINCE: “Metallica, Master of Puppets. I grew up on that album and for me it has everything.”

NUNO: “I would say Black Sabbath self-titled album. I think that album is the birth of Heavy Metal. Nothing that came after that.”

4. Which guilty pleasure album do you listen to the most? Be honest now.

SIMON: “I listen to Appetite [For Destruction] like all the time but as a guilty pleasure I really enjoy Rainbow, “Since You Been Gone” and Def Leppard, Hysteria”

NUNO: “To be honest I don’t have a guilty pleasure album nowadays. However I like latin music and I can say that I like the live shows from Rihanna but with Nuno Bettencourt on guitar. I think as well that Bruno Mars has talent and funkiness on his music.”

MAGS: “I don’t actually have any guilty pleasures but my most-listened-to off-genre album at the moment is Wardruna’s Runaljod – Yggdrasil.”

VINCE: “I love Phantom of the Opera. The music is passionate and powerful, telling a story while giving me influences in my own music.”

JIM: “Well… most probably Lamb Lies Down – Genesis. I love a bit of Prog.”

5. You have one opportunity to introduce your band to the entire world, which album from your back catalogue do you blast them away with?

SIMON: “‘Valley’ is our only completed album but if we could wait a bit then our new album is going to blow minds!!”

6. You find yourselves booked on a mammoth, 12 month, non stop, around the world tour, what 5 essential items do you take with you in order to survive?

SIMON:  1- Wife and kids as wouldn’t get away without taking them!! 2- Lucozade orange. 3- My earphones and Spotify. 4- Hayfever meds!! 5- Trifle.

JIM: “My Laptop – to keep in touch with my family, my phone, my Kindle, multi-vitamins and really stylish sunglasses, to pretend I am cool”

NUNO: “Recorder for any pumping guitar ideas, notebook to write some thoughts or lyrics, some gym dumbbells to workout, scarf from my favourite football team, some music player with lots of good albums to listen. And that’s it… cigars and Jack Daniels we could buy while on the road and probably cheaper :)”

MAGS: “Assuming you don’t mean equipment, clothing or toiletry items (otherwise this list would be different); laptop, phone, earplugs, eyeliner, perfume.”

VINCE: “Chocolate, phone charger, headphones, toilet roll (that I take to every gig) and tea bags.”

7. What’s been your most memorable experience on the road?

JIM: “It’s all a bit of a blur”

SIMON: “Vince chatting to a transsexual at the bar is a definite highlight. Other than that playing at the firehouse in Southampton was the greatest gig so far, great crowd and well received! Can’t wait for festivals this year and beyond!”

MAGS: “What goes on tour, stays on tour, right?”

VINCE: “Chatting to a transsexual.”

8. You’re given the chance to handpick the ultimate 4-piece Rock and Metal supergroup (living or deceased). Who’s in the line-up?

NUNO: “Drums: Vinnie Paul, Bass: Robert Trujillo, Vocals: Cedric Bixler-Zavala,
Guitars: Jimi Hendrix”

SIMON: “Slash on lead, Rick Allen on drums, Geezer on bass, Jimmy Page on rhythm, me on vocals! Couldn’t pass that one up!!”

MAGS: “Zbigniew Robert Promiński on drums, Geezer Butler on Bass, Jimi Hendrix on Guitar, Robert Lowe on Vocals.”

JIM: “Cliff Burton on Bass, Marco Minnemann on drums, Paul Gilbert on guitar and the amazing Ronnie James Dio on Vox. A bit of an eclectic mix but wouldn’t they be fun!”

VINCE: “Vocals: Dio, Guitar: Gary Moore, Bass: Geezer, Drums: John Bonham.”

9. Hard Rock and Heavy Metal is blatantly the greatest thing ever invented but what’s the second greatest invention of all time?

NUNO: “Football”

SIMON: “The shoe horn. Saves a lot of bending!!”

MAGS: “Beer. Seriously…I think it’s got to be electricity because without it we’d have no heavy metal, or much else really.”

VINCE: “Weekends. Who doesn’t love weekends.”

JIM: “The bass of course.”

10. It turns out Ozzy’s luscious long hair is imbued with time-travelling qualities and just one stroke of his lion’s mane can transport you back to any Rock/Metal gig of your choice. Who do you go and see?

NUNO: “When I first saw Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath it was for me like an accomplished milestone. Especially with Black Sabbath I never thought that I would ever have the chance to see them live. The impossible or almost impossible gigs that I would love to had the chance to attend are Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore and Deep Purple with the Jon Lord, Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore line up. Led Zeppellin at their peak would be something awesome to watch as well.”

JIM: “Hendrix at The Isle of Wight – no question, no competition.”

SIMON: “Back to Reading Festival of 2005, the last one I went to; Iron Maiden, Foo Fighters, Pixies and so much more!”

MAGS: “Even though there are tons of bands I would love to see, it would have to be be someone deceased who I’d never get chance to see again. Probably Type O Negative or Nirvana.”

VINCE: “Monsters of Rock 1988. With Iron Maiden, Kiss, Megadeth, GnR, Helloween. What a line up. I was too drunk the first time so this would be one to experience sober.”