If you've ever heard a room full of people yelling "I hope your husband dies" in a some harmoniously sloppy, drunken unison, you've probably stumbled into an Amigo The Devil show. Danny Kiranos, better known to the masses as his musical counterpart Amigo The Devil, has been challenging the expectations of traditional folk, country music purists, and rock/extreme metal fans alike with his morbid, yet oddly romantic, take on folk that has amassed a dedicated and cult like fan-base. Despite being armed with only his vocals and a banjo/acoustic guitar, the live show is worlds away from what people expect of a folk show. Loaded with sing-alongs and an unsuspecting dose of humor to make otherwise grim topics accessible for fans of every genre, the songs remain deeply rooted in the tradition of story-telling that seems to be slipping away from the human condition.
"What started as an outlet for talking about uncomfortable realities, an exploration into the worst people and trying to find the humanity in them took a turn when I realized that the most dangerous threat to humans isn't violence itself or serial killers. It was something inside of us. It's the doubt and the depression it leaves us stranded in. Every experience is clearly different but all of a sudden, it felt like I was living in a well so deep that if I shouted up for help, it would be lost on the way up and never heard," commented says Amigo The Devil. "It's terrifying when it feels like you're alone down there and there isn't enough light to look around to realize how many people are there alongside you. For some reason, I refused to talk to my friends and family about it. It was shameful or irrelevant or any other excuse I can come up with to avoid bringing it up and when they would notice and ask, I caught myself repeatedly answering "everything is fine" or any variation of it in that moment. So this record was born. I started listening again, realizing it wasn't just me. I saw people around me falling into the well but as I started paying attention, I saw people climbing out of it too. These are the stories of leaving the burden behind, whatever that may be and hopefully, along with it the realization that carrying them for any period of time doesn't break us, but makes us stronger than we ever were."
Amigo The Devil's new album "Everything Is Fine" was produced by Ross Robinson (Korn, Glassjaw, At The Drive In) and features drummer Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Prophets of Rage) sitting in on the entire recording session. The album was recorded at Valentine Studios, a time capsule untouched since the 70's with all the original gear and atmosphere. Everything was recorded, mixed and mastered to tape to capture an absolute and pure brutal honesty.
"Ross Robinson allowed me to become and guided me towards being the best vessel I could be to filter these stories through," said Amigo. "We sat there and accepted what wanted to come through, what wanted to be heard. It was the first process of recording that ever made complete sense with absolutely no filter or veil to compensate for the sounds. It was absolute and pure brutal honesty, what I've been trying to achieve since the start of this thing. Brad Wilk added his pulse to it and it felt like together we had given life to these stories that otherwise are sounds and lyrics filling space. Everyone involved dove head first into a pool without water for this one and I'm unbelievably grateful to be in there with them."
Amigo The Devil has released a haunting teaser trailer for the new album "Everything Is Fine" online at https://youtu.be/9IiSLFHBb9Y. The album is currently available for pre-order online at https://www.shopbenchmark.com/regime/
The track list for Amigo The Devil's new album "Everything Is Fine" is as follows:
1- Cocaine and Abel
2 - If I'm Crazy
3 - You're Perfect Too
4 - Preacher Feature
5 - Hell and You
6 - I Hope Your Husband Dies
7 - Capture
8 - Hungover in Jonestown
9 - First Day of the End of My Life
10 - The Liars Club
11 - Everyone Gets Left Behind
12 - The Dreamer
13 - Release
14 - Edmund Temper
15 - Stronger Than Dead
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