Everyone has a pre-performance ritual, and members of metal band Devilskin are no exception.

Lead guitarist, Tony "Nail" Vincent, has a distinct method of 'finding his zen mode” according to the band's bassist, Paul Martin.

'Everyone takes a couple of minutes to find their zen. Nail usually finds his by ironing his stage clothes while listening to White Snake and drinking a Jack Daniel's,” says Paul.

'It's his total happy place. I sometimes go up with my ironing and go ‘hey bro, can you just do this while you're there? I'll make you another drink,'” Paul laughs.

The band is gearing up for a massive tour of the country, and making a stop in Mount Maunganui on April 15.

It's called "Let Me Breathe," a name coined by the band "as a sign of the times" according to Paul, as people just want to "get out and have fun" after a wild few years.

There's 13 stops on the entire tour, and Paul says Bay of Plenty crowds are always great to return to.

'We've got a great connection with the Bay of Plenty people. Mount Maunganui's stadium lounge is such an awesome venue, we're really looking forward to getting back there.”

It's been over 12 years since the band first came onto the scene, and Paul says he 'still gets butterflies” every time they're due to hit the stage.

'Once we get on stage, I can lock in with the drummer Nic. We always find our little groove, from then on its automatic.”

New songs are set to be played for the first time at the upcoming gigs. Paul says Devilskin has a 'huge backlog” of songs from over the years they 'totally believe in” and 'can't wait to play”.

New songs from the band's backlog are set to be played for the first time. Photo: Lisa Martin.

'For our last album we had about 30 songs in total, and had to choose 12. We've done this process for the past three or four albums, so we've got a lot in the vault we want to try out and play to a live audience.

'Recently we've been recording too, and we're pretty happy with a couple of the songs, so we're going to give them a good old road test.

'We're super excited about [the new material]. It's the kind of stuff which will grab people by the throat.”

During the writing process, Paul says there's no one formula.

'Sometimes Nic will come along with the guitar, bass and drums already done. Other times Nail will do the same. We usually do a Bookabach somewhere and move out all the furniture, and work on new material for a week somewhere where no one can find us.”

'It's a case of everyone adding in 25 per cent. Sometimes I'll come up with a riff and we jam to it until everyone's got a part. There's no trouble or stress, it's totally organic, and too easy.”

Paul says the band's jam sessions are where they come up with some of their best work.

'The very first jam we had we wrote Little Pills, Fade and Until You Bleed, which are still on our set list today.”

After releasing their debut album 'We Rise” in 2014, the band has racked up over 12 million YouTube views, and millions of plays on streaming services.

Before Devilskin, Paul Martin was a DJ on New Zealand rock music station, The Rock.

He has interviewed legendary bands such as Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne and Deftones.

Paul says through his career, he always been 'a big fanboy” of all things metal.

'I've got a mad guitar pick collection from lots of gigs I've been to. I'm the kind of person who's super passionate and waiting in the front row for a show to start.

'Getting to interview people like Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai and Pantera was amazing. I've been a musician longer than I was a DJ, but I'm still the metal fanboy and have always been.

'I'm lucky enough to be in a band after all these years doing what I enjoy with people I love. It's crazy to have been on both sides of it.”

Devilskin's 'Let Me Breathe” New Zealand tour is kicking off from April 14 to 29 July.

The band is touching down at Mount Maunganui's Trustpower Baypark Stadium Lounge on Saturday, April 15.

For more information and tickets to the upcoming Tauranga concert, visit the Eventfinda website.