Source: http://
www.devildriver.com/
homelow.html
"DevilDriver" is the name witches
give to the bells they use to drive
away evil when casting their
spells. But the DevilDriver we
speak of is a band.
DevilDriver is not Dez Fafara's
first band. In fact, the singer has
been toiling in the trenches of
the music industry since 1994,
having sold well over a million
albums worldwide, having
appeared on nine soundtracks,
and having spent countless years
on the road playing hundreds of
shows.
With DevilDriver, Fafara feels he
has reached the point of sonic
nirvana, where DevilDriver is the
be-all, end-all. With its self-titled
debut, DevilDriver exudes
abrasive, formidable heavy metal
from every pore, culling
influence from the blackest of
black metal, the deadliest of
death metal, as well as the
classic heavy metal cannon. Dez
Fafara has always stood for
heavy music and when others
around him would not stand
with him, he chose to stand
alone. So, it's time for heavy
music (and Fafara's) fans to
focus on the here, on the now,
and on the no-holds-barred
DevilDriver.
DevilDriver, rounded out by
guitarists Evan and Jeff, bassist
John, and drummer Johnny B,
was conceived in 2001, during
the recording process of Dark
Days, the third album by Fafara's
other project, Coal Chamber.
Fafara had wanted to add girth
and heft to his musical output
for quite some time. He had
been contemplating moving in a
fresher, more metallic direction
when DevilDriver finally came to
fruition. “I decided to make a life
choice and a musical choice, and
that choice was to get heavier
and to follow my path more
closely with heavy music,” admits
a candid Fafara, who beams over
DevilDriver like a father over his
newborn spawn.
“ I was eating breakfast at a joint
here in the small town in
California where I live,” recalls
Fafara. “And a guitar player left
me a napkin and it read, 'I hear
you are in town, and if you want
to jam, call me.'” Fafara
eventually called Evan and the
guitarist went to his house, and
the pair eventually became good
friends. “We both knew we
wanted to do heavy music, and
wanted to do something cutting
edge, and something that wasn't
happening now. We wanted to
go in a different direction than
everyone else.” The rest of
DevilDriver was assembled in an
organic fashion: stolen from
other bands around town.
Things clicked, and the band, in
its embryonic state, spent about
a year hanging out and getting
to know each other. Fafara knew
in his mind and heart that once
he finished touring with his other
band, he would come off the
road and dedicate his energy
and mind to DevilDriver full-
bore. “ My heart was going black
in my previous band and I
needed a musical and emotional
change,” Fafara continues. “I
had to follow my own love and
passion, and that's brutal,
extreme music, that doesn't play
itself out to be on the radio or
to fit in someone else's scene.”
DevilDriver is twelve songs
strong, and was recorded at two
different studios with two
different producers. The drums
and main guitars were recorded
with Ross Hogarth at Rumbo,
where a little album called
Appetite For Destruction was
done. The vocals, overdubs, and
bass tracks were recorded with
Dan Certa at Castle Oaks. It was
a positive experience for all
involved, and Fafara says, “It was
gratifying to work with a bunch
of wonderful musicians that
wanted to do their jobs, where
business came before playtime.”
Fafara even goes as far as to
deem the recording experience
as “heartwarming,” since
DevilDriver is a cohesive unit,
where all the members were
present during recording and
functioning as a team.
Fafara admits that black, death,
and classic heavy metal
influences have reared their
heads on DevilDriver, and
compares his players to no one
that he has ever heard. In
essence, DevilDriver has formed
its own style of rage, darkness,
and fury. Songs like “Die (And
Die Now),” “I Could Care Less,”
and ”Nothing's Wrong?” could
fuel a large nation's army.
Fafara admits to changing
directions with his lyrical
perspective. He says. “All the
songs on the album are like the
story of Faust, who sold his soul
to the devil. I sold mine for my
musical life. I write along those
lines.” “Cry For Me Sky”
addresses Fafara's take on his
own funeral eulogy. “Out of all
the songs I've written in my
lifetime, this would be my eulogy
song,” while “Nothing's Wrong?”
is DevilDriver's take on “doing
what thou will.” Fafara says “I
Could Care Less” is about
despising people's grandiose and
pompous ways. The corrosive
“Die (And Die Now),” which is so
brutal that you can just see
blood, guts, carnage, and flesh
hanging from its jaw, is dedicated
to the emotion of wishing
someone was dead. “Everyone
has that one person in their life
that they wish was gone from
the planet,” says Fafara. “This is
my song about that one person.”
There is a lyrical turn of phrase
that says, “This is the last great
hate song / So die / And die
now.” Clearly, DevilDriver isn't
masking its emotions or its
intentions.
“ We wanted to avoid everything
going on the States,” Fafara
reiterates. “Do we have a hit
radio song? We don't pander to
what radio wants. We want to
have a hit record for fans of
heavy music. If a song is taken
out and becomes successful,
okay, great. If not, my middle
finger is bigger than ever and I'll
stay on tour for another two
years!” Touring is where
DevilDriver fully expects to bring
its malicious metal to the masses.
The band will be baptized into
touring life on the exceptionally
hard 'n heavy “The Blackest Of
The Black Tour,” featuring
Morbid Angel, Superjoint Ritual,
and Danzig.
DevilDriver just wants its music to
be heard. The band just wants to
get on stage and kill it every
night. “This band will tour until
the wheels come loose,” Fafara
says.
Based on what we've seen from
Dez Fafara in the past, and what
he has assembled now, expect
an explosion of massive
consequence with DevilDriver.
The band comes out of the gates
with its fangs bared, ready to
unleash its musical ferocity on
the heavy metal world. Don't say
we didn't warn you. So either
join the DevilDriver party now, or
brace yourself in a fetal position,
because DevilDriver is coming
and you won't be able to hide
from the fallout generated by its
self-titled debut.
.jpg)
