Roll On

Ten years, five albums, two line-up changes and one of the most constant international touring schedules in the industry could be an apt way to summarise the life that DevilDriver have led so far. DevilDriver (2003), The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand (2005), The Last Kind Words (2007) and Pray For Villains (2009) were all executed like clockwork with the utmost professional ferocity, and showcased a steady evolution of the Californians' identifiable sound.

The release of Beast in February 2011 provided fresh hardwood to their ever-burning fire – did the band subsequently achieve all they set out to achieve throughout the remainder of the year?

“We did some grindy touring, our record came out in the Top 40 in the United States with very little press or radio, and we've been having a good time,” singer Dez Fafara quickly responds. “That's first and foremost for me – so yeah, we've achieved our goals. They're not too lofty, my bro – they're just to have a good time and keep rolling.”

Turns out there isn't exactly a great deal left for the band to conquer, and at this stage it's more about just keeping the giant metal boulder on a sustained path of destruction.

“Our recognition is there. You know who we are. The only way we're going to get bigger is to go and open for larger bands. What Beast did for us was put it out there that we could make a different sort of record. I think that's important, that there's evolution in our music. So we came to the table with something that I thought was heavy, technical and different. It's making its own statement.”

When asked about the dramas that life on the road has thrown them this year, Fafara is quick to say that he does not like to focus on the negatives. However, the mid-March hospitalisation of former Bury Your Dead member and touring bassist since 2010, Aaron 'Bubble' Patrick, seems a little too intense to not dig deeper. Diagnosed with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Patrick reportedly suffered adverse effects to his liver, kidneys, and even bone marrow.

“You're on the road, and stuff's going to happen. Aaron is probably one of the fittest guys you'll ever know. He's straight edge, he works out every day, he is a total health nut, but I think the constant running got to him and put him in the hospital for over two-and-a-half weeks with pneumonia. Between that and some other things, it got real critical, to where prayers were needed, you know.”

He reveals that Chris Towning, a current member of Bury Your Dead, is filling Patrick's place until he can make a full recovery.

“Aaron is at home. I don't want him back out on the road until he's 100%. He lost a lot of weight. I've got to know that he's 100% before he goes and does the sort of runs that we do. For instance, right now I'm on 22 shows in a row. You've gotta be mentally in a good place, and you've gotta be extremely healthy to go run like that.”

Further to that, guitarist Jeff Kendrick had his guitar stolen by a not-so-smooth criminal in the small town of Mojoes, Illinois, barely two weeks later.

“It got returned in two days because we put a lot of pressure on that town on Twitter and on Facebook,” he explains. “We got a picture of him on a video camera stealing it. So we put his picture all over the town, and the pressure just got to him, and he wrote an 'I'm sorry' note and turned it in. They're still going to prosecute, because it's a felony, it was an almost $3000 guitar, and it caused a lot of drama. Although I accept his apology, I still believe he needs to pay for what we went through. I don't like a liar or a thief.”

Fafara's generally positive outlook once again shines through.

“But you can't really dwell on the negatives, you have to move forward. In everybody's lives, things happen. Don't dwell on the negative and just roll.”

In terms of moving forward, a question about DevilDriver's next album reveals that the band have fulfilled their contractual obligations to Roadrunner Records. This may come as a surprise to some, given that Fafara has been operating within the legendary metal stable since his earlier days fronting gothic nu-metal pioneers Coal Chamber.

“We have moved on from Roadrunner Records. Will we re-sign with the different Roadrunner factions around the world? Who will it be? My personal favourite company is Roadrunner Australia. If I have it my way, within our deal, it'll be built in that we re-sign with Roadrunner Australia. We don't have any firm date on when we're going to release. Right now we're free agents. We're talking to record companies. As soon as we're done touring, we're going to come off in July and get all of that straight. We're going to get in with a label, then we're going to get in with a producer, and figure it out. But right now I have no time and no dates for you. We are yet to see. The business has to be done, and until the books are closed on the business I can't comment any further on that.”

The band have toured Australia several times; with their forthcoming return in addition to Coal Chamber's run of reunion shows for Soundwave this year, down under must be starting to feel like a second home for Fafara.

“I'm actually looking for a house – my wife wants me to start looking for a house,” he reveals. “It's going to be a side house, so it's going to be a house where we spend a limited amount of time, but it's definitely going to be in Australia. We just have to figure out where it's going to be and we'll try and work it into things.”

Asked to outlay the band's plans for the remainder of 2012, Fafara gives it out down to an exact date.

“We come over to Australia for eight days, and then we go over to do European festivals for six weeks, which will be the longest festival run of our career – all main stages, and all through Europe. Then on 7 July we come off the road for nine months, the first break we've had in ten years. The first break that I've had in almost 16 years.”

And what does he plan to do with that time?

“Lay in bed with my wife.”