CLOUDS OVER CALIFORNIA BY DEVILDRIVER

NEARLY TWO DECADES on from their formation in Santa Barbara, California, Devildriver are firmly established as a permanent fixture in the metal world. One of the most legendarily hard-working bands in the business, Dez Fafara and his comrades won people over the old-school way: by touring relentlessly and making new albums at every opportunity. The first two Devildriver albums – 2003’s eponymous debut and 2005’s – had aggressively established the band’s trademark blend of brutal grooves and dark, melodic hooks, but it was their third – – that truly sealed their reputation as modern metal heavyweights. Released in the summer of 2007, it was an incendiary eruption of rage and riffs, replete with several instant classics. From the outside, it looked as though Devildriver were hitting a new level of potency. But according to Dez, things were not running entirely smoothly behind the scenes.