DevilDriver Latest News

Roadrunner Artists Locking Down Festival Shows!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:13:00 GMT

The spring and summer are when major rock and metal festivals can be found all across America and Europe, and some of Roadrunner's biggest artists are going to be playing them! We've already told you that Slipknot will be headlining the 2012 Mayhem Festival tour, and now two more major shows - one in the US and one in the UK - have been announced as well!

From May 18-20, the Rock on the Range festival will take over Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and among the bands on the bill will be Megadeth, Trivium, Rob Zombie and Black Stone Cherry.

The following month, from June 8-10, the Download Festival will be held in Donington Park in England, and the bill there will include Megadeth, Trivium, Machine Head and DevilDriver.

Start making your travel plans now!

Check Out Roadrunner's Weekly Rock And Metal Playlists On Spotify!

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:56:00 GMT

We've put together two dynamic playlists on Spotify - Roadrunner's Week in Metal and Roadrunner's Week in Rock - and we'd love it if you'd check them out! Each week, a few tracks rotate out, and a few new ones rotate in. This week on the metal playlist, we're focusing on bands that are currently on the road - Machine Head, Megadeth, Trivium and DevilDriver - plus tracks by Korn, Nightwish and more. On the Rock playlist, we've added new tracks by Nickelback, Black Stone Cherry, Theory of a Deadman, The Parlor Mob and more!

Roadrunner's Week in Metal

Roadrunner's Week in Rock

EXCLUSIVE: The Killing Road - A History Of Megadeth's Opening Acts

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:00:00 GMT

Back in the day, back when a Big 4 show was nothing but a fanboy's dream, three of the most important thrash metal bands of all time teamed up for a monumental tour called Clash of the Titans. The US version of the trek featured Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax as rotating co-headliners, playing huge venues across America in 1991, still part of the Rust in Peace era to Megadeth fans.

In interviews at the time, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine was often asked which band he thought benefitted the most from the tour. His response included three simple words: "Alice in Chains." Yes, when Death Angel reportedly had to turn down the opening slot, the Clash of the Titans organizers turned to a then-little-known Seattle band who had a tough time warming up the thrash-friendly crowds.

Alice in Chains weren't the only band to go on to massive heights of fame and fortune after supporting the world's "state of the art speed metal band," as Megadeth was often billed. Stone Temple Pilots found themselves in the same position in 1993. A few years before their gold-selling Obsolete, in 1995, Fear Factory joined a Megadeth bill that also included a new band called Korn. From Coal Chamber to Machine Head, the list of Roadrunner luminaries alone who've supported Megadeth is astounding.

With the 2012 edition of the Mustaine-curated Gigantour rolling out January 26 with a badass undercard consisting of Motörhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil, we're taking a look back down "The Killing Road" at some of the coolest 'Deth openers from within our own catalog.

KORN (1995)
FEAR FACTORY (1995, 2005)
Megadeth's "Reckoning Day 1995" lineup: Korn, Flotsam and Jetsam, Fear Factory. Yes, as Megadeth toured supporting Youthanasia, they assembled a package that began with Fear Factory, who were promoting the groundbreaking Demanufacture. They were preceded by Flotsam and Jetsam, the Arizona thrashers best remembered as the band Jason Newsted played in before Metallica. And first up, there was Korn, who had somehow managed to combine Faith No More, broken childhoods and Bakersfield, California with who knows what else, creating a brand-new sound that changed heavy music both artistically and commercially for years to come. Jonathan Davis broke out his now-signature bagpipes during that tour.

"At the time, no one knew where to put us, so we were doing tours with KMFDM to Megadeth [to] Pennywise," Davis told Explore Music in an interview last year. Fear Factory came back to join Megadeth on the first ever Gigantour a decade later.

COAL CHAMBER (1997)
LIFE OF AGONY (1997, 2005)
DEVILDRIVER (2007)
During the glory years of nu-metal, Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares helped make the Roadrunner A&R team aware of the L.A. band Coal Chamber, who released their eponymous debut in February, 1997. About a year later, Coal Chamber went on tour with Megadeth, who were supporting Cryptic Writings, which had spawned the rock radio hit "Trust."

Coal Chamber's first album, one of the definitive releases of the nu-metal subgenre, eventually went gold in the United States. Years later, following subsequent Coal Chamber albums that further explored the band's darkly Gothic undertones, frontman Dez Fafara returned to Roadrunner with the ferocious extreme metal band DevilDriver, who toured supporting Megadeth as well.

"I've had the pleasure of touring with Megadeth a few times in my career,” recalls Fafara. “I must say that in my case, both bands were treated with kindness and respect and taken care of well. But here is something you don't expect from one of the biggest rock stars of our time. On the second night [of Megadeth/Coal Chamber], as I was walking in the building, I slipped on some ice. At first I tried to laugh it off, but as I stood up, I realized that something bad had happened to my ankle: it was horribly twisted.

"It wasn't broken, but it was not good and it was swelling fast. I hobbled backstage to ice it and was doing so for an hour before the show. A half hour before Coal Chamber took the stage, in walks Dave Mustaine. He kneels down and says, 'I heard you messed up your ankle pretty bad. Let me look at it.'" Dez says that Mustaine "sent out for some holistic ointment" and 15 minutes later he was back, personally wrapping the astonished singer's ankle himself. "[Mustaine] told me to try and have a good show. His kindness that day meant the world to me and now, 13 years later, I'll never forget it! Thanks, Dave, for being a brother."

Life of Agony opened the tour that featured Coal Chamber, and rejoined Megadeth in 2005 on the first Gigantour.

DREAM THEATER (2005)
Dream Theater also played the inaugural Gigantour in 2005, which featured Anthrax (on a separate leg), Fear Factory, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore, two members of whom were in Sanctuary, whose debut album was produced by Mustaine back in the day.

Shawn Drover, who took over drum duties in Megadeth in 2004, continues to feel a strong personal connection to his current labelmates. "I have a lot of great memories from all the Gigantour tours Megadeth have done and having my friends in Dream Theater on G1 is certainly one of them. Progressive metal is something I really enjoy, as the level of musicianship—and certainly in the case of Dream Theater—is very high. To be able to pull off live what they have recorded over the years is something I marvel at, for sure."

Dream Theater’s then-drummer, Mike Portnoy, joined Megadeth onstage on September 3, 2005 at the Toronto Gigantour stop. He got behind the kit for "Peace Sells...," with Shawn switching to guitar. As revealed on the subsequent Gigantour DVD, Portnoy dumped baby powder on the snare before he left the stage. As soon as Drover started playing "Holy Wars...," the powder blew all over his face.

"Great band, great guys, end of story," Drover says.

OPETH (2006)
Dave Mustaine and Mikael Åkerfeldt certainly have a lot in common. They both sing, they both play guitar, they've both fronted monumentally game-changing metal bands and they have both navigated lineup changes and changing times while maintaining a vision as creative bandleaders that has ensured each man's musical legacy. The pair finally shared a touring bill together in 2006, when Opeth took part in the second Gigantour alongside Lamb of God, Arch Enemy and Overkill.

SOULFLY (2006)
Max Cavalera is a heavy metal legend in his own right, from the noisy thrash of early Sepultura to the landmark Arise album, the hugely influential Chaos AD, the hugely influential all over again Roots and continuing through to his eight albums fronting Soulfly along with all of his other projects. Despite his own iconic status, he still counts Megadeth as a major inspiration to him.

"I still love the classics like Megadeth, Slayer and all those bands that are still playing now with kick-ass shit after twenty or thirty years," he told MetalSucks.net last year. "That's awesome that those bands are still playing. It makes me really proud and makes me want to continue playing because it's an inspiration that those bands are still going."

Also, did you know David Ellefson played bass on nearly half of Soulfly’s 2004 album, Prophecy? He was still a few years away from rejoining Megadeth, though, when Soulfly were added to the Australian edition of Gigantour in 2006.

MACHINE HEAD (2007, 2009, 2011)
Bay Area metal warriors Machine Head have toured with Megadeth on several occasions, including as direct support on Megadeth/Slayer, on the 2011 Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour, and when both supported Heaven & Hell, aka Black Sabbath with the late Ronnie James Dio.

In 2009, speaking about The Blackening touring cycle, Machine Head's Robb Flynn told About.com: "We got to tour with a lot of our idols. We did Slayer and Megadeth, we did six months with Metallica... There were some huge moments for us."

Shawn Drover is quite fond of Flynn and his crew as well, calling them "definitely one of my favorite heavy metal bands of today."

"We have played a ton of shows with Machine Head since 2007, which was great for me as I am friends with all those dudes," Drover says. "One of the great things about Machine Head is that they completely have their own sound. I have not heard one band that sounds like they do, which in this day and age, seems rare. They are a very consistent live band as well."

Gigantour 2012 kicks off this Thursday, January 26; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Video: DevilDriver's Jeff Kendrick And Mike Spreitzer At NAMM

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

DevilDriver guitarists Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer, who together run the guitar website AllAxess.com, appeared at a NAMM clinic sponsored by Korg this weekend where they performed and took questions from the audience. The video below was shot by Andrew Bansal of MetalAssault.com.

DevilDriver will launch their 2012 North American tour, with support from The Faceless, Dying Fetus, Job for a Cowboy, 3 Inches of Blood, Impending Doom and Wretched, on March 15; visit our tour page to find a show near you!

Roadrunner Musicians Appearing At NAMM 2012

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:00:00 GMT

NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, is having its annual convention this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, and members of DevilDriver, Korn, Megadeth and Soulfly will be appearing there this weekend.

Michael Spreitzer and Jeff Kendrick of DevilDriver will be performing for Blackstar Amplification on Friday, January 20 from 4:30 - 5 PM. The event will be held at the KORG performance stage located at booth #6440 in Hall A.

Korn drummer Ray Luzier will be signing at the Pro-Mark Drumsticks booth at 3 PM, and at the Remo Drumheads booth at 4:30 PM on Friday, January 20, and at 1 PM at the Prentice Practice Pads booth on Saturday, January 21. Also, look for Ray demoing new cymbals and drums at the Sabian, Pearl and DW booths Friday and Saturday and a signing at the Sticks and Skins booth (to be announced).

Three members of Megadeth will be appearing at NAMM: bassist David Ellefson will be signing throughout the day on Friday and Saturday, on the following schedule:

11 AM - Pocketlab Works (in the Apps Pavilion booth E5)
12-1 PM - Hartke (at the Samson Booth)
2-3 PM - SIT Strings Booth
3-4 PM - EMG Booth w/Tony Campos of Soulfly

Saturday January 21
11-11:45 AM - Planet Waves (at the D’Addario Booth)
12-12:45 PM - Hartke (at the Samson Booth)
1-2 PM - Jackson Guitars with Chris Broderick (at the Fender/Jackson Booth)

Shawn Drover Signing Schedule:
Saturday January 21
11:30 AM - 12 PM - Gibraltar Hardware
12-1 PM - ddrum
1-1:30 PM - Toca
5-6 PM - Promark/Evans

Visit namm.org for more information!

Check Out Roadrunner's Weekly Metal And Rock Playlists On Spotify!

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:26:00 GMT

We've put together two dynamic playlists on Spotify - Roadrunner's Week in Metal and Roadrunner's Week in Rock - and we'd love it if you'd check them out! Each week, a few tracks rotate out, and a few new ones rotate in. This week on the metal playlist, we're focusing on bands that are currently on the road or will be soon - Machine Head, Megadeth, Trivium and DevilDriver - plus tracks by Korn, Nightwish and more. On the Rock playlist, we've added new tracks by Nickelback, Black Stone Cherry, Theory of a Deadman, The Parlor Mob and more!

Roadrunner's Week in Metal

Roadrunner's Week in Rock

Soulfly's New Album Cover, Lineup Revealed!

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Soulfly's new album, Enslaved, will be released March 13, 2012. The cover, designed by Marcelo Vasco, is above. The band's lineup now includes bassist Tony Campos, formerly of Static-X, and drummer David Kinkade, formerly of Borknagar, alongside frontman Max Cavalera and guitarist Marc Rizzo. You can see a photo of the new lineup below.

As is customary with Soulfly, the band will introduce some new and unexpected elements into the mix, including a guest violinist. Soulfly also collaborates with two metal veterans on the new record: Dez Fafara of DevilDriver and Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation. Ryan said it was "an honor to receive a call from someone you had pictures of on your wall as a kid."

Here's a clip of the band talking about the new lineup and recording Enslaved:

Enslaved is now available for pre-order in our webstore; click here to get it!

DevilDriver's Mike Spreitzer And Jeff Kendrick Interviewed By RockNLive.com!

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:42:00 GMT

DevilDriver guitarists Mike Spreitzer and Jeff Kendrick were interviewed by RockNLive.com when the band was on its recent European tour, supporting Machine Head. They talk about how each man joined the group, why they changed the band's name early on, and much more, so...here's the clip!

DevilDriver's Beast is in stores now; click here to get it!

Happy Holidays From Roadrunner Records And DevilDriver

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Happy Holidays! We've gathered some of your favorite Roadrunner artists and asked them to extend season's greetings to fans, and they were happy to oblige. Today, we've got a special message from Jeff Kendrick and John Boecklin of DevilDriver!

DevilDriver's latest album, Beast, is in stores now. Click here to get your copy!

Video: DevilDriver's Dez Fafara Interviewed By FaceCulture

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:09:00 GMT

The Dutch show FaceCulture frequently engages musicians in serious, in-depth interviews that cover much more than "So, how's the tour going?" and "Tell us about your new album." Their latest subject is DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara, and the host's conversation with him can be seen in three parts below.

In this first clip, they start out talking about Dez's recent interest in yoga and how it impacts performance, as well as the virtues of discipline and routine:

In this second clip, he discusses the possibility of a short sabbatical in 2012, and reveals some personal tragedies and hardships that occurred this year while the band was on the road, but also offers some clues as to what the next DevilDriver album might sound like:

In the final installment, he discusses his and the band's writing process:

Video: DevilDriver's Dez Fafara Talks Records

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:30:00 GMT

DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara talks records in this intriguing interview from All The Rage TV. He talks about the first album he ever bought (Kiss's Alive), picks his favorite bands and albums from the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, nominates members for an ultimate fantasy supergroup, and more. It's an atypical conversation, and well worth checking out.

Here's the video:

Rock Out Loud Compilation Now Available Exclusively At FYE!

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:18:00 GMT

Roadrunner Records presents the brand-new compilation Rock Out Loud, jammed with new and classic tracks by 10 of our heaviest artists. The CD is available for just $7.99, exclusively at FYE stores.

Here's the track listing:

Stone Sour – "The Pessimist"
Megadeth – "Public Enemy No. 1"
Korn featuring Skrillex – "Get Up!"
Trivium – "In Waves"
Dream Theater – "On the Backs of Angels"
Machine Head – "Locust"
Opeth – "The Devil’s Orchard"
Type O Negative – "Christian Woman"
Times Of Grace – "Willing"
DevilDriver – "You Make Me Sick"

To find your local FYE store, click here.

Video: DevilDriver's Dez Fafara Interviewed In Portugal

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara was interviewed by Riff-Mag.com when the band played the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon with Machine Head. In the clip, he talks about the real-life inspirations for the band's latest album Beast, their creative evolution, their writing methods and much more. Check it out!

DevilDriver Interview at "Coliseu dos Recreios", Lisbon, Portugal from Riff-Mag on Vimeo.

Video: DevilDriver's John Boecklin And Jeff Kendrick Interviewed In Austria

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:03:00 GMT

DevilDriver drummer John Boecklin and guitarist Jeff Kendrick were interviewed by Freethinkers' Blog when the band played in Vienna, Austria on November 12. The conversation can be seen below. They discuss the recent departure of founding bassist Jonathan Miller, the band's future plans, and the website AllAxess.com, which was founded by Kendrick and DevilDriver's other guitarist, Mike Spreitzer, as a forum and information source for players.

Check it out below!

Video: DevilDriver's Mike Spreitzer Interviewed In Italy

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:15:00 GMT

DevilDriver guitarist Mike Spreitzer was interviewed by Vivien from the Italian show Linea Rock when the band was on tour in that country, opening for Machine Head. He discusses the band's latest CD Beast, reveals what happened with departed bassist Jonathan Miller, and much more. It's a pretty detailed discussion of the creative and recording process behind Beast, and the whole 18-minute thing is worth your time.

Check out the video below:

DevilDriver's Photos From German Tour On Metal Hammer Website

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:30:00 GMT

DevilDriver recently played in Germany with Machine Head, and they shared some backstage and tour-bus photos with the readers of Metal Hammer, posting a gallery on the magazine's website. Head over there to check out members of both bands hanging backstage, crew members passed out on the bus, and photos of Germany! (Warning: text in German.)

DevilDriver Guitarists' AllAxess.com Site Hosting Killer Contest!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:30:00 GMT

AllAxess.com, the website launched by DevilDriver guitarists Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer, has re-launched with a contest that will have all guitar nerds and fans drooling! The contest includes three levels of prizes. The first prize offers guitar lessons with both players and some killer gear, along with a stash of CDs and DVDS courtesy of Roadrunner Records, ranging from Trivium to Opeth to Slipknot.

The second prize consists of guitar lessons, gear and another stash of albums that any self-respecting hard rock fans would need/want to own.

The third prize includes guitar lessons and a copy of the special edition of Trivium's latest, In Waves.

What do you need to do to enter to win all this killer loot? Just go to the AllAxess Facebook page, click the "Like" button, fill out some details and voila! You are entered to win! Do it now. You won't regret it!

And while you are at it, bookmark AllAxess.com and enjoy all the fresh and educational content being supplied on a daily basis!

Photos: Machine Head Live In Oslo - Straight From Robb Flynn!

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:20:00 GMT

When we arrived at the office this morning, an awesome surprise was waiting in our email inbox - photos and video from Machine Head's 11/1 concert in Oslo, Norway, the first show of their European tour...sent to us by Robb Flynn himself!

Here's a link to the photo gallery...

And here's a short clip of the intro to the band's set, shot from the audience. Yeah, they play kinda loud.

You can find the rest of Machine Head's European dates (with DevilDriver supporting) on our tour page, in case you're gonna be over there this month.

Watch DevilDriver's John Boecklin Play "Dead To Rights"

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:47:00 GMT

DevilDriver performed at the Regency Center in San Francisco, CA on September 26, as part of their just-completed tour with Arch Enemy, Skeletonwitch and Chthonic. (You can see a gallery of photos from the New York stop of the tour right here.) The video below is drum-cam footage of John Boecklin, driving (no pun intended) the band through "Dead to Rights," from their latest album Beast.

Video: DevilDriver's Dez Fafara Interviewed In Colorado

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:19:00 GMT

DevilDriver's North American tour with Arch Enemy, Skeletonwitch and Chthonic winds down tomorrow in Chicago, but when the show hit Colorado on Saturday, frontman Dez Fafara sat down with local interviewer Groovey for a discussion of how the tour in general was going, the band's current album Beast, and much more. Check out the video below: