Fafara ‘in love’ with DevilDriver’s next album

DevilDriver mainman Dez Fafara says he’s “in love” with the 12 tracks he’s written for the band’s next album.

It’s expected early next year after he completes duties related to Coal Chamber’s comeback Rivals, out next month.

Fafara tells The Rockpit: “In sitting on 12 blistering songs and I’m recording those in October, November. Sometime next year I’m going to get right back in a DevilDriver cycle.”

The band took some time off following 2013 album Winter Kills, and since then they’ve replaced guitarist Jeff Kendrick and drummer Jon Boecklin with Neal Tiemann and Austin D’Amond.

Fafara says: “Over 12 years we put out six records and we never really took time off. It became clear to me, ‘I need at least nine months off just to hang out with my family,’

“When that happened, Coal Chamber said, ‘Why don’t we do the record in that time?’ I don’t want DevilDriver sitting around too long – but we definitely needed to take a break.”

He says of Rivals: “The songwriting was very mature, the arrangements very mature – everything was incredible, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to be part of this.

“It’s got a very fresh feel, which is exactly what Coal Chamber was when we first came out. None of us wanted to be part of anything nostalgic. We’re moving on and creating a brand new sound for ourselves.”

Coal Chamber tour the UK later this month with The Defiled, Soil and Dope:

May 20: Leeds Stylus

May 21: Norwich LCR

May 22: Warwick Copper Rooms

May 23: Nottingham Rock City

May 24: Glasgow ABC

May 26: Bristol Motion

May 27: Exeter Lemon Grove

May 28: Brighton Concorde 2

May 29: Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall

May 30: Manchester Ritz

May 31: London Koko

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.