DevilDriver release their beast of a fourth album, ‘Pray For Villains’ on 13th July. Produced by former Machine Head/Soulfly guitarist Logan Mader (Cavalera Conspiracy, Divine Heresy, Five Finger Death Punch), ‘Pray For Villains’ finds DevilDriver delivering something more technical, yet more straightforward than anything they’ve done in the past, with an additional emphasis on groove, dynamics and songcraft.
"For us, it's been a constant growth, musically," Dez explains. "Not only in terms of finding out how to write together, but in figuring out what a good Devildriver song is. This is the defining sound of what we are, and where we're going to go in the future. We decided not to go even more brutal, more heavy, more screamy, or faster than last time, because we've already proved we can do that," says Dez. "There's a lot more groove going on, a lot more dynamics. The guitar work is amazing - some of the solos absolutely blow me away - and the drumming is un-fucking-real. There's gonna be kids in their basements trying to learn this shit forever. Yet we also said, 'Let's not only bring groove into this, but let's bring hooks, and let's write better songs.' We didn't dial it down at all, but we wanted to add some substance to it, as well."
‘Pray For Villains’ is the culmination of that endless hard work and unconquerable self-belief. Having honed their powerful sound over the course of three previous albums - 2003's eponymous debut, 2005's The Fury of Our Maker's Hand and 2007's The Last Kind Words - and countless live dates (including their legendary Donington appearance in 2007, where the band's ferocious performance triggered what many believe to be the largest circle pit in history), the band is now operating at a higher level than ever before.
DevilDriver will be taking their monstrous machine on the road for the rest of 2009, and beyond. (The band's innate affinity for touring is reflected on the new tracks "I've Been Sober" and "Another Night In London.") "We need to travel," says Dez. "So we're booked from like now until Christmas; we're going all over the world and we're not coming home. Our schedule is so rigorous, it's unreal - sometimes even I don't know why I put myself through it - but I love the road. I love my family, but I can't sit home for more than two weeks," he laughs. "I think time for me at home is wasted right now. I'm still young enough to go out and do my thing. You have to love what you do," Dez concludes. "We love to play together as a band, we love to be onstage and we love to deliver our music to people live. We've always said that's been part of the mission - and if you're gonna talk it, you've gotta walk it."
