by Eduardo Rivadavia
Following the dissolution of Marilyn Manson/Korn-aping, nu-metal also-rans Coal Chamber, vocalist Dez Fafara hooked up with guitarists Evans Pitts and Jeffrey Kendrick, bassist Jon Miller, and drummer John Boecklin to form DevilDriver -- a rather more extreme band dedicated to the subsequent hardcore-meets-death metal trends. Signed to Roadrunner like Fafara's previous group, DevilDriver released their eponymous debut to mixed reviews in 2003, and then its even less appreciated follow-up, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand (where Pitts was replaced by Mike Spreitzer), a couple of years later. 2007 saw the release of Last Kind Words, again on Roadrunner. Regardless of public opinion, the band has toured relentlessly across the U.S. and Europe behind all three releases.