Twinmusix got to speak to Dez from Devildriver about their upcoming tour and more.
TM - Hi, this is Amelia and Elizabeth from Twinmusix, and we are here with Dez from DevilDriver. Thank you for having this interview with us today. We appreciate it.
DZ - Thank you.
TM - What can fans expect from your Australian tour?
DZ - We are coming over there with Cradle of Filth, and it is going to be fantastic. We took this tour to the United States, and almost sold out every night. We will be opening, and Cradle of Filth will be closing. I think Dani Filth said it best, when he said, "We are the meat and potatoes, and they are the dessert". You are going to get a fantastic show from DevilDriver with some surprises. We haven't been down to Australia in a long time, so we are going to take the stage and give it 110%. I know Cradle of Filth will do the same. I love coming to Australia, it is one of my favourite places to go, so it is going to be a good time.
TM - What can fans expect from your setlist?
DZ - The songs that you want to hear, we will definitely play those. We will also play some of our newer songs and some songs we haven't played in a while.
TM - What is your favourite song to play live?
DZ - "Clouds Over California" because all three of my sons were in the video. I am from Cali, and it seems to be one of the songs that makes us who we are. That song is always cool to see live, especially when you are not from California, and you are singing the word California, it feels good.
TM - What can fans expect from your new album "Strike and Kill"?
DZ - Fans can expect 110%. DevilDriver is weird, we don't really fit in with the metal genre, we do our own thing and sound different from everybody else. We carry a groove, and not a lot of other bands have that. I think fans can expect a very powerful record. The record sat dormant for about a year before we decided to put it out. I have done over 150 interviews, and people are giving the album ten out of ten, a guy even asked me if he could give me fifteen out of ten. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised, this record is all killer, no Filler.
TM - What was your writing and recording process for "Strike and Kill"?
DZ - After eleven records, we have found our niche in the market. I said the guys don't look at the beginning records, don't look at the middle records, pull up our logo on your computer and write for the logo. Which means don't write what you want to write on your own. Write for what DevilDriver gives to fans, what they need and what they deserve to get, which is bludgeoning heavy metal.
TM - How did you come up with your Album cover for "Strike and Kill", and who designed it?
DZ - Nickas M from Monkeymouthart did our album cover. I wanted something punk-inspired. If you look at the record, it looks like it is from 1982 to 1985. There is a punk rock leather jacket. The buttons on the jacket are most of the song titles. There is another pin on the jacket, this is hahaha, it is to someone directly, and they know who they are. There is a lot of tongue and cheek in this record, and I think the artwork fits perfectly. I love the hyena, and I love how in the hyena pack the females Randy pack, and I tend to have a lot of that in my life. I have several businesses, and most of the people who work for me are females. You guys work more diligently and are smarter and more intelligent than males.
TM - How did you come up with your video for "Dig Your Own Grave"?
DZ - We filmed it at a ranch near my house, and I am a motorcycle driver, and I own three Harley-Davidsons. There are 100,000 of us worldwide, and you have to be a master mason to be in this group called the widows sons. We had them involved. This synopsis of the video is that one wrong move can have you digging your own grave, and don't cheat through life, be honest to yourself and other people, and you will be just fine otherwise, you will find yourself on the other side of the stick. At the end of the video, they showed Masonic Mercy to the guy, and they threw him a shovel and told him to dig his own grave. Once he has done that, they throw him some mercy and say ok get the f*** out of here. That is a very Masonic thing to do, so I wanted to show that.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs, what band would you choose, what song would you choose, and would it be in your style or their style?
DZ - I am a punk rock guy, and I would like Black Flag to do one of our songs. They can do any song they want, but I would really like them to do "I Could Care Less" in their style.
TM - If you could go back in a time machine and see any band live, who would you see?
DZ - The Doors, end of story. I would love to sit down and smoke a joint with Jim Morrison.
TM - Who was the first band or Artist you saw live, and can you tell us a story?
DZ - The first show that I went to was Bad Religion. I remember, it was frightening, you didn't know if cops were going to turn up or if a fight was going to break out, and the environment was right for violence in the punk rock scene back then. I ran with a group of kids who wore Doc Martens up to their knees and were ready to put the boot in at any given moment, and I remember that time with fondness in my life.
TM - Is there Anything else you want to say to your fans?
DZ - Thank you for a long career. I wouldn't be anywhere without all of you. I am humbled and appreciative; I wake up every morning with a thankful attitude. I hope I get thirty more years in the business. Let's see how far I can go, let's see if I can have fire and energy and still give it the way I did in my twenties.
I think " Strike and kill is one of the most powerful records I have been a part of play musically, vocally and lyrically, so I hope people love this record when it drops on July ten.
TM - Thank you for having this interview with us today. We appreciate it.
DZ - Thank you.
Order DevilDriver's new album STRIKE AND KILL here: