DevilDriver

GUITARISTS NEIL TIEMANN AND MIKE SPREITZER DISCUSS THEIR LESS ”SHREDDY” APPROACH TO THEIR NEW DOUBLE ALBUM — AND WHY YOU NEED A 5150 IN YOUR ARSENAL

- Puneet Singh

IT’S BEEN FOUR years since Southern California groove metal stalwarts Devil Driver released their last record, Trust No One, an album that cemented the group as a pillar of the genre. Building on that momentum, 2018 found the band writing more than 30 tracks for its most ambitious project to date — a double album. Conceived by lead vocalist Dez Fafara, Dealing with Demons I & II discards the formulas of the past and elicits the band’s heaviest, most exploratory collection of riffs to date. Its lyrical themes prove prescient given the current pandemic, where humans find themselves separated from one another. Fittingly, the visceral lead single, “Keep Away from Me,” was released in May.