DevilDriver: Beyond The Veil

How often do we as fans get to lift the veil on how a band’s album is recorded? To really know the process and see it all unfold before our very eyes. Sure there are documentaries such as METALLICA’s Some Kind Of Monster (2004) and various Behind The Scenes…series on YouTube, but there is something very telling about having a band member sit in front of you and really explain things. Even the most mundane things become fascinating because you’re learning about how another creative mind works. You may not delve into the themes and meanings behind certain things but still come away saturated with knowledge.

This brings DEVILDRIVER’s Mike Spreitzer to a Distorted Sound Zoom meeting. Chatting the night before the release of Dealing With Demons Vol. II, Mike joins us from his home studio, or shall we say his second home? The guitarist-cum-sound engineer takes a moment to settle in his chair as he contemplates the multifaceted topic of what fans can expect from a new DEVILDRIVER album. “It’s been a bit of a cliffhanger for the band in terms of sitting on this record for so long,” Mike explains. The original plan was to release this record with its counterpart, 2020’s Dealing With Demons Vol. I either at the same time or up to a year afterwards. That was until our ol’ pal COVID made an appearance and broke up the party. “It’s not a good idea to release a record when you can’t go out and tour it,” Mike laughs, “but the new way of thinking was to just release this one [Vol. I] now and everyone’s just going to have to wait until things open up again and we can actually tour.”

A simple enough plan right? For a multitude of other bands, this is exactly how it panned out. However this wasn’t to be the case for DEVILDRIVER. Vocalist Dez Fafara would end up battling with long-COVID, leading the band to pull out of international appearances such as this year’s Bloodstock Festival. “I’m kinda happy we had to wait until a lot of the COVID protocols had been put to rest,” Mike quips as he tells us the story of when the band were readying themselves for the US tour just passed and encountering the “COVID-box” in amongst DEVILDRIVER and JINJER’s touring equipment in their lock up. “I remember looking at the tests and masks and being so happy we never had to deal with that shit on the road.” He muses.

“I like to compare this to Use Your Illusion I & II [GUNS N’ ROSES],” Mike comments on the project. “Sonically, they sound the same; they were recorded at the same time and we did things exactly the same. I don’t like the term ‘more of the same’ because it’s not.” From the ferocity of opening I Have No Pity from Vol. II, the sound may be your typical DEVILDRIVER but the vibe is most certainly not the same. There are no real flourishes within the guitar work. It’s a simple groove metal song. Whereas Mantra and Summoning will have DEVILDRIVER experiment with their sound and tempo, something Mike is very cautious of. “I like DEVILDRIVER records to have diversity,” he starts, motioning towards a whiteboard. “I’ll have this chart which has the working titles, tunings, and tempos right? Then I can see I have a lot of songs hovering around 130 BPM and some around 190 BPM – so I’ll set a click at 150 and write until I come up with something cool.” Having a creative process explained to us in ways which feel so simple is refreshing, as is hearing Mike will noodle on a seven string guitar while watching Star Wars.

Many creative types; whether that be artists, writers, musicians, designers etc, will agree with the sentiment that being interrupted when you’re mid-creative flow is one of the most frustrating things we have to deal with. “You’ll take care of whatever needs you, then you come back and that flow is just gone,” Mike ponders. “Sure, I could come back to it tomorrow but it wouldn’t be the same. It’s a fingerprint to that date and time where it’s the only instance that exact piece of art is going to come out of your brain.” So during the process of making Vol. II, Mike would lock himself away in the studio for up to 16 hours a day, creating the album’s snapshots. As previously mentioned, there are many moments of rage housed within the latest record. Which again brings comparison to its counterpart.

“We have some songs on Volume I that are a little less coming out swinging if that makes sense; like Keep Away From Me and Wishing, slower yet still heavy,” he says, “Not everything has to be super fast all the time, you need a dynamic to music. Take HYPOCRISY for example, I love their mellow songs far more than their brutal tracks, there’s something about them which pulls me in and I guess you’re one or the other.” he ponders before adding GOJIRA’s The Gift Of Guilt is another massive pleasure of his.

So what comes next within the DEVILDRIVER saga? Ballads? Collaborations with GOJIRA? No one really knows but one thing is for certain: there are no more Volumes on the way. “Now we’ve got Jon Miller [bass] back and I think that’s going to bring us back to the Pray For Villains (2009) type vibe,” Mike beams. Even a week previous to our conversation, Jon joined Mike in his home studio and set to writing after an impromptu jam session. While we can’t extract any more information than that from the guitarist, he’s certainly left us with a lot of anticipation for future DEVILDRIVER records.

Before those records can come however, there needs to be some reflection on the one which recently hit the shelves. Though it’s not the album Mike reflects on but the idea of touring after a three year hiatus from it. “I was concerned about how I was going to introduce touring into what my life had become,” he begins. “I’d gotten engaged, got used to sleeping in my own bed every night, could surf whenever I wanted to. I even got to spend time with my family which I’d never been able to before.” Functionality and logistics aside, there was another sticking point: was Mike even going to enjoy touring anymore? Answering our question before we could even ask he says, “the second I got on that bus, I was excited. I love being around my band – the camaraderie I have with my friends is my favourite thing about touring.”

Now saturated from DEVILDRIVER’s learning tree, there’s a new appreciation for Dealing With Demons Vol. II. While the record could fade as time passes with the promise of Pray For Villains like material on the horizon, it’s certainly a wonderful respite from all guns blazing DEVILDRIVER and one we should appreciate while we can.

Dealing With Demons Vol. II is out now via Napalm Records.

Like DEVILDRIVER on Facebook.