Since the initial dissolution of Coal Chamber in 2003, Dez Fafara has kept himself busy with Devildriver, his own band. More than a side project, by the time Coal Chamber reformed in 2011, there was probably at least one generation that had no idea he was in a band before then. However, the band put an album out, Rivals, in 2015, and toured around it. With Devildriver currently working on an album of outlaw country covers, Fafara sat down with Full Metal Jackie to chat about that, revealing that Testament’s Chuck Billy will be on the album. He also pretty much said that there’s not much going on with Coal Chamber, nor will there be, which is part of the reason Devildriver will be playing Coal Chamber songs on tour:
“At the end of that stint, I realized I don’t think we’re gonna tour ever again together and probably never going to make music together again. So, now do I just put those songs down for the rest of my life, the songs that I wrote? The songs that made me? The songs that people want to hear? No. I go do them, much like I’m doing the country thing, I do them how I’ve always heard them, which is two guitars, double bass kick drum. I’m hearing those songs even heavier and tighter than they are.
So it made me embrace it and say, “I’m not gonna run from this anymore.” So will we do it every tour? Probably not. There’s going to be select shows, select place where we’ll do three or four Coal Chamber songs. They’ve got to be the right ones. But once you hear “Loco” with two guitars and double kick and you hear it tight, you’re going to understand why I’m doing it.”
While neither Fafara or the rest of the band have said anything about why things went south, his comments have a note of finality to them.
