DevilDriver

A punishing groove and melodic death metal unit based out of Santa Barbara, California, DevilDriver originally operated under the moniker Deathride before a copyright issue forced them to adopt a new name. Co-founded by Coal Chamber vocalist Dez Fafara, who remains the group's lone original member, the band debuted in 2002, but didn't truly catch fire until the release of 2007's Last Kind Words, which heralded a string of high-charting albums like Pray for Villains (2009), Winter Kills (2013), Trust No One (2016), and the concept double-album Dealing with Demons (2020 and 2023). Despite enduring numerous personnel shifts, the band has maintained a lean, loud, and punitive sonic attack that established them as one of the more reliable heavy music purveyors of the early 21st century.