'What Is Metal' To DEVILDRIVER's DEZ FAFARA?

Terry Stevens of the Rock 94.7 radio station conducted an interview with DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara at this year's Rock USA festival, which was held this past weekend in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked "what is metal" to Dez Fafara, he responded: "I think it's gotta have attitude, it's gotta have volatility. It can't skew itself for the radio. Don't consider yourself a metal band if you're skewing your music to get active rock radio [airplay] — which I've never done in my life. If it's ever come to me — like cover a song with Ozzy [Osbourne] — "it happens organically. Actually, that song" — referring to his previous band COAL CHAMBER's collaboration with Ozzy on a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey" — it was, like, 'Let's cover it last minute.' Five minutes [later], and then, boom, it turns into something. That's the organic way that it should be. But if you're skewing your music and you have an active rock track that you're putting out on your heavy metal record [extends both middle fingers].

"We're not CANNIBAL CORPSE," he continued. "And I've always treaded this line, and I think people respect that about me — that I've never walked in the same footprints ever. I mean, I am the kind of guy if I'm actually hiking and I see a trail that there's a million footprints on it, I'm, like, 'Ah, let's go left.' And so carries on in my musical thing as well."

DEVILDRIVER's full-length album of outlaw country-gone-metal anthems, "Outlaws 'Til The End: Vol. 1", was released on July 6 via Napalm Records. The disc was produced, mixed and recorded with Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, SEPULTURA, THE CURE),with DEVILDRIVER guitarist Mike Sprietzer also lending recording talents. The album was mastered by renowned engineer Alan Douches.