DevilDriver to release ‘Clouds over California’ box set

DevilDriver, the long-running metal band led by ex-Coal Chamber frontman Dez Fafara, will release “Clouds over California: The Studio Albums 2003-2011,” featuring the group’s first five albums, on July 29, 2022. The box set will be available in deluxe splatter LP and expanded CD format. Pre-order it here.

DevilDriver’s first, self-titled album had established a successful, groove-heavy precedent on its release in 2003, but when the California quintet got together to compose material for the follow-up album two years later, its music had evolved to an unexpected degree, and the result was “The Fury of Our Makers Hand.” 2007’s “The Last Kind Words” was recorded as the then DevilDriver lineup reached the apogee of its powers, ranging from mercilessly fast extreme metal, to subtler, slower territory and all points between. When “Pray for Villains” was recorded and released in 2009, the album was a deliberate attempt by DevilDriver to step back a little, inject some textures into the songs and allow the music to breathe, while still staying true to its sound. The band’s fifth album, 2011’s “Beast,” made a clear statement of intent. Its predecessor was deliberately more introspective, so the intention was to amp everything up tenfold this time by getting visceral and violent again.