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Live Review: Devildriver – The Palladium, Hollywood

Heavy metal needs Devildriver. In fact, they could very well save the genre. These five individuals proved that on stage at the Hollywood Palladium this past Friday. On a bill stacked with fan darlings Lamb of God and Children of Bodom, Devildriver put on the most memorable and maniacal set of the evening. After watching them lay waste to the moshing crowd, it was clear that they should've been atop the bill.

Right when Devildriver hit the stage, it felt like an atom bomb had been dropped. Frontman Dez Fafara simply screamed, "Hometown motherfuckers, I want to see you go absolutely nuts!" He got his wish, as his band mates ignited the beginning of "Nothing's Wrong." Drum demon John Boecklin is one of the fastest guns in the west, but that's not even the best part of his playing—he can groove. Bashing his kit while firing off barefoot double bass, he conjured the eye of the storm. "Why can't you see you're in my way?" barked Fafara, as Jon Miller's Satanic bass thud bolted down the musical violence. Miller locked in with Boecklin, and it was a massacre to say the least. Fafara's remark could very well reference his band's competition—everyone is in Devildriver's way, and they'd better get the hell out of it before this machine steamrolls them.

Next up on "Not All Who Wander Are Lost," Fafara circled the stage madly like a possessed predator. He delivered every line with a combination of vibrancy and vitriol. The seasoned frontman knows how to put on a show, and he gets better and better all the time. His energy can't be contained, and it's infectious, as evinced by the fan explosion. Fafara's voice has never sounded more unbridled and evil either. None of the other bands on the bill could muster Devildriver's combination of death metal intensity and near "pop" groove—COB fell into shred histrionics while LOG just pummeled.

"I Could Care Less," "Clouds Over California" and "Before the Hangman's Noose" allowed guitarists Mike Spreitzer and Jeff Kendrick to truly shine. They oscillated like a guillotine from melodic grooves to thrash fireworks. Not only proficient, both play powerfully, never missing a note and ripping through souls. Everything culminated with a battering "Meet the Wretched," and after only 35 minutes, the band left the stage like the 300 Spartans, fighting off larger industry forces, b.s. politics and the entire world.

This was all only a prelude to Devildrirver's fourth epic, Pray for Villains, due out this summer. Get on your knees and start praying now, because they're about to destroy everything.

—Rick Florino
04.07.09