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Devildriver Frontman Talks About Down, Lyrics And More


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#1 Andrew52286

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Posted 19 January 2008 - 12:39 PM

Devildriver Frontman Talks About Down, Lyrics And More

The Metal Report recently spoke to Devildriver mainman Dez Fafara about numerous topics. An excerpt of the chat can be viewed below:

"You've drawn lyrical inspiration from various books in the past. What are some of your favorite titles?

Right now, I'm doing audio books, because it's easier for me to just lie in my bunk and listen when I'm on tour. I'm listening to an audio book right now on Socrates. I'm getting through his whole life and his whole philosophy on things. He was a strange cat; let me tell you. He used to walk the streets barefoot, rambling on and on, but people thought he was a genius. If you did that today, they'd just put you in jail. He had some wise things to say though.

That Greek school of thought established a lot.

Exactly. As far as a favorite book of all time, I don't have one. Literature has just kind of come and gone with me, but I couldn't nail it down to a favorite. I'm reading a good book right now on the Spartans and their society. It's called The Spartans. It's unbelievable, so we'll see where that goes.

That's a cool thread about the Ancient cultures you pull together.

Yeah, I love history. I love ancient culture. It fascinates me. Ancient religion fascinates me. I love to go back to the beginning and find out where we came from: the Babylonians, Sumerians and Egyptians. You can see who stole what from whom. You come to find out that Christmas is a pagan holiday. The pagans stole it from the Babylonians and Sumerians. I like tracing things back.

You can see how cyclical everything is.

Of course—you saw the way that modern day religion stole everything for money. The Egyptians did the same thing. You used to buy what you thought was a mummified cat to put as an offering, and it only had one real leg in there. They were just making money off religion back then too. There you go! What goes around comes around [laughs].

There are always trinkets being sold in the name of some deity. You're a wine connoisseur too if I'm not mistaken?

I don't know about a connoisseur [laughs]. I definitely know my grapes, and I know my wines. That's for sure. I love it. It's healthy and good for you. I haven't had a drop of hard alcohol in almost five months. I work out most of the time during the day when I can. I just find it a healthier way of existing and still catching a little bit of a buzz [laughs].

I know you're a fan of Elvis. From the love of classic crooners and wine, it seems like you've become the "refined metal head."

[Laughs] Well that's good! I don't know if it's that or it's that I just don't want to go out like those dudes did [laughs]. You better get healthy. Elvis is my boy, and I'm a huge fan.

Knowing your relationship with Phil Anselmo [Down, Pantera Vocalist], I have to ask, what do you think of the new Down record [III: Over the Under]?

I think it's the best of Phil's career. He ****ing looks great. He's sober. People have to understand, he's not just a friend, but he's a brother. When I had no home in Coal Chamber, literally for years to live, that dude gave me his house and said, "Go ahead." He literally said, "Take my bedroom, I'm sleeping downstairs anyways." So, when you've got that kind of a friend behind you, it means something huge. We've been friends a long time. I think that this Down record is unbelievable. I think it's the rock record of the year. It should have been nominated for a Grammy. The fact that it's not and some other bands are listed pisses me off really bad. Dude, this is the best rock band out today, hands-down, and for it not to be a Grammy-nominee—I don’t see what's happening. If you're not looking at art like that—look at every individual player in that band, not just Phillip. Take Phillip out of the equation and just look at every individual player. Before we went to our record release party a couple months ago, Down was rehearsing for their Australian tour in the Valley. We took the tour bus over, and we went and watched a couple songs of the rehearsals. I mean, dude, they're such amazing players. So yeah, there's my rant on Down [laughs]. "