Coal Chamber frontman Dez Fafara has just shocked the fuckin’ monkey big time, casually confirming that the goth greats are “probably never gonna make music together” or tour again.
Now… he hasn’t specifically stated that the band are “breaking up” per se, but things don’t look good. In a new radio interview with Full Metal Jackie (via Blabbermouth), the industrial rock legend announced that DevilDriver would be starting to play Coal Chamber songs live because, well, Coal Chamber won’t be.
“I think after releasing [Coal Chamber’s 2015 LP] Rivals two years ago — it came out to critical acclaim — going around the world with those guys, [and] most of the shows were sold out, I realized that a lot of people wanted to hear that music,” Dez said.
“And then also, at the end of that stint, [I] realized I don’t think that we’re gonna tour ever again together and probably never gonna make music together again. So now do I just put those songs down for the rest of my life, the songs that I wrote, the songs that made me, the songs that people want to hear? No. I go do ’em… I do ’em how I’ve always heard ’em, which is two guitars, double-bass kick drum. I’m hearing those songs even heavier and tighter than they are. So it made me embrace it and say, ‘I’m not gonna run from this anymore’.”
He continued: “So will [DevilDriver] do it every tour? Probably not. It’s gonna be select shows, select place when we’ll do three or four Coal Chamber songs. They’ve gotta be the right ones. But once you hear ‘Loco’ with two guitars and double kick and you hear it tight, you’re gonna understand why I’m doing it.”
Fuck.
Coal Chamber have technically been on hiatus since 2016, when their frontman painted a bleak picture of their future during an interview, saying: “I had a lot of fun doing [Rivals] and playing shows with them again. But there were some circumstances that were not ideal and that’s why that thing is not continuing as of right now. If something comes up and I have time and want to make a record and the members have their shit together, I’ll do it. But as of now, there’s some deep-seated shit that certain dudes in the band still need to work out.
“And if they work it out and want to tour or make another record, they can come back and give me a call. But right now, everyone in DevilDriver is stoked. No one’s fighting. And I feel lucky to be where I am.”
Coal Chamber shot Fafara to iconic metal status following their gold-certified 1997 debut, before disbanding in 2003 to pursue other projects. They reunited in 2011 and came to Australia for Soundwave 2012, before releasing their acclaimed 2015 comeback Rivals.
Meanwhile DevilDriver, who were included on the lineup for this year’s doomed Legion festival, are currently working on an outlaw country covers album dubbed Outlaws Till The End, which is tentatively due in early 2018.
