DevilDriver is a groove metal band from Santa Barbara, California. Coal Chamber vocalist Dez Fafara was not happy with the direction Coal Chamber was going in musically, and met musicians who had a similar music interest at a barbecue and bar. Fafara, guitarists Evan Pitts and Jeff Kendrick, bassist Jon Miller, and then-guitarist John Boecklin formed Deathride. Due to copyright issues and the name being taken by several bands, Deathride changed its name to DevilDriver, which refers to bells Italian witches used to drive evil forces away.
The band's self-titled album was not well received by some music critics. The primary writer of the album, Pitts, left the band and was replaced by Mike Spreitzer. Their second album, The Fury of Our Maker's Hand received a better reception with critics, and entered the Billboard 200 at number 117. The band embarked on several tours including Ozzfest and a Guinness world record was attempted at the 2007 Download Festival for the "largest circle pit".
