HATEBREED and DEVIL DRIVER

Hatebreed was formed in 1994 in Bridgeport and New Haven. They began by recording a three song demo and selling it to locals. Those three songs would eventually be released on a split seven-inch with New York's Neglect in 1995. They followed that up with the highly acclaimed EPUnder the Knife scheduled to come out on Big Wheel Recreation in 1995 but then was self-released 1996, and went out on tour around the east coast/midwest with the UKHC band Voorhees. The following year they released Satisfaction is the Death of Desire on Victory Records, then the home of some of the biggest bands in American hardcore. Satisfaction sold more copies than any other debut in the history of the record company.

Tours with national heavy metal bands such as Slayer, Deftones, Entombed and Napalm Death influenced their music and brought them to the attention of many non-hardcore fans. These influences were apparent on the band's next two releases, 2002's Perseverance, and especially 2003's The Rise of Brutality.

After the release of The Rise of Brutality, the band took part in the 2004 Unholy Alliance tour in Europe with Slayer, Slipknot and Mastodon. In June, 2006, Hatebreed went on an extensive European tour which included a performance at the Download Festival in Donnington, UK. Immediately following this European tour, they played the main stage at Ozzfest 2006 alongside DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Avenged Sevenfold,Disturbed, and co-headliners System of a Down.

The band's fourth album, Supremacy, was released in August, 2006, their first through Roadrunner Records, featuring new guitarist Frank Novinec (who had previously spent time playing with Ringworm, Terror, and Integrity). Jasta described it as an "all-out onslaught of completely adrenaline-charged, in-your-face brutality".[3]

On September 13, 2006, former guitarist Lou Richards committed suicide at the age of 35; he had played on 1997's Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire and left the band in 2002.

Hatebreed headlined the second stage on the 2007 Ozzfest tour. Hatebreed appeared at Wacken Open Air festival in 2008 alongside Iron Maiden, Children of Bodom, and Avantasia. In April 2008, Hatebreed signed a worldwide deal with Koch Records for the release of their live DVD, a live album, and a cover album entitled For the Lions, which was released on May 5. On September 2, they released their concert DVD, entitled Live Dominance. Artists covered included Metallica, D.R.I., Crowbar, and the Cro-Mags.[4]

On February 9, 2009, guitarist Sean Martin quit the band. Sean quit the band to pursue other interests in music that are more studio-related. However, Sean remains close to and in contact with Hatebreed members.

Hatebreed's fifth studio album, entitled Hatebreed, was released September 29, 2009. In May 2009, the band also released For the Lions, a record consisting of covers of songs by artists that have influenced the band's development.

In 2010, Hatebreed participated in the third annual Mayhem Festival, alongside 3 Inches of Blood, Shadows Fall, and other bands. On February 17, 2011, it was announced that Hatebreed would partake in the fourth annual Mayhem Festival to yet again headline the Jägermeister stage for 3 dates only.

Their sixth studio album, The Divinity of Purpose, was released on January 25, 2013 in Europe and on January 29 in North America. The cover art was done by Eliran Kantor (Testament,Sodom).

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Dez Fafara moved to Santa Barbara Fafara hosted several barbecues after moving from Orange County to Santa Barbara and would jamwith musicians he met, which led to the formation of the band. "I met Evan we struck up a friendship and started jamming," said Fafara Guitarist Evan Pitts met Fafara in a restaurant and gave him his phone number for a jam session, while John Boecklin who originally played 2nd guitar then went to playing drums, met Fafara at a bar.

The band was originally known as Deathride, but later changed their name to DevilDriver because Fafara felt there were too many bands with that name; a band in Norfolk, Virginia, and a bicycle racing team.Another problem was that the band's label, Roadrunner Recordswere unable to secure copyright.The members compiled a list of roughly two hundred names to go for a more original approach. Fafara's wife had a book by Italian witchcraft author Raven Grimassi on Stregheria, and came across the term "devil driver". The term "devil driver" refers to bells Italian witches used to drive evil forces away. Fafara thought it was appropriate because it sounded "evil", and thought the term "suits his life". The band's logo is the Cross of Confusion, which has existed for thousands of years and refers to "question religion, question authority, question everything around you". Fafara was brought up to "question everything" and was exposed to Italian witchcraft through his grandparents.

DevilDriver's debut record was originally going to be called Thirteen, and then Straight to Hell. However, Fafara claims it was changed "for so many reasons that I can't even go into." The band's self-titled debut DevilDriver, was released on October 21, 2003 under Roadrunner Records, and entered the Top Heatseekers chart at number 17. Guitarist Pitts wrote roughly 90% of the music, according to Mike Spreitzer, who replaced Pitts after his departure from the band. Music critics response to the album was generally negative. Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus commented that elements in the songs "Die (And Die Now)" and "Swinging the Dead" redeem an otherwise disappointing album and hoped the band would focus less on the mainstream.

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