DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002. Coal Chamber vocalist Dez Fafara was disappointed with the direction Coal Chamber was going 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 drummer John Boecklin formed Deathride. However, 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" and again at Download Festival 2009.