DEZ FAFARA Says Some Of His COAL CHAMBER Bandmates Have 'Deep-Seated S**t' They Need To Work Out

Dez Fafara says that he decided to shelf COAL CHAMBER and focus on DEVILDRIVER after the former group's comeback album and tour revealed "some deep-seated shit that certain dudes in the band still need to work out."

COAL CHAMBER existed for ten years before disbanding in 2003 to pursue other musical projects. They reunited in 2011 for touring purposes but it wasn't until 2014 that the band began work on a new studio album of original material, last year's critically acclaimed "Rivals". Several months of touring activity followed before Dez returned to DEVILDRIVER to make a new record, the newly issued "Trust No One".

Asked by Revolver magazine where COAL CHAMBER stands at the moment, Fafara said: "I had a lot of fun doing that record 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."

Dez had stated in previous interviews that COAL CHAMBER's original split happened because "I did not want to be around the band's hard drug use and I realized that going onstage every night that the money was feeding their habit, so I walked to save my friends." He added that his COAL CHAMBER bandmates were "clean" as of 2012, which made him realize that "it was the right thing to walk [back in 2003]."

Fafara echoed those same sentiments in a 2015 interview with The Rockpit. He said: "COAL CHAMBER broke up due to horrible circumstances. Those guys had very negative lives and vices that took them down and I had to leave. And in doing so, I think I actually saved my friends. I watched them come around. I watched them get clean off of drugs. Meegs [Rascón, guitar] is now very happily married and Mike [Cox, drums] might as well be married with a one-year-old baby boy and he's very mature and he's sober. If Mike was not sober, I don't think we would even be together at this point and talking about having the record, and it's kind of contingent on that, is that everybody keeps their shit together."

He continued: "I just think when you have a chance to get back together with somebody that you love and make music that you love and having another shot at it, when you see and hear an evolution in the music and you see an evolution in the writing, [then] there's no reason not to do that. I feel blessed that we got the chance and I feel we made one hell of a record."

"Rivals sold around 7,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 80 on The Billboard 200 chart (which includes stream activity). The band's first CD in over thirteen years was recorded in part at Audiohammer studio in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (DEVILDRIVER, CANNIBAL CORPSE).