DEVILDRIVER guitarist Mike Spreitzer has issued the following update:

"I know I say this a lot but this tour has been one of the most fun I have ever done. The UK portion of this tour ended up being some of the biggest DevilDriver headlining shows to date and I would like to thank everybody that made it out. You made us feel very welcome in your country and I can't thank you all enough.

I happy to announce that the new DevilDiver record is DONE!!!. Boecklin spent a night at Andy Sneap's house last week finalizing the mix after out show in Nottingham. It's heavy, it's brutal, it's called Beast and I know all of you are going to love it.

Speaking of Nottingham, I am proud relieved to say that no one in the band or crew got drugged this time around when we went out for drinks after the show. The first time we were in Nottingham in 2005, some of the guys in THE AGONY SCENE and our crew went to a bar and we found one of our guys passed out, face down in the bathroom. The following time we played Nottingham with GOD FORBID I turned out to be one of the unlucky victims along side our merch guy Frank. Nothing bad happened other than an awkward phone call back home, but after 2 beers everything went black and I don't remember a damn thing. Luckily, Doc from God Forbid was with us and made sure we got back to the bus in one piece. He told us that we were not acting drunk but very strange on the way back to the bus. My guess is, people find tourists, drug them, wait for them to get a little silly and mug them as they are leaving the bar. I could be wrong about that scenario, but it sure seems like a waste of drugs to spike someones drink just for fun. Since that day, I watch my drinks and the bar tender very carefully."

DevilDriver bassist Jon Miller recently issued the following update:

"To all of the DevilDriver fans who will be attending the remaining dates of our current fall/winter European run, it is to my dismay that I will not be able to finish the tour due to a family emergency.

I would like to thank our tour manager, Bubble, for filling in for me. This is very disheartening to me but sometimes family must take precedent over anything else in life. I will miss being out with my best buds touring Europe and hope to return as soon as possible."

Stay tuned for further updates.

The Santa Barbara-based metal quintet recently announced the release of their forthcoming fifth album, Beast.

Beast was produced by Mark Lewis (ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) and will hit retail via longtime label Roadrunner Records on February 22nd, 2011.

While many bands in the modern era are already withering away by their second album and have shriveled up and died by their third, DevilDriver have proven to mutate, growing stronger, deadlier and more immortal with each successive release. Beast, which follows 2009's Pray For Villains, finds the band refusing to compromise in their mission to deliver music that will make you feel as though you were slapped upside the head with a baseball bat.

The band recorded 14 songs during the Beast sessions, with 11 or 12 tracks expected to make the final cut. Some song titles are as follows: 'Dead To Rights', 'Hardened', 'Bring The Fight (To The Floor)', 'Shitlist', 'Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)', 'Blur', 'You Make Me Sick (Sacred Secrets)', 'The Blame Game', 'Coldblooded', 'Crowns Of Creation' and 'Lend Myself To The Night'.

Frontman Dez Fafara himself dubbed the record their most "extreme" to date and even compared Beast to "driving a Buick Skylark 200 miles an hour straight to Vegas".

DevilDriver have posted the latest in their ongoing You May Know Us From The Stage 25-Part DVD Series. Check out Chapter 15, entitled The End Of The Beginning, is available below.

Devildriver European tour dates are as follows:

November

23 - Bremen, Germany - Meier Music Hall
24 - Koln, Germany - Essinfabrik
25 - Augsburg, Germany - Kantine
27 - Pinarella di Cervia, Italy - Rock Planet
28 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Substage
29 - Zurich, Switzerland - Dynamo, Jugendkulturhaus
30 - Vienna, Austria - Arena

December

1 - Berlin, Germany - SO36
2 - Leipzig, Germany - Werk 2
3 - Bremen, Germany - Tivoli
4 - Sneek, Netherlands – Bolwerk