Dead And Divine Hate Their Van

Dead And Divine have hit the road prior to the August release of their third studio album, The Machines We Are, in true rock star fashion: in a shoddy, broken van.

"It's awful," guitarist Chris LeMasters says over the phone while waiting to find out what's wrong with their vehicle this time. "We need a fuckin' bus. I'm over this van thing."

Unlike the van, Dead And Divine's music needs no jump-start.

The Machines We Are bridges heavy melodies with religious and vampire metaphors. It expands on their heavy metalcore by incorporating unlikely alternative rock influences.

"I've always loved the Deftones and I don't care if people think they're nu metal," LeMasters says. "They have that whole epic, super-melodic thing going on that we totally try to rip off sometimes."

Dead And Divine got producer Garth "GGGarth" Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Gallows) to help hone their sound on The Machines We Are.

"Garth has worked with some awesome bands, so obviously he was at the top of our list when we wanted to start recording this record, so we pursued it," LeMasters says.

"For a little while, it fell through and it wasn't going to work out and everyone was super-bummed. But it actually worked out in the end and he got to fly out.

"Working with him was awesome. He's a hard-ass. It's kind of nice to get into the studio with someone who knows exactly what they're doing. It's always better for the band when you're being pushed by somebody."

This is the first record to include new drummer Kyle Anderson, who joined after his former band Sydney broke up in January. Dead And Divine previously had a slew of temporary drummers since Ryan Leger left when his girlfriend had a baby last summer.

"Between me and [vocalist] Matt [Tobin], we write the songs and I always write all the drum parts in my head while we're playing them," LeMasters says. "I recorded the drums on our last record.

"This time around was a little weird easing up on the reins and letting [Anderson] do his thing, but it turned out awesome."

Dead And Divine are on the Weight Of The World Tour with Misery Signals, Haste The Day, Architects and Sights & Sounds. You can check them out here:

May 28 Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Centre
May 29 Regina, SK @ The Exchange
May 30 Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
May 31 Grande Prairie, AB @ Better Than Fred's
June 2 Kelowna, BC @ Habitat
June 3 Vancouver, BC @ The Plaza Club
June 4 Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub
June 5 Nanaimo, BC @ Nanaimo Legion
June 6 Courtenay, BC @ Avalanche Bar
June 7 Whistler, BC @ Merlin's
June 8 Revelstoke, BC @ Revelstoke Centre
June 9 Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse
June 10 Lethbridge, AB @ University Ballroom
June 11 Regina, SK @ Louls' Pub
June 13 Thunder Bay, ON @ C2/Warp 9
June 15 St Catharines, ON @ L3
June 16 Milton, ON @ St. Paul's United Church
June 17 Montreal, QC @ Underworld
June 18 Quebec City, QC @ L'Imperial De Quebec
June 19 Ottawa, ON @ Babylon
June 20 Kingston, ON @ Time To Laugh Comedy Club