Diablo Blvd was founded in 2005 by vocalist Alex Agnew, known as a successful stand-up comedian in Benelux and guitarist Dave Hubrechts. The band was completed by guitarist and songwriter Andries Beckers from Born From Pain, bassist Tim Bekaert from A Brand and drummer Kris Martens from Tangled Horns. In 2006 the band released the demo Scarred and Undefeatedon cassette and signed a contract with PIAS, Play It Again Sam. Over a period of two years, Diablo Blvd was working on their debut albumThe Greater God, which was produced by Ace Zec. The album reached #33 in the Belgian album charts in 2009. The band started playing at mainstream festivals in Belgium such as Graspop Metal Meeting and Pukkelpop. In 2011 they released their second studio albumBuilders of Empires, mixed by Swedish producer Jens Bogren. The album debuted at #21 in the Belgian album charts. The single "Black Heart Bleed" still builds to almost anthemic proportions at every live show they play. They shot their first music video for the song "Saint of Killers", which is based on a fictional character who appears in the acclaimed comic book seriesPreacher. In May 2014, their third studio album Follow the Deadlights was released by Sony Music and went up to #3 in the Belgian album charts. The album was recorded in the ICP Studio in Brussels and mixed by Jay Ruston and mastered by Paul Logus who both have previously been behind the sound of Anthrax, Stone Sour, Meat Loaf and Steel Panther. In November 2014, Diablo Blvd signed a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast. CEO Markus Staiger was loudly impressed with the song "Rise Like Lions". Follow the Deadlights was released by Nuclear Blast on January 23, 2015. Dave Hubrechts left the band and Tim Bekaert switched to guitar. At the same time, the band played in clubs and festivals during a European promotion tour of 17 months as well as opening act for Epica, Machine Head, Ace Frehley and Life of Agony in US. On June 28, 2018, it was announced the band would be breaking up following several shows to take place throughout the rest of the year, with the final show taking place on December 10 at the Ancienne Belgique.
Influences
Building on groovy riffs, catchy choruses and a charismatic stage presence, Diablo Blvd offers what made their heroes great within a wide range of influences from the heavy genre like Danzig, The Cult, Guns ‘N Roses, Black Label Society and Type O Negative and classic rock. The band name Diablo Blvd comes from a song of the American band Corrosion of Conformity from the album America's Volume Dealer. Vocalist Pepper Keenan came with the idea for this title when he visited his friend James Hetfield, the singer of the band Metallica one day in his house. The street behind Hetfield's House is called Diablo Blvd.
Diablo Fest
In May 2014 Diablo Blvd organised their own – soldout - metal festival Diablo Fest in Trix, Antwerp to promote their third studio album Follow The Deadlights and to give a platform to upcoming bands in the Benelux metal scene, like Vanderbuyst, The Setup, King Hiss and Your Highness. In October 2015 they celebrated their 10th anniversary with a second edition of Diablo Fest. The line-up featured Bark, Born From Pain, Fifty Foot Combo and John Coffey.
