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DEVILDRIVER “Strike And Kill”
DEVILDRIVER “Strike And Kill”
By Iron Sheik
Pounding and driven. Teeth bared ready to “Strike And Kill”, the Devil has arrived. DEVILDRIVER have never been subtle and this three year wait for new music has been worth it. They bring us a hot mosh pit inducing album slamming brutally across thirteen tracks. DEVILDRIVER is of course Santa Barbara, CA's metal band lead by vocalist Dez Fafara (2002) with the current brutal band of musicians that now include Jon Miller on bass (2022), Alex Lee on lead guitar (2022), Davier Perez Ortega on drums (2022), and Gabe Mangold on guitar (2025). This is the revamped lineup ready to strike it's claim. Firing on all cylinders on this current release they are the purveyors of this brutal groove metal album Strike And Kill. This is a new lineup since 2023s Dealing With Demons, Vol. II albeit original bass player Jon Miller who is one of the original members. He had taken an eleven year break from the band. They are still as heavy and skull pounding as ever!
They got the name DEVILDRIVER from the bells Italian witches used to drive devils away. Also incorporated into the logo or as an aside to it is the Cross Of Confusion which is thousands of years old, and it refers to questioning religion, questioning authority, questioning everything around you. On “Strike And Kill” DEVILDRIVER live up to this image. Fierce groove metal to drive away any evil forces is what gives the band it's razor sharp precision. In all their years I had never bothered to read about the name that Dez's wife stumbled upon in old folklore writings. As a result he took the whole concept to his other band members to see if they liked it and wanted to use the name and imagery. We know they did. Here-in lie thirteen tracks of bell ringing devil driving metal.
Starting with opener “Dig Your Own Grave” straight through to closer “All Bets Are Off” we are grabbed by a force unrelenting in its messages of rage. “Dead In The Water” is a breathless force to be reckoned with. “Sanctified In Scars” has touches of guitar work reminiscent of some of Dimebag Darrell's work. "War With A Smile" sums up not only this title track, but I think the album as a whole. If they are trying to honor Dimebag in this track they have done so greatly. “In The Moonlight” changes up things a hair with a chorus befitting a power ballad, but it none-the-less is intense and fitting.
“Ride Or Die” pummels and grooves. “Headed For The Fall” might just push the listener to "put caution to the wind" at a break neck pace.”Shut The Silence On” keeps it on. “Never Coming Home” is as unrelenting as the previous. “Summoning Shadows” cruises at a slower pace and leaves the listener in a state of summoning silence. “You're Just A Ghost” starts off softly and then beats your face in with its force. “Oath Of Iron” hits as a sworn in steel statement of purpose. Closer “All Bets Are Off” leaves with a "thorn in its side" before slowing the brutal pace to drive the devils out.
A tour de force of brain splitting energy is within this entity, and displayed across the album's thirteen tracks. This is an album made for a nice day's drive on the expressway on any day of the week so this can be cranked, but watch your speed. 85 mph would be an excellent cruising speed to match the music, but I do not want to promote speeding. Ha! I think I just did! I just know around here that speed is what I maintain, and it is generally less than the average driven. “Strike And Kill” by DevilDriver does not disappoint. What it accomplishes is a heavy brutal groove metal that leaves the listener ringing that bell of namesakes. The more I have listened to the album the more sucked in I am. It hits hard with the first listen and with repeated listens the vocals start coming through with a brutal force, an urgency, and they start to stand out reinforcing the heaviness. It is a layered album that takes multiple listens to appreciate. Prepare yourself to “Strike And Kill” with breakneck headbanging splitting brains heaviness!
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