ALBUM REVIEW: Strike And Kill – DevilDriver
It’s incredible that DEVILDRIVER remain as prolific as they’ve always been. Since their formation in 2002, the Californian groove metallers have averaged a brand new album almost every other year; an impressive statistic, but one that takes on even more of a mantle when you consider their multiple lineup changes and mastermind Dez Fafara‘s side missions and brushes with death (he continues to front original band COAL CHAMBER occasionally, runs his own record label and was nearly killed by COVID in 2021). The gap between 2023’s Dealing With Demons Vol. II and now is actually the band’s longest between records, and even then it’s only just over the three-year mark. The new album, Strike And Kill, is the band’s eleventh full effort, out via Napalm and is the first to feature guitarist Gabe Mangold of ENTERPRISE EARTH fame.
As the old adage goes, quantity doesn’t always mean quality. Critics will look at DEVILDRIVER‘s output and question how much of it is worth listening to, but one thing they can’t deny is that, while some records have undoubtedly been better than others, there’s never really been a truly duff one. Strike And Kill avoids that pitfall with ease: Dig Your Own Grave flies out of the traps, Fafara sounding more furious than usual and Dead In The Water continues the momentum as the early stages of the album threaten to rip the ears off anyone listening. One thing is clear: after all this time, a near quarter-century career, DEVILDRIVER have lost none of their firepower.
Even though the bulk of the album is rooted in the classic DEVILDRIVER groove and might, there’s still a number of moments where they branch out, even if it’s momentarily. The breakdown at the end of the title track, replete with a slowing tempo and pinch harmonics, is entrenched in the classic, mid-00’s metalcore sound; even more of a curveball is the beginning of the very next song, In The Moonlight, a more melodic guitar lick playing while Dez sings clean over the top, the song also dipping into that metalcore sound which captured the imagination in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century. There’s further moments of a ‘gentler’ pace in Summoning Shadows and You’re Just A Ghost, while Never Coming Home boasts a Spanish guitar-inspired middle eight,
However, there’s a twist of irony in the one main criticism of Strike And Kill: it didn’t need to be thirteen tracks and nearly fifty minutes in length. While there will always be a place for longer albums, perhaps more vital than ever in a world that continues to be led by short-form media, the aural bludgeoning here can easily become overwhelming, particularly as the album passes the halfway stage. Consequently, the likes of Ride Or Die and Headed For The Fall begin to jar, losing their impact and giving naysayers weight behind their critiques. If the album had been trimmed by two or three songs, it would have made for a much stronger effort overall.
Still, when all is said and done, Strike And Kill is everything DEVILDRIVER are best at: powerful, groove-laden metal that packs a real punch. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of others in the back catalogue like, say, The Last Kind Words, but it will delight long-time followers of the band, along with anyone who prefers their metal to come with few frills and ever fewer bells and whistles.
Rating: 7/10
Strike And Kill is out now via Napalm Records.
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