When Coal Chamber fell apart at the seams in the early Aughts, Dez Fafara sought to keep the music going, forming a new group with a different sound and motif. DevilDriver has become one of the anchoring bands in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM), championing the groove metal subgenre with bands such as Lamb of God. Over the last ten studio albums, they've brought their brand of melodeath-infused mania, offering frontman Fafara a second life in the heavy music realm.
To that end, the band's eleventh album Strike And Kill is a celebration of a quarter century of riffage. DevilDriver have been consistently great, with their double album Dealing With Demons bringing the band some of their highest chart placements yet. Though the lineup has rotated frequently through the band's tenure, the ethos and the Western inspirations have never wavered, and while fans of Coal Chamber will certainly find glimpses of old in the new, this latest offering from the California groove machine is a fine stepping stone for freshman listeners to get in and get excited.
Those who are more familiar with Fafara’s work with Coal Chamber may not know where to start with this album, but as Occam’s razor will show, the simplest solution is the correct one. Start from the beginning with “Dig Your Own Grave,” which kicks the door down with detuned goodness and double-kick shenanigans. It’s loaded with groove and is liable to make one bop or sway in their seat, assuming it doesn’t instill a feeling of wanting to run through the wall. It hangs with the classics of DevilDriver like “Pray For Villains” and “Clouds Over California” while carving out its own path in the process. Beatdowns and breakdowns aren’t all that common in the band’s output, but the ones on display here are more than serviceable.
The intro to “Sanctified in Scars” might be the most nu-sounding, and is bound to get some bounce in the mosh pit going. In a catalog full of pissed-off ragers, this might be among DevilDriver’s most pissed off. It’s probably for the better that this song was held back until the album’s release, as it provides a pleasant surprise. On the subject of surprises, we hear a rare clean vocal in “In The Moonlight,” which feels just accessible enough to lure people in, without totally losing the plot that has brought the band this far. The twin guitar attack of Alex Lee and Gabe Mangold shines here, with the leads in the chorus making this track soar.
Seasoned fans of the band will appreciate songs like “Shut The Silence On” and “Oath of Iron,” as they capture that America melodeath sound that brought them their bones in the late Aughts and early 2010s. The former harkens back to the band’s first two albums, back when the band was still escaping from Coal Chamber’s swaying shadow, while the latter captures the gunslinging vengeance of the Pray For Villains era and beyond.
Where the album loses a bit of its steam, though, is towards the end of the bloody affair. “Summoning Shadows” feels like a song from a different band entirely, and while it’s fine to take a stab at something new, it ends up sounding a bit disconnected. Ditto for “You’re Just A Ghost,” which again feels like something else entirely, only that something else feels like it’s just window dressing. As such, the album isn’t quite “all killer, no filler,” but the batting average is at least a favorable one when the dust settles.
This deep into their tenure, striking a balance of new and old is a difficult game to play, but Dez and his cohorts have just about managed it here. DevilDriver are a consistent band, able to put out something not just adequate, but damn compelling, every time they’re on the hunt, and with Strike And Kill, they more than succeed in their bounty.
Strike And Kill is available now via Napalm Records.
DevilDriver are touring in support of the album alongside Upon A Burning Body and Ov Sulfur. The following dates are still to come:
08/19 – Austin, TX @ Come and Take It Live *
08/20 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues *
08/22 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues *
08/23 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom *
08/25 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge ^
08/26 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave ^
08/29 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Sunshine Studios *
08/30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot *
09/01 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall *
09/02 – Reno, NV @ Club Underground *
09/03 – Sacramento, CA @ Goldfield *
09/04 – San Jose, CA @ The Ritz *
09/05 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues *
* = w/ Upon a Burning Body and Ov Sulfur
^ = w/ Ov Sulfur
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