Album Review: Devildriver – Strike and Kill (Napalm Records)

Devildriver return with ‘Strike and Kill’, their brand-new album, out on July 10th, 2026, via Napalm Records.

Turning the clock back to deliver their best album since Pray for Villains, Devildriver return with renewed intensity. Delivering a cacophony of groove-infused, high-powered heaviness and speed that also has this exciting experimental vein running through it. Showing that Devildriver have so much more to give and even though they’re looking to the past, they’re not trying to recapture a time that has long passed.

Devildriver haven’t sounded this ferocious in some time, least of all, vocalist Dez Fafara, who is at his growly best here. Especially on tracks like Dead in the Water, the title track, Ride or Die, and Shut the Silence On (a personal favourite track). There is no doubt that the new-look Devildriver, which now includes returning bass icon Jon Miller, alongside guitar duo Alex Lee and Gabe Mangold, and drummer Davier Perez, has lit a fire under him.

For good reason too, as this is an album with serious bite, not just courtesy of the some seriously tight riffs, but courtesy of a bass/drum combo that adds weight and heft to things. One such example of this crash and crunch comes from the banging Sanctified in Scars, which also has a head-spinning breakdown too.

Elsewhere, Devildriver play around with some fresh ideas, and one is melody and clean vocals, albeit briefly on In the Moonlight, and more intensely on Summoning Shadows. Two tracks that stand tall in their own way and showcase more depth to the band. I think the former is easier to digest as it does slip into more traditional Devildriver territories sharpish.

Then there are the times where a chorus becomes key and Headed for the Fall has a shout-along one. Although the ‘shotgun cock’ and resulting heaviness that follows is probably the best of the track. No complaints about Never Coming Home either, not when we get to enjoy the kind of drumming that makes your teeth rattle. Or the dramatic You’re Just a Ghost, which might be one of Devildriver’s most epic sounding tracks to date.

I had a blast with the album and I think if you’ve been on the ‘deathride’ all this time, you will too.

Devildriver – Strike and Kill Track Listing:

1. Dig Your Own Grave
2. Dead in the Water
3. Sanctified in Scars
4. Strike and Kill
5. In the Moonlight
6. Ride or Die
7. Headed for the Fall
8. Shut the Silence On
9. Never Coming Home
10. Summoning Shadows
11. You’re Just a Ghost
12. Oath of Iron
13. All Bets Are Off

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