Review by Saxy S for DevilDriver - Strike and Kill (2026)

Well 2026 has been a pretty solid year for me when it comes to the exploration of genres that I typically avoid or explore cautiously. However, it has been The Pit that has seen the least action, mostly because my schedule has not pointed me in that direction for quite some time. Plus my already well documented disdain for modern thrash metal has left me with very little to even want to listen to. Well as is the case here at Metal Academy, groove metal also falls under the umbrella of The Pit, so by throwing in a couple of groove metal albums from the past year (and beyond), maybe I'll finally start to see some numbers in this once forgotten clan of mine.

And we start off this adventure with a band whose careers I have seen take off since the start. DevilDriver are California's darlings of the genre and Strike and Kill is the bands eleventh studio album. Those first handful of records were heavy and groovy at the same time and also showed a certain level of maturity that I would not have expected. All these years later, DevilDriver seem to have given up some of that maturity (a common trend since their transition from Roadrunner to Napalm Records), but they haven't given up their songwriting. The albums one-two-punch of of "Dig Your Own Grave" and "Dead in the Water" to start off is a welcome punch to the face that is unfiltered, groovy and unsurprisingly melodic.

As the album progresses, DevilDriver definitely move away from the Machine Head and start embracing their mid 2000s metalcore. This would make sense since DevilDriver came up alongside bands like As I Lay Dying and God Forbid. "In the Moonlight" starts off very small and sweet before the heavy guitars and drums enter with a very nostalgic guitar riff and very catchy chorus. I particularly enjoyed the guitar solo in this song. The album does have a couple of moments where the band attempts to embrace some modern metalcore trends like the unprepared breakdowns that get progressively slower and the mix explodes such as "Strike and Kill".

Alas, DevilDriver have lost album focus. Strike and Kill is a diverse albums with lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing for sure, I'm just not sure it needed to be fifty minutes. The album starts off great with a five song run that matches the best runs of The Last Kind Words or  The Fury of Our Makers Hand. But afterwards, this album precision kind of loses itself. Strike and Kill does have some saving graces with the final couple of tracks, but getting there feels less like a quick strike, but rather toying with your enemy before delivering the final blow.

Best Songs: Dig Your Own Grave, Dead in the Water, In the Moonlight, You're Just a Ghost, Oath of Iron

For Fans Of: God Forbid, Lamb of God, Chimaira