DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara sat down with Jai That Aussie Metal Guy to talk through the band’s 11th studio album, Strike And Kill, which arrives July 10 via Napalm Records. The record features the return of original bassist Jon Miller after a 12-to-15-year absence, alongside guitarist and producer Gabe Mangold, guitarist Alex Lee, and drummer Davier Ortega Perez.
On what direction the album took, Fafara told Jai (transcribed by Blabbermouth): “When I first got the music, I was just intrigued by what we were writing. And I think that everybody knew it was time to kind of go back to start a little bit… Once we started writing, we all kind of said, ‘What’s the direction?’ And I said, ‘Look at the logo, man. The logo will tell you what we fucking need to write.’ Like, period.”
On the fan reaction to the first single “Dig Your Own Grave,” and what’s coming next, Fafara said: “People are loving this. And I go, ‘Great. Let’s give them more of the same.’ So the next single that’s coming is very old school, almost first-, second-record old school… We didn’t decide to, like, ‘Let’s go back to start.’ We just said, ‘Let’s write something heavy and groovy like what we are,’ and that’s what came out. So I think people are really gonna enjoy the second and the third single. But the best thing is this: when you get the record, you’re gonna listen to it in its entirety, and at the end, you’re gonna be, like, ‘I wish we had more.’ But there’s already 13 tracks… I mean, even the label said, ‘Look, we’re good with 11,’ and I said, ‘Okay, these other two songs. You wanna leave them off?’ And they were, like, ‘Oh, fuck no.’ I said, ‘Well, then there you go.’ If people are gonna spend money, let’s give ’em their money’s worth.”
Fafara described the experience of hearing the finished album for the first time in the car, driving through the mountains of California with no phone signal: “The first time that I listened to the record in its entirety was about two weeks ago. I had no signal on my phone, which, for me, is a miracle, and I was, like, ‘Great.’ I got no phone calls for 45 minutes, and we put the record on. And when it was done, I actually said to my wife, who was driving, I go, ‘That’s it?’ And she’s, like, ‘Yeah, that’s it, man. You guys got 13 tracks.’ And I was, like, ‘I want more.’ So that’s a really good thing, I think, for sure to have. And this thing is back on track. And wait till you see it live, man. It is a no-nonsense throwdown.”
When Strike And Kill was first announced in April, Fafara said in a statement: “My headspace hasn’t changed. I have not become complacent or soft in my view of the world or in my music. Metal is our outlet as listeners and writers, so on this record, we focused on ‘getting it all out’ lyrically and backing those lyrics with savage, relentless music that fuels the heavy California groove like no other. DevilDriver has never sounded like any other band; we do our own thing in our own way, and I’m the most proud of that.”
Lead single “Dig Your Own Grave” was described as being about “how one wrong decision, one wrong move can see your whole world turned upside down,” with Fafara adding: “It can also refer to how your decisions can fuck someone else. This is why there’s the line ‘Six feet ain’t deep enough for you,’ because only a deep, deep hole is fitting for what you’ve done or tried to do to others.”
DevilDriver hits the road for a western U.S. run with Upon A Burning Body and Ov Sulfur beginning Aug. 14 in San Diego, Calif., wrapping Sept. 5 in Anaheim, Calif., with stops in Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Reno along the way.
