After some complicated years, Dez Fafara is back and the press notes it with one voice: 70/100 across five reviews, public at 74. Blabbermouth (9/10) leads the charge: « the riffs are lethal, the solos are incendiary, and Dez is audibly and unstoppably back in the game ». Metal Hammer follows at 8/10, and Distorted Sound (7/10) hears « powerful, groove-laden metal that packs a real punch ».
What everyone agrees on: the boss’s form and the band’s hitting power. Kerrang! (3/5), the least enthusiastic of the online reviewers, still describes « a 51-minute barrage on the senses » with ferocious execution, citing « Dig Your Own Grave », « Dead In The Water » and « Ride Or Die » among the moments that land. Nobody disputes the craft or the production.
The fault line is novelty: none. Kerrang! puts it nicely — the band isn’t knocking on familiar doors so much as « plunging fists through » them — while Classic Rock sanctions with a 5/10. A blitzkrieg record, not a conquest: if you want DevilDriver, this is it, and it’s good.