DevilDriver makes their return to The Rave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in support of their latest release, “Strike and Kill,” bringing along a handful of heavy metal familiar faces and favorites.
Cultus Black, making another appearance at The Rave after May’s tour supporting Cradle of Filth, started off the show for the Milwaukee crowd as the doors opened up to the intimate setting of The Rave’s basement club venue. Having made many stops in the Milwaukee area in the past few years, some of the crowd was familiar with the group, notably the vibe and the almost complete lack of lighting for their stage performance.
The imposing form of Ov Sulfur filled the small stage as the group quickly dropped some of the heaviest blast beats and guttural growls of the night. Just when you thought vocalist Ricky Hoover had hit the most menacing low growls, he somehow pulled out something even lower, sounding borderline demonic. The circle pit was absolute chaos, spinning and moshing immediately for the first song and not stopping until the end of the brisk opening set.
Upon a Burning Body’s ridiculously heavy set opened with a light affair, featuring a dual acoustic guitar arrangement by their guitarists, adorned in sugar skull masks. The Texas group always shows off their Tejano and Hispanic heritage through song and visuals, with no exceptions. Their brutal and energetic set got the crowd going even wilder, with the circle pit expanding as the crowd spread to the edges of the ballroom to avoid the chaotic dancing.
The fan-favorite track “Extermination” brought the heavy breakdowns early in the set to keep the energy level going, leading to a final push with the classic “Texas Blood Money” wrapping up the set with a bang. The set wrapped slightly earlier than scheduled but didn’t seem to be cut short as the band moved quickly from track to track. With the temperature rising in the building, the active crowd had to prop open doors to cool themselves down from the nonstop chaos that was the circle pits for the past two acts.
DevilDriver hit the stage with no holds barred, immediately opening the show by launching into “Clouds Over California,” their most popular track. The crowd quickly perked back up and started the pits immediately. They also began to send crowd surfers over, and this song alone might take the cake as some of the most crowd surfing I’ve ever seen at a show. Starting the show with that track was unreal, and it got the pulse of the room pounding.
Despite promoting the 2026 release “Strike and Kill,” the set included lots of favorites from the earliest albums, including five off of the original self-titled release. “I Could Care Less” kept the fire alive in the crowd during the early half of the set, and the favorite “End of the Line” wrapped up the final moments of the night. Despite being one of their most popular tracks, the metal cover of AWOLNATION's “Sail” was not present in the setlist.
With the tour drawing to a close and a heavy focus on the Southwest USA, it seemed to be a rare opportunity for those in the Midwest to catch the group live. With no East coast dates, it begs the question of if the group plans to do a follow-up leg to cover those markets. If so, it would be a great chance to see a solid set of mostly classic tracks.
