Concert Reviews

DevilDriver Concert Review and Photos

by Brooks Robinson

Updated September 08, 2026

DevilDriver – Houe of Blues Anaheim – September 5, 2026

When DevilDriver’s frontman Dez Fafara recently described the band’s 2026 live show as “Insane, intense, visceral, high voltage”, I took him at his word. Saturday night’s show at the House of Blues Anaheim was the last date of the Strike and Kill Tour, in support of the 2026 album of the same name, and DevilDriver were going to make sure the hometown show was memorable. The House of Blues Anaheim hosts a lot of heavy bands, but none that I’ve seen have ever managed to get the fans moving more than DevilDriver on this night. Dez doesn’t use his pulpit to ask the audience to mosh or crowd surf – he simply wills it to happen – the music does the rest, and people are powerless to resist.

DevilDriver

Upon a Burning Body was originally in the lineup, but had to drop off the tour a week ago due to illness in the band. While I was initially bummed they wouldn’t be playing, I knew that DevilDriver, coupled with opening bands Ov Sulfur and Cultus Black would make up for it, and that’s exactly what happened.

This is important music made by an important band, and their live show has always been a huge part of the appeal. This was my first time seeing them since Dez’s two-year health hiatus, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – would the show live up to the hype? The answer was a resounding yes - a constant ball of energy and flying hair, Dez was in great form and sounded amazing, having lost nothing in the downtime. The rest of the band was similarly stellar, and seeing bassist and founding member Jon Miller back in the band and killing it made the performance even more memorable. Alex Lee and Gabe Mangold traded impossible licks on guitar, while drummer Davier Ortega was a standout - somehow remaining in the pocket as he pulverized his kit song after song.

The crowd weren’t the only ones having fun – you could tell the entire band was having a good night on stage. Smiles were infectious, and the crowd at the 1700 capacity House of Blues had the time of their lives. It was impossible to take your eyes off Dez – he’s a born performer, and gave everything he had to the show. From high-fiving crowd surfers as security was catching them in the pit, to constantly patrolling the stage and unleashing his powerful and unique vocal delivery seamlessly and without effort – the night was his. I believe Saturday night’s reception by the fans in Anaheim assured him that even after two years away from the Los Angeles/Orange County area, he and the rest of the band had only gotten better.

DevilDriver is:

Dez Fafara – Vocals
Gabe Mangold – Guitar
Alex Lee – Guitar
Jon Miller – Bass
Davier Ortega – Drums

Setlist:

1) Clouds Over California

2) Not All Who Wander Are Lost

3) I Could Care Less

4) Head on to Heartache (Let Them Rot)

5) Strike and Kill

6) Meet the Wretched

7) Swinging the Dead

8) Dig Your Own Grave

9) Dead in the Water

10) Hold Back the Day

11) Cry for Me Sky (Eulogy of the Scorned)

12) The Mountain

13) End of the Line

Ov Sulfur

Ov Sulfur are a blackened deathcore band from Las Vegas that formed during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Vocalist Ricky Hoover looks like an NFL linebacker, and is equally capable of throttling you with his voice as well as his arms. The audience was already in a frenzy before Ov Sulfur took the stage, but things ramped up as soon as the first notes hit the air. These guys were great live, and their energy translated seamlessly into the crowd - a wall of death was requested and delivered, and the mosh pit was off the hook. Ov Sulfur was the ideal complement to this bill, slotting in perfectly between Cultus Black and DevilDriver.

Ov Sulfur is:

Ricky Hoover – Vocals
Chase Wilson – Guitar
Christian Becker – Guitar
Ryan Rivard/Levi Xu – Drums

Cultus Black

While I knew what to expect from DevilDriver, I didn’t know anything about Cultus Black. They emerged from the side of the stage in total darkness, and when the lights came up, four men in masks were standing behind their instruments, while vocalist L was painted white with black accents. Their set was short, but beyond memorable – their percussionist/vocalist Z jumped off of everything in sight (risers, drums, the stage), went crowd surfing, got face to face with fans on the barricade, and generally tore the place up. Nobody was conversing with their significant other, watching from the sidelines, or checking their watches wondering when the next band would go on – Cultus Black was no joke, and people were engaged – it was impossible not to be.

Cultus Black is a great live band, and definitely someone to pay attention to – I’m sure being on this tour with DevilDriver brought them a lot of well-deserved attention, and I expect to see and hear a lot more from them going forward. They certainly brought an amazing amount of energy to their early opening slot, and set the tone and expectations for the rest of the night.

Cultus Black is:

L-237 – Vocals
G-382 – Percussion/Vocals
J-451 – Bass
M-1335 – Guitar
R-405 – Drums

Brooks Robinson Photographer & Writer

Brooks Robinson is an LA-based concert photographer, and 30+ year freelance camera operator for film, television, and music videos. He has photographed some of the largest film/TV projects in history, and hundreds of music videos in MTV's heyday.

Thanks for reading!