EVILE - review added 15th September 2009
Album Review: Infected Nations (2009)
For fans of: Thrash... and Vile with an 'e'
Rising thrash stars Evile hail from Huddersfield in the north of England. Matt Drake (rhythm guitar/vocals), his brother Ol Drake (lead guitar), Ben Carter (drums) and Mike Alexander (bass) got together at the start of the decade over a shared love of Metallica. They started playing covers of Metallica and other thrashy acts but soon began writing and recording their own material.
A couple of demo discs followed before 2007's Enter The Grave, their first full-length studio album. By this time they'd been signed to Earache Records and had the pleasure of working with famed producer Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica, Blind Guardian, Morbid Angel). They've also managed tours with bands like Megadeth and Exodus.
Infected Nations, Evile's 2nd full release, obviously aims to better the debut in every way imaginable. Produced by Russ Russell (Napalm Death, The Wildhearts, Dimmu Borgir), and with artwork from Michael Whelan (Stephen King, Sepultura, Obituary), they have headed out of the blocks with a fantastic head start. To bestow names like this on a young band, great things must be expected.
The title track kicks things off in emphatic style. The mellow, classical guitar intro builds into a devilishly heavy guitar riff built on what sounds like the dying throes of a weapons factory. The main body of the song is, well, Trivium basically. It sounds so like the Florida quartet it's uncanny. Nothing wrong with sounding like Trivium, obviously, but the first impression is that Evile really need to find their own sound.
The considerably heavier 'Now Demolition' is a monster with big claws and a jackhammer. It's a thunderous track that almost makes the first entry sound wet. Matt Drake still sounds like Matt Heafy though. Perhaps it's being called Matt and having a 5 letter surname? I'll do some research... 'Nosophorous' is a speedy track with a few Slayer-esque moments. The instrumental sections of the track will blow your f*cking mind, for want of a better phrase.
'Genocide' is likeable (or hateable in a good way, depending on your outlook), again with fabulous musicianship. 'Plague to End All Plagues' is a touch obvious, whilst 'Devoid of Thought' again puts some of the years' best musicianship in a seemingly average overall song. These boys can play - they can REALLY play - but they really need more hooks and big memorable choruses to make themselves stand out.
'Time No More' sounds good but isn't that memorable. The more thoughtful 'Metamorphosis' is a much better track. The sound suggests they were trying to make more than mere thrash and the result is good. Final entry 'Hundred Wrathful Deities' follows the style of old Metallica instrumentals. Think along the lines of Call Of Ktulu and To Live Is To Die merged into one and you'll get the idea. Obviously, Evile add their own seasoning to the mix and they playing is exemplary.
I like this record for what it is, but it isn't at all original. They guys are clearly superbly talented; obviously an essential building block to making a brilliant album . I'm sure they've got something phenomenal sounding inside them - they just need to move away from sounding so much like a Trivium clone.
Check out... Michael Whelan's art skills. He really is bloody handy.
Track List:
1. Infected Nation
2. Now Demolition
3. Nosophorous
4. Genocide
5. Plague to End All Plagues
6. Devoid of Thought
7. Time No More
8. Metamorphosis
9. Hundred Wrathful Deities
Label: Earache Records
Artist's website(s): Evile , MySpace
