Evile has been regarded as potentially one of the best New Wave of Thrash Metal bands that emerged in recent times. Their debut album Enter the Grave was soo f*cking insane! It got the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I heard Thrasher and the title track - Enter the Grave about a year back. It was sooo aggressive and refreshing to hear those insane tremolo laced guitars after quite some time (at least for me). It was like a blitzkrieg on the speakers. I fell in love with the band from their very first song. I started searching more about them when I came across this new term called The New Wave of Thrash Metal and instantly I got introduced to a whole new set of bands which I dint know existed. They include Warbringer, Gamma Bomb, Municipal Waste etc etc. Anyways, from then I started following the scene pretty closely and I'm really excited about the new offerings. It got me nostalgic. I got the same feeling when I heard the old thrash metal bands for the first time.
So coming back to the post, after their debut album - Enter the Grave, came Infected Nations. It was a bit slower and more progressive with most of the songs being longer and the grooves being more melodic than their epic debut album. But, tragedy struck in 2009, when their bassist Mike Alexander died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism! After that tragic loss, they did a couple of shows as a metal requiem to Mike and they were all kickass. You can find the videos on youtube too. Joel Graham joined the band as their new bassist and the show was on the road again thankfully.
So coming back to the post, after their debut album - Enter the Grave, came Infected Nations. It was a bit slower and more progressive with most of the songs being longer and the grooves being more melodic than their epic debut album. But, tragedy struck in 2009, when their bassist Mike Alexander died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism! After that tragic loss, they did a couple of shows as a metal requiem to Mike and they were all kickass. You can find the videos on youtube too. Joel Graham joined the band as their new bassist and the show was on the road again thankfully.
Evile released their third album Five Serpent's Teeth a month back (or two months back maybe?). I just got it in my hands yesterday and boy it sounds like a monster!! It starts off with the title track - Five Serpent's Teeth which is an awesome first song for the album! The riffs and the stop start rhythm sections would make your head go in a perpetual motion.It shifts gears towards the second half of the song just before the solo and becomes even more faster than when it began. Ohh and it has an amazing solo!
In Dreams of Terror is a straight off thrash classic. The opening riffs gives way to this amazing drum section which gives way to this second set of riffs (at 0:34) which will blow your f*cking minds! The solo is again excellent. In fact all the songs have got incredible solos and tight drum sections.
Cult is a bit melodic and slower in tempo than the first two songs. Well, it kinda relaxes you after the initial assault. It has interesting bits but following In Dreams of Terror would always be difficult.
Eternal Empire begins with this eerie vocals and starts off slowly, before picking up the pace! It gets you right back to where you were after In Dreams of Terror. Its kinda like a roller coaster, tempo-wise. It has an awesome ending. The drums go crazy on this one!
Xaraya starts off with this chuga-chuga typical thrashy intro which is pretty cool. Its again a melodic track, bit slower as compared to the others. It has nice harmonies at various junctions through the song before the solo takes control. Its the longest song in this album at 6:04.
Origin of Oblivion and Centurion are typical Evile songs very much similar to the ones they did on Enter the Grave. Fast and aggressive.
In Memoriam is a surprise. It's a slow, gentle ballad dedicated to Mike Alexander. It uses clean guitars and Matt Drake sounds pretty comfortable singing with clean vocals.
[Update]: The opening bass riff used to be played by Mike during sound checks.
[Update]: The opening bass riff used to be played by Mike during sound checks.
Descent into Madness and Long Live New Flesh get you back to the aggressive mood that was there when you started listening to this album. It's a full on thrash metal assault on your ears.
Five Serpent's Teeth, for me, surpasses their previous albums. It's definitely better than Infected Nations and I would say at par (or a tad bit better) with Enter the Grave. All of them sound excellent. Even Matt Drake's vocals seems improved. The drums are pounding away and the guitars are nice and crisp. They do sound similar to the old Metallica sound. That's what everyone's complaining about. But I dont really care. I loved the old school Metallica sound and I love Evile too. In Dreams of Terror, Origin of Oblivion and Eternal Empire are definitely going in my running playlist.
