by Brian Krasman (Meat Mead Metal)
UK thrashers Evile have done a pretty good job getting their name and music out there, claiming tour support slots along titans such as Megadeth, Kreator, Overkill and Vader, getting their music onto Rock Band, something that surely exposed them to new fans, and becoming one of Earache’s most important bands. They seemed on their way. But tragedy struck the band in October 2009 when bassist Mike Alexander died while being rushed to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, and the rest of Evile were left to pick up the pieces. But they did just that. They paid homage to their fallen mate, worked to help Alexander’s family, and then they moved on to continue their art, culminating in the new album “Five Serpents Teeth.”
If you’ve followed the band since their inception and their debut record “Enter the Grave” and follow-up “Infected Nations,” you may be wondering if the group still sounds like they’re trying to be the new Metallica. Yes, they sort of are still doing that, but not nearly as blatantly as they were on “Infected.” A lot of that is due to the vocal approach and phrasing of vocalist/guitarist Matt Drake, who has way too much James Hetfield inside of him, but even he tries to change that up a bit on their third album. I don’t think Evile ever will get away from the Metallica worship, but now it’s used more as a base, and they branch out some musically. In fact, there are moments on “Five Serpents Teeth” that sound closer to modern-day Machine Head. “Five Serpents” is a good listen and a strong Evile album, which is right up there along with their debut. They open with the title track that begins sounding like the opening to “Blackened” and is the most blatant attempt on here to sound more like their idols than themselves. But things change up on “In Dreams of Terror” and “Xaraya,” which show the band is capable of standing on their own merits, and ballad “In Memoriam” is a sad, earnest tribute to their fallen mate Alexander. It’s one of the best songs in their catalog, bottom line. “Origin of Oblivion” and “Descent Into Madness” are both speedy rippers that prove Evil can be gnarlier and grittier than those who paved the way for them, and I’d like to hear them go this route more often.
This band is capable of doing their own thing, and while totally shedding the Metallica feathers may be tough, it’s something they should pursue more aggressively. This is a decent step toward that direction, and they should be commended for being able to recover from a horrible tragedy to reign again. Evile’s also one of the better thrash bands out there, but like Warbringer, they still need to make that special statement that gets them mentioned alongside thrash’s greats. Maybe they’ll get there on album four.
For more on the band, go here: http://www.evile.co.uk/
To buy “Five Serpents Teeth,” go here: http://earache.com/uswebstore/index.php/cPath/667_669_41?osCsid=t2iqohlt51m7eefhi2r1bbrgb5
For more on the label, go here: http://www.earache.com/
