2007, Earache Records MOSH 353
Thrash Revival. That phrase scares me. Not because of the thrash part. I love thrash. I've been listening to it since 1984. Not a week goes by without a little EXODUS or TESTAMENT. I'm afraid there will be a score of bands jumping on the thrash bandwagon to make a quick buck. I don't need to hear another watered-down 'Kill 'Em All'. I heard plenty of that in the late 80's when death metal killed thrash dead.
So anyway, there's a band from the UK called EVILE. They play thrash. And they're on Earache. And they got Flemming Rasmussen to produce it. So this should sound like early METALLICA. Wrong!
The first track is pretty typical thrash: lyrics about killing, a galloping riff, melodic breaks, fast chorus. Everything sounds nice, though the bass is a little too low in the mix. Musically I heard a lot of EXODUS and some (early) METALLICA. Matt Drake has a great thrash voice; it's rich and melodic and doesn't sound like the other thrash singers.
The second track is where the CD really begins to take off. 'Thrasher' has some beautiful, tight riffing. And it's fast. It's so good that on the next track, 'First Blood', when Matt sings 'Master', I expect 'of Puppets' to come next. Thankfully, it doesn't.
This CD is not all blazing speed. There is a nice intro to 'Man Against Machine'. EVILE keep the musical pace varied throughout so no thrash fan will get bored with this.
The lyrics are pretty typical thrash. Lots of killing and destruction. There's also a song about gladiators (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM did that one better), a killer shark (reminding me of 'Piranha' by EXODUS), a song based on a book/movie (isn't that where ANTHRAX gets their ideas?), and schizophrenia (hello SEPULTURA).
Nonetheless, this is a very good first effort and should be in the collection of any thrash fan. EVILE has studied hard and learned their lessons well. They recently toured with MEGADETH and will be touring Europe with EXODUS.
Contact Info:
Please visit Earache Records.
Or Evile's page.
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