I must say I’m loving every minute of this thrash “revival” we’ve been seeing these days. Above and beyond any other form of metal, I’m a thrasher through and through. I’ve spent countless hours wearing thin my copies of Testament, Metallica, Kreator, and Megadeth albums. Most of these older (original) thrash bands have moved away from the traditional thrash sound, or have become kind of unreliable (Slayer), so this new wave of 80’s styled thrash bands tickles my fancy more than you could imagine. Fueled by Fire, Skeletonwitch, Dekapitator, Warbringer, Hyades, and now the UK’s entry to the field, Evile have been consistently sending me into near cases of whiplash over the past several months.

Evile’s sound can best be summed up as what Slayer should sound like today, but they are by no means a Slayer carbon copy. You can hear a heavy dose of Death Angel, and elements of Testament, Exodus and of course Metallica in there too. Vocalist Matt Drake spits forth a very Tom Araya-ish vocal style with surprising clarity, yet not lacking any venom. Drake is also one of the bands two guitarists, with the other being his brother Ol, and together they create and lay down some sharp, precise riffs and solos that wail and shred with the best of ‘em. Ben Carter is the man behind the kit, and he handles his sticks and feet more than competently, supporting the already lethal guitar attack while the thick yet nimble bass tones of Mike Alexander are allowed to show through with clarity due to the impeccable production job by the legendary Flemming Rasmussen (Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All).

When “Enter the Grave” kicks off, you automatically know what your in for – a merciless thrash beating. There’s really not a lot of variety here, but when it comes to thrash, that’s not what one should be looking for – speed is what it’s all about, and Evile deliver the goods. However, a little variation does appear in “Man Against Machine”, where the band opens the song with a kind of eerie intro before diving into a frenzy, and closes it out with a slower, chunkier riff. Personal favorite “We Who Are About to Die” is more mid paced for the first couple minutes, bringing to mind portions of Seasons In The Abyss era Slayer, then of course picks up into maddening speed laced oblivion. Closer “Armoured Assault” begins with the sound of machine gun fire, explosions and a tank rolling over debris, and is the most frantic song of the bunch.

The only problem I could see someone having with this album is the glaring lack of originality – this is pure worship, with no intent of pushing the genre forward. If that’s not something your concerned with, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t shell out your hard earned dollar(s) for a fantastic thrash album, unless of course you don’t like thrash.

[Visit the band's website]

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