Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Evile
Label: Earache
Release: 2009
Runtime: 59:23
Rating: 4/5
A good three years ago, English thrash metal outfit Evile dropped their debut Enter the Grave, which saw the light of day at an extremely fitting moment. Thrash metal has been on the rise again for the past few years, a good number of cult thrash bands from the eighties have announced reunions, and the newcomers have proven that it’s still possible to make a good, pure-blooded thrash metal album, even if it doesn’t reinvent the wheel. That’s exactly what the debut Enter the Grave was: it got positive reviews and helped Evile grow their fan base all over the world.
Two years later, Evile came back with a new album, Infected Nations. While the debut was mostly a big tribute to eighties thrash metal, with a sound like it was lifted straight off Metallica’s Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets, Infected Nations is a noticeably bigger step forward for the band. Don’t get me wrong, Evile are still firmly rooted in classic thrash metal, but the British quartet’s second record is much more mature, darker and technically more advanced, you could even say a bit progressive. Even though you won’t find any revolutionary novelties in thrash metal here, Infected Nations still sounds fresh, helped along in no small part by the modern production, “crunchy” Exodus-style guitars and plenty of tempo changes in the songs that make the whole package extremely lively and dynamic. Just like on the debut, the second record has an unusually high number of long tracks for thrash, averaging around five or six minutes, but Evile manage to say more than enough in the time they take, so things never get boring. To my mind, the biggest plus of Infected Nations is its incredibly dark atmosphere, built from atypical rhythm structures, riffs that sound like inescapable doom is hanging over them, and apocalyptic, atonal and dissonant solos from the fingers of Ol Drake, who really outdid himself on this record. The wicked riffs of brothers Matt and Ol Drake even wander into death metal territory, reminiscent mostly of the good old days of Sepultura in their Beneath the Remains era. The rhythm section has made noticeable progress too: Ben Carter’s pulsating drumming is inventive and crushing in all the right places, and Mike Alexander’s bass is finally audible more often, surfacing in the right spots like something Lovecraftian and unspeakable (especially the lovely solo excursions in Nosophoros and the eleven-minute instrumental treat Hundred Wrathful Deities). Yep, with its dark, wicked atmosphere and brilliantly built sense of looming horror, doom and that uneasy shiver that something otherworldly is about to grab you by the neck any second now, Infected Nations sounds like H.P. Lovecraft wrote thrash metal in the 21st century instead of Victorian horror novels. The excellent lyrics, mostly socially critical, are also deftly wrapped in symbolic Lovecraftian horror! Unfortunately, the biggest criticism once again falls on Matt Drake’s vocals, which sound pretty boring and monotonous. On the debut he sounded like a young Tom Araya; this time he’s commendably more unique, but the formula still isn’t quite right. Instead of fully transforming from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde, Matt stays somewhere in between, a misfit between the refined gentleman and the brutal monster. He doesn’t sound aggressive enough or melodic enough, and often comes across as just a pale copy of James Hetfield.
With Infected Nations, Evile are on an excellent path, since they sound distinctive and original enough, despite the current flood of thrash metal bands. They’re neither Bay Area thrash nor German, tectonic thrash; in their music you can find influences of early Metallica, Exodus, as well as Kreator and early Sepultura. Even so, Evile aren’t trapped in the traditional thrash metal patterns, and Infected Nations is a fresh breeze of modern thrash that has found its niche mainly in a menacing, dark atmosphere. And that works wonders for Evile!
Lineup
Matt Drake – vocals, guitar
Ol Drake – guitar
Mike Alexander – bass
Ben Carter – drums
Production
Russ Russel
Tracklist
1. Infected Nation
2. Now Demolition
3. Nosophoros
4. Genocide
5. Plague To End All Plagues
6. Devoid Of Thought
7. Time No More
8. Metamorphosis
9. Hundred Wrathful Deities
