Evile | Five Serpent’s Teeth
by John Kindred
Staff Writer —
The U.K. conjures up thrash metal in the guise of Evile, pronounced “eeh-vile,” by the band. Harboring influences from the great thrash metal bands that launched their careers during the ‘80s, such as Metallica; Sepultura; Exodus; Annihilator; and Slayer, Evile carry on in the tradition of the greats. Beginning their career as a Metallica cover band, known then as Metal Milita in Heddersfield, WestYorkshire, Evile released their first album of original music, Enter the Grave, under their new moniker in ’07. The band then followed up their debut album with the sophomore release of Infected Nations in ’09.
Their third release, Five Serpent’s Teeth, is amped up with 10 furious tracks of thrash metal mayhem. Highlighted by hard-hitting percussion, the slamming low end rumble of the bass, blistering leads, chunky rhythm guitars and gritty vocals, Evile finds the apple not falling far from the tree. The band is a tight, cohesive unit that flows flawlessly through Five Serpent’s Teeth.
Five Serpent’s Teeth 10 songs clock in at almost an hour of music. Quite refreshing as many of today’s studio releases don’t top the tank off, leaving listeners with much less music for their hard-earned dollars. Again, the band’s influences clearly are evident. The vocals by Drake, while mired in grittiness, are quite audible. It’s refreshing to be able to instantly understand the vocalist, making the music easier to sing along with if you so choose. Plenty of chugging guitar rhythms are blessed with some splendid guitar solos. The guitar solos run the gambit from melodic and fluid harmonized solos to all-out blistering leads.
From a rhythmic stand point, the music has an instant head-bobbing groove to it. The music is not insulting or overly aggressive, which might drive away the music fan who is not indoctrinated in the genre of thrash metal. Brothers Matt and Ol Drake provide the listener with spot-on, heavy-handed rhythmic crunch from the guitars. Drummer Ben Carter levels plenty of double bass at the listener. Graham bass pummels the auditory spectrum, holding down the groove with the drums while hammering while remaining united the with notes of the songs’ arrangements. Overall, Evile provides a spirited romp through the thrash metal world. The music is engaging and holds your attention with pulsating grooves that fuel the musical arrangements. You won’t be hard pressed to pick a favorite track as there are no filler tracks.
Die-hard thrash metal fans, who have lived and breathed the genre from its inception, only will fault Evile for not bringing anything new to the fold. But they won’t diss the band for lack of skills or not being able to play the their music. Evile provide head-banging music for mosh pits everywhere in the vein of the greats. In fact, these Brits do the genre justice by continuing to keep the music alive. New fans will love the band and clamor to hear the bands that influenced Evile. Die-hard thrash metal fans will give the band a nod of respect.
Genre: Thrash Metal
Band:
Matt Drake – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Ol Drake – Lead guitar
Joel Graham – Bass guitar
Ben Carter – Drums
Track Listing:
01. Five Serpent’s Teeth
02. In Dreams of Terror
03. Cult
04. Eternal Empire
05. Xaraya
06. Origin of Oblivion
07. Centurion
08. In Memoriam
09. Descent Into Madness
10. Long Live New Flesh
Find Evile on the web:
http://www.evile.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/evileuk
http://www.twitter.com/evileuk
http://www.atmoapparel.co.uk/bands/evile/
Label: Earache Records
Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10