Hell Unleashed

If there was one criticism of the thrash metal revival of the 2000s that continues to recur in both polite and impolite conversation alike, it’s the notion that the most prominent adherents were too interested in reliving the past rather than building upon it. Perhaps it didn’t help matters that there was a concurrent fascination with the cultural tropes of the 80s that came in with the style’s revival, embodied in the pizza and beer brand of party thrash that was spearheaded by the likes of Municipal Waste and Insanity Alert. Even some of the more technically charged and serious players in the early scene were not wholly immune to being labeled an overt throwback, most notably the British quartet Evile, who originally cut their teeth as a Metallica tribute band in the early 2000s and brought a number of derivative elements into their original music, not the least of which being vocalist and guitarist Matt Drake’s uncanny resemblance to James Hetfield’s signature gruff style.

But staying power and weathering adversity has a way of silencing critics, and if unleashing four highly compelling studio albums weren’t enough to accomplish this, the massive comeback that is their latest offering Hell Unleashed is sure to do just that. Emerging after 8 years of studio silence and the loss of their aforementioned helmsman, a turn of events that have irreparably altered the trajectory of many a promising act, this album stands as one of the more impressive yet accessible reinventions to ever occur in thrash metal. Although they naturally haven’t full abandoned their stylistic affinity for Metallica, this time around the speed and ferocity has been amplified to the point of mid-80s Slayer levels of intensity, further bolstered by a more nasty and dissonant riffing approach. Likewise, Matt’s younger brother and lead guitarist Oliver “Ol” Drake brings a far deeper and more menacing vocal approach that falls somewhere between Chuck Billy’s present sound and the death metal-tinged one he displayed back in the late 90s.

First impressions don’t necessarily define an album, but in this particular case, the tone and tenor of where Evile seek to take their fans is pretty clear at its very onset. The frenzied opening crusher “Paralysed” hurls things into an absolute fever pitch reminiscent of where Slayer went on Hell Awaits, though with a bit more of a precision-based riffing approach that is equally fast but a tad bit more organized. The guitar solo trotted out also has a bit more of an Alex Skolnick sense of systematic chaos rather than the noise-driven madness of King or Hanneman, though the creepy tonality at work throughout the song is definitely darker than classic or modern Testament. Following this mighty beast of a opener, the almost death/thrashing character of this album becomes a bit more pronounced via tremolo-driven mosh machines with an evil air about them such as “Gore” and the technically flashy “Disorder”, the former blurring the lines between the Bay Area sound and the more extreme character of Possessed and Sepultura, while the latter has some occasional flashes of early 90s Death and late 80s Pestilence influences.

The auditory violence on display here is not the only indicator of a shift in direction towards a more extreme and blood red mold of thrash, as the subjects covered by the lyrics have a far more horrific quality relative to past releases. In addition to the almost death metal lyrical trappings of “Gore”, the wretched and chaotic fury of “The Things (1982)” delves head first into the horror trappings of the John Carpenter film it is named for, and musically bounces back and forth between being a rapid fire nod to Demolition Hammer and a slower, groovy creeper that occasionally reminds of Obituary. The slow-paced, undead romp turned Reign In Blood-inspired hyper-thrasher “Zombie Apocalypse” also lays the horror tropes on fairly thick, while Drake opts to go full Kerry King mode during the brief guitar solo burst. Even more conventional high octane speeders such as the closing title anthem “Hell Unleashed” and the creepy acoustic nod to Metallica’s “Harvester Of Sorrow” turned cruiser “Incarcerated” has more of an extreme mid-80s flavor more in line with Possessed and Slayer rather than the mainline Bay Area sound of the later 80s.

For those that like their thrash metal as intense and frenetic as possible while also avoiding some of the comical elements that were fairly common during the thrash revival’s late 2000s heyday, it doesn’t get much better than this. The only real drawback to this album is that those who were used to Matt Drake’s more melodically dynamic vocal approach will find Oliver’s more throaty and deep growls and mutterings a tad static by comparison. But as with any thrash metal album worth its salt, this offering lives and dies by the riffs it brings to the table and on that front there is very little left to be desired. This is almost of the same caliber as Evile’s riveting 2007 debut Enter The Grave, and those who miss the days when this band was setting the standard of the revival alongside the likes of Warbringer and Angelus Apatrida in how the style could be intense without quite venturing into overt death/thrash territory, this is another fine example to emerge in the past couple years of how those days never totally left us.

Originally written for Sonic Perspectives (www.sonicperspectives.com)

Back in 2013, I was pretty new to metal and the vast pool of bands and subgenres that it held. UK thrashers Evile, however, was one name that I was familiar with, and recall being blown away by Skull. Seeing how I still love it to this day, you can imagine my excitement upon hearing that, after eight years, we’re getting a new album. Take longtime lead guitarist Ol Drake and hand him the vocal duties in place of Matt Drake, enter Adam Smith, and you’ve now got another angle to look at this from. The end product is Hell Unleashed.

So how different does the band sound with such a significant time gap and lineup change? Well, the musical direction is more or less the same. Speed remains the biggest selling factor, cranking out lightning fast riffs under crackling drums, all finished with some tight clear-coating. I’ve admittedly grown to dislike that kind of production in thrash, but it can be overlooked when the songwriting is extra stellar. The issue is, I don’t particularly think that’s the case here.

However, there is an obvious reach for that with Hell Unleashed; I’m not about to pretend that this is bad. Looking at “Incarcerated,” it’s basically a lot of advanced writing with little flow. This is a fairly long tune with endless riffs, several changes of pace, and slow suspense for effect, which is all well and good. The problem is, it feels so awkward and somewhat forced, ultimately lacking focus. I also can’t say I’m a huge fan of Ol Drake doing the vocals. There isn’t nearly as much range shown, and the vocals themselves are extremely monotone. Another example is “The Thing (1982).” This horror film-inspired tune has some of the most monstrous attacks and tightest builds, but I have a hell of a time following it. And again, the vocals feel very dry

What’s nice is that these standout moments are pretty fun on their own merit. Opener “Paralysed” actually sets a fairly high bar with its steadier structure backed by some serious drive. “Disorder” also has beautiful licks to lead us in with beefy leads to carry us over chuggy, Megadeth-like rhythms. The Mortician cover of “Zombie Apocalypse” was an interesting choice, and weirdly fit his vocal style better. I also have to give a little credit to the title track for having some chops too.

I really think this could have been a lot better if there was a fifth band member. Give someone else full-time vocal duties, and the guitarists can arrange writing with a little more flow. This is a worthwhile album, especially if you’re a long-time fan. But I will say that I was somewhat disappointed. Clearly it wasn’t a matter of rushing or needing more time, I think a bit more focus could do wonders.

Originally written for Sleeping Village

I will be splitting this review into five categories: music, lyrics, production, cover art, and album flow. In this review, I will analyze all five of these aspects to see how well made, Evile's Hell Unleashed really is.

Music:

The majority of this album is very fast. I love that about this album. "Paralysed," "Gore," "Incarcerated," and "War of Attrition" start this album off with a bang! "Paralysed" has a Slayer and Testament flavor to it with the breakdown that comes in around halfway. "Gore" was my favorite song of the album. It had a catchy start before going balls to the wall. While comedian Brian Posehn has a credit for being featured on this song, you can't really hear him, or he's in the gang vocal parts. Regardless, it's a memorable song with memorable chorus and a memorable solo. "Incarcerated" starts off with the most sinister intro on the album. It reminded me of Alice in Chains and Slayer. There's even a "Dead Skin Mask" inspired part that follows before it gets intense and fast. The ending has a "Don't Tread on Me" style breakdown, which I liked. "War of Attrition" continues the fast flow of the album beautifully. Quite an anthem as well.

"Disorder" is the middle song, but it slows things down as it's a more Overkill/D-beat oriented song. This track has a feeling similar to the song "Rise Up" by Testament in how it would fit better in a live setting with the crowd singing along to the chorus. Regardless, it helps to keep things diverse going forward. "The Thing (1982)" is the fastest song on the album and it's an amazing one too. With lyrics written inspired by the movie this song is named after. Some death metal and black metal influences can be heard as well. Death metal in the intensity and black metal in the almost hypnotic blast beats this song has. The cover of Mortician's "Zombie Apocalypse" is quite unique in the sense that it's a thrash metal band covering a death metal song. It's a great cover, even though, it's weird to hear this song in a clean production, whereas Mortician is quite dirty sounding. "Control from Above" does something different. Most of the songs is thrash throughout with groovy transitions. Here, it's groovy throughout with fast thrash transitions. This track has the most melodic guitar solo heard and it's sinister, yet beautiful. The title track was the first single released and it wound up being the album closer. A catchy and fun song to end this monster of an album.

Overall, the guitar work was insane. The drum work was pounding. The bass work was great. Now the one thing people will complain about most with this album is Ol Drake's vocals. Since his older brother Matt left the band last year due to illness, Ol stepped up to the plate to do vocals. While he's not as good as Matt, Ol's vocals are good for what they are. If this move is permanent, maybe the next album, he'll be better. If not and Matt comes back, we'll see. In the past, Evile's most prominent influences were Slayer and Metallica. On Hell Unleashed, there's more Sodom, Possessed, early Sepultura, and Testament influences coming in. Also, it has a death metal intensity plastered on top to give this album more aggression.

Lyrics:

The lyrics on this album represent themes of hell, gore, war, horror, mind control, and disease. The title track gives off the most sinister conjurations. "Paralysed," "Gore" and "The Thing (1982)" has the more gory, horror, and disease based stories to tell. "Gore" is especially brutal in it's lyrics about the lust for murder and ripping flesh. "Incarcerated," "War of Attrition,"Disorder," and Control from Above" has those war and mind control embellishments. Overall, lyrical content has some diversity to it, to make this album stand out.

Production:

I love the production on this album. Some people may find it too clean, and while to each their own, I love this slick clean sound. Chris Clancy helped make every instrument and vocal pattern stand out on their own. The one complaint goes back to what I said about Brian Posehn's part in "Gore." Overall, everything is audible, tight, and well rounded.

Cover Art:

The cover art is nothing too special for me. It's just an evil reaper figure in a red hood. The cover is lackluster compared to the amazing cover art of previous albums. If I was an artist, I would've done a cover that showcased the depths of hell breaking apart and demons raising from the grave to take over Earth to give the album a truly sinister visual to stare at when listening to the music.

Album Flow:

All of the songs on this album flows together in a nice and neath little bow, perfectly. No start/stops in between songs. I do wish the songs had more connection to one another to give it a sense of concept and fluidity, but it didn't necessarily need that though.

After reviewing this album over the five categories, I will give Evile's Hell Unleashed a 100% score. Buy this album. A great comeback for the band that helped reinvigorate thrash metal in the mid 2000s. As amazing as this album is, I look forward to seeing what happens next. Will Matt Drake be back? Will Ol's vocals improve? Will they get even faster and more aggressive? Only time will tell.

(get it? It's a Destruction album)

After 8 (eight!) years of inactivity, the new wave of thrash metal pioneers, Evile, are finally back to business with their fifth record “Hell Unleashed”. After such a long hiatus, one could only expect greatness from this new release, and this album sure does live up to the expectations. Featuring a fresh line-up, Evile delivers 41 minutes of relentless, death metal infused thrashing greatness.

The first thing we notice right off the bat (well technically not but you get the idea) is the new singer, Ol Drake who is the brother of the band’s former singer, Matt Drake. His vocals are the divisive part of the album, some will say they’re rather monotonous, some will say that they fit the music, I am more supportive of the latter and while it’s true Evile lost some of the more melodic approach of Matt’s vocals (which were very prominent on “Five Serpents Teeth”), Ol’s vocals are much rawer and fit the music played on this album better, because when compared to their previous work, “Hell Unleashed” is much more aggressive sounding. It should also be noted that this is Ol’s first time on vocals, meaning there still is room for improvement.

I’ve read somewhere that this album could be Evile’s “Reign In Blood". This is surprisingly true, right as the opener “Paralysed” kicks in, we can immediately hear the Slayer influences (the 0-0-0-0 thingy, if you don’t get it). “Paralysed” has everything a thrash metal album opener should have: speed, intensity, tempo changes and a great solo, it definitely is a highlight of the album and one of the better tracks offered here. The next song further proves that they know how death/thrash is done (no, I haven’t made that up). “Gore” mixes together both genre’s characteristics, speed and dissonance. The chorus on this song is pure death metal sound: tritone tremolo riffing. This song features Brain Posehn, who is a British comedian and, apparently, an Evile fan. Apart from name dropping, I’m not sure what the real purpose behind this is because all he does is shout “gore” on the chorus and this could have been done with another member of the band. Anyways, this a great song and my favourite of the album.

Another song that goes far into death metal territory is “The Thing (1982)”. It is blazing fast, very in-your-face and that tremolo riffing on the chorus brings the song to whole level of intensity, it is another highlight of the album. And while we’re drawing influence from death metal, why not just cover a death metal song? Well, they did that, “Zombie Apocalypse” is a Mortician cover which starts rather slowly but then speeds up once it reaches the chorus. It is very well done and fits the theme of the album well although it feels a bit out of place.

Now, onto the album’s high point: the fucking solos (or soli if you’re a latin purist). They’re all majestic, very well crafted and show the undeniable lead guitar skills of Ol Drake (you may not like his vocals but if you don’t like his solos, you have no soul). Whether they’re blistering fast like on “Gore”, more melodic such as “Control From Above”, or BOTH like in “Paralysed”, I can’t emphasize enough how great the solos are on this album. My favourite ones are on the aforementioned songs and the title track but each song has an amazing solo to be honest.

The drumming is worthy of attention too: Mr. Carter laid down some sick beats throughout the album and the sudden tempo changes hit you like a hammer, the best example would be “Incarcerated”. This song has great dynamics to keep it interesting. It might be the best song drum-wise. The bass could have, unfortunately, been louder in the mix. The production has been done very well, it is clear yet impactful, it might be the best sounding Evile record to this date.

Overall, this album doesn’t disappoint at all, it’s clear that Evile went all in with the intensity and aggression, but they didn’t fail where many thrash acts do: playing at 210 bpm throughout the entire album without changing the pace once. Evile know when they need to let the thrash loose and when to slow down to give the listener a break and keep the album interesting (let’s face it, 40 minutes of 210 bpm thrash can become boring rather quickly). I was first going to give this album a 82% but upon repeated listen, I like it even more so I might rank it higher.

Highly recommended if you like Slayer, …AJFA era Metallica, Destruction or if you’re simply of thrash metal maniac like me!


Favourite tracks (in the album order):
"Paralysed"
"Gore"
"The Thing (1982)"
"Control From Above"

Evile released their first album in 8 years this morning, and honestly, it's about what I expected. When I heard that Evile was making a new after almost a decade, I was expecting a masterpiece... then the 3 singles came out. Hell Unleashed is a very good song, but I was honestly expecting more after such a long hiatus. Gore is alright, and The Thing is shit. So in the couple of days leading up to the release of this album, I was expecting a mixed bag, although I was quite optimistic, and I was kind of right. The album is mostly great, with some weaker tracks such as Disorder and The Thing. Most of the music is tremolo-picked riffs that sound like tracks that were written for Enter the Grave but didn't quite cut it. As I said, virtually all of the songs are blazingly fast and none of them really drag on for too long, but I feel like so much more could've been done with some of these songs. For example, War of Attrition is probably my favourite song from the album. It's blistering, consistent and reminds me of 2000's Exodus, but they could've put more riffs and time changes into that song to make it really memorable. The cover of Zombie Apocalypse is a good song, but it feels out of place with the rest of the album since it doesn't fit with the writing style of the rest of the runtime. The drumming is also crazy and very in-your-face, and the beats stand out on tracks such as Gore, where the sudden change in tempo hits you like a mace to the face. It's at sections like this where the album is at its best; impactful, heavy, and thrashy but original.

Ol's vocals are quite monotonous and snarly compared to Matt's, and honestly it makes Evile sound like almost a completely different band, if it weren't for the groovy 80's-style riffs and sledgehammer drums. Ol's singing is very impressive though, his deep barks sound like a demon screaming over the soundtrack to hell, which I guess is what they were going for considering the album's title. Some of the record even ventures into progressive territory, with songs such as the opening track, Paralysed, which has a lot of very interesting riffs, as well as slower sections and dynamic breakdowns. Incarcerated is the same too, although I'm not too sure about the samples that are played over it. The record as a whole is constantly shifting in tempo and dynamics; at some times it's furious, primitive and one-directional, but in a good way, and at other times it's more intricate and well-layered. However, almost every song plays out in this exact way. I personally think that, because this is Evile's first album in such a long time, they should've went all out and made every song completely different to each other, all with very strong parts. Instead, a lot of these songs bleed together since most of them follow the same formula, starting fast, then slowing down, then speeding up again.

The production is done very well, you can tell that they spent a lot of time making this album sound optimal, with a lot of layers in every song. The guitars sound beefy and vibrant, and the drums sound clean, although the bass could be a bit louder. The lead solos on this record took me by surprise, they're all well-composed and indicate that the guys have been playing for a long time; they fit the rhythms well without devolving into a chromatic mess. I think that Control From Above should've ended the album, it's very well-put-together, and somewhat emotional, like something from Warbringer's latest album. The title track feels out of place as an album closer and sounds like it would be more fitting as the opener, it sort of leaves the record ending awkwardly and too suddenly, whereas Control From Above would be much more apt. Finally, I would say that there's a lot of enjoyment to be found on Hell Unleashed, but it's fairly underwhelming and lacks ambition. I would recommend listening to Control From Above, War of Attrition, Paralysed and the title track. The rest is fairly ok.