Evile Skull (2013)

Evile Skull

Evile have always been a band riding the wave of the modern thrash metal revival scene which has gradually got bigger and bigger since the latter part of the Noughtie's. They first exploded onto the scene in 2007 with the much acclaimed album  "Enter The Grave" and since then have spawned 3 very strong album's since with each one growing in both publicity and production value's. As soon as I heard of there output for there 4th album bluntly entitled "Skull" it was hard not to conjure up sceptical thought's would the band still be able to produce a memorable album in what can sometime's be considered an over saturated and repetitive genre?

The album opens up with a pummelling chord stab intro unveiling a sound which any fan of there previous albums will have come to love with the production tone's sounding closer to there first two albums than there last release (2011's) Five Serpent's Teeth. Giving hint's to a rawer more underground influence favouring bands such as exodus and Sodom over Metallica or anthrax. 

The next track which really sticks out is the six minute epic the naked sun. This show's the band have carefully considered the pacing and structure of the album creating a journey which starts with a high paced chug which wouldn't sound out of place on a slayer release. As the song progresses to a close we see the tempo turned down and the lead guitar turned up to unveil a dual guitar melody line which has a generous nod at new wave of British metal bands such as iron maiden. 

As I continued listening to the album I couldn't help but being blown away by the track Tomb which starts with a dark brooding clean arpeggio showing us the band can also turn back the distortion and create a track of emotion and ambience. As the bass and drums interlock giving the tune a laid back and solid foundation you can hear each instrument blending together beautifully which show's all pre and post production value's have been carefully taken into considering to retain the artists intended tone's and integrity. This track itself is a good representation of how much the band have matured when compared to any track of enter the grave and has so far become one of my favourite Evile tracks.

The next track which really stands out is happily named "New Truth Old Lies" which starts with an intense clean picked riff almost Opeth like in its dark demeanour and kicks into a slightly slower tempo riff that locks in tight with the drums to provide a beat that you can't help but tap you're feet or nod you're head to. This track end's the album on a strong and positive note reminding oneself of what they came to love about thrash metal to begin with.

Overall this is a very strong release from a band that have shown us again and again why they are one of the most consistent in a genre which is getting increasingly harder to shine a beam of identity into. Producing an album any fan of thrash metal worth there weight in gold will enjoy as well as pleasing the bands dedicated fan base it also serve's as a good starter for people getting into the Evile

4/5