EVILDEAD was a kind of force in Thrash Metal that didn't get the justice it deserved. Giving the world two world class albums in 1989 ("Annihilation Of Civilization") and 1991 ("The Underworld") they somehow didn't make into the big league, making them one of the underground's worst kept secrets. Why do I classify them this way? Because all the Thrashers knew of them, but due to the massive amount of new releases being available at the time EVILDEAD was left at the sideline by a lot of otherwise very interested people. Now, on 27 March 2026, both albums have seen their rerelease on CD, LP and for digital download, both including a number of bonus tracks. In this review I will be concentrating on the first album "Annihilation Of Civilization".

What must have been frustrating for EVILDEAD is that in spite of sounding just right, they couldn't make the cut to the big leagues. Because let's face it, the way the music sounds you will regularly be reminded of bands like EXODUS, SACRED REICH, DEATH ANGEL and HIRAX, as that is the kind of combinations that are being constructed throughout the whole "Annihilation Of Civilization" album. what might also have plotted against them is the fact that the albums were rather short, although 36 minutes for this one is rather standard when you consider it an LP release. (Now, with the bonus tracks, it is over 48 minutes.) I think that the fact of the matter is that there were so many bands making it between big and massive in the Trash Metal world, that EVILDEAD just happened to fall between the cracks.

The music on "Annihilation Of Civilization" is quite good, the production is as it was expected to be for a band in this music genre, the cover is brilliant. The band was clearly a bunch of very talented musicians with a singer that was very definitely making the right kind of statements for the time this was first released. (Unfortunately a lot of the matters described are again or still valid and important in this day and age.) As the nostalgia is big within the current Thrash Metal community, I hope that a lot of those who missed out on EVILDEAD at the first opportunity now will grab the chance to go ahead and buy themselves into this band. I can tell you that if you as a pure Thrash Metal fanatic don't go for "Annihilation Of Civilization", you'll be kicking yourself later.