TTTHHHRRRAAASSSHHH!!! When you have a band member wearing an ONSLAUGHT shirt in the back cover of the promo copy...well, let's start with a 6/10 grade by default (even if the CD is blank inside), huh! I don't know if there actually is a UK New Thrash Wave floating round in the island (I'd be informed by now...) but with EVILE and Enter The Grave let's start one (again), you muthas!
Britain is honored to have developed most (if not all) Metal styles. It is also pointed as diminishing them after some years, to develop the next one(s). Anyway, in 'extreme' Metal terms there are not much to chat about UK's contribution since names like ONSLAUGHT, ACID REIGN, SABBAT, XENDRIX, WARFARE and (influential or influenced) VENOM, NAPALM DEATH and CARCASS speak for themselves. EVILE breath life for not more than a handful of years but seem rather confident for a first album and - if things move on naturally - Britain has just obtained another Thrash star.
The Drake brothers have done a helluva job in the guitars section, with tons of old-school riffs spreading like hell, accompanied y demonic soloing and firing leads. Matt's hands are more than steady, bringing on headbanging chords while Ol has studied a lot his lessons in violence 'penned' by his favorite 80s Thrash Metal teachers. As regards the rhythm section, Mike Alexander is 100% pounding (even if I'd like his work to be more in-the-front) while few can be said 'bout Ben Carter's drumming. Complex yet imminent, powerful but sharp, he likes Dave Lombardo a lot and he's a strong 'ace' in the band's ranks.
The songs themselves will fulfill your 80s Thrash needs by default. Riffs, breaks, grooves, speed, evil singing, lunacy, mid-tempo moshing, soloing paranoia, extreme harmonies, etc. No tune stands way ahead from the others, but I did bang my head endlessly to the monstrosity of Thrasher, Man Against Machine and Armoured Assault. EVILE perform great music that sounds fresh enough, even if bringing mega bands like SLAYER (mainly), ANNIHILATOR, (old) METALLICA, (mid) SEPULTURA, SACRED REICH and (80s) EXODUS to mind. One reason for this result being the band's intelligence in avoiding the 'retro' trap by demonstrating enhanced individual playing, the other one (and a strong promotional tool) can as well be the man in charge of Enter The Grave's production. Flemming Rasmussen (METALLICA, PRETTY MAIDS) handles the production and you will feel his magic touch first thing at night (when you should naturally listen to the CD for the first time).
August 27th (Europe) and September 25th (USA) are the dates you'll be looking for your next 'anticipated' CD release. EVILE hail from Britain, their Thrash Metal music is US-inspired and - with sufficient support - Enter The Grave can turn out to be a 'classic' debut in the thrash Metal series of musical violence in our beloved music, plus the band (if achieving to remove some of the enough SLAYER components in the future) can eternally, from now on, fulfill our needs for pure...hmmm...huh... TTTHHHRRRAAASSSHHH!