EVILE “Enter The Grave”
The UK’s EVILE get close… really, really close to losing any identity at all on Enter the Grave, a release so thoroughly full of METALLICA worship that it pompously brags about the fact that it was produced by Flemming Rasmussen (who manned the knobs for Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets). All of the crucial elements are here for a technically masterful thrash-attack – mortar shell riffing, jack-hammer beats, and a harrowing vocal performance that holds its on. But are EVILE having fun? The shark-themed “Killer From The Deep” would suggest they are, but some of the material on Enter the Grave is so rigid in songwriting that its cold execution is reduced to predictable shots of noise. Highlights however, include the stirring solo on “Thrasher” (I was waiting for smoke to start pouring from my speakers), and the rise-and-fall snarling attitude of “First Blood.” The boys in EVILE sure can play, but Enter The Grave has the feeling of “How Can We Construct The True Thrash Masterpiece,” and that’s hardly an inspiration that comes with a lot of warmth and emotion.
Earache
