2021’s Hell Unleashed didn’t impress me on the first few plays. Today, it sits more comfortably in the Evile catalogue, and having seen the band play songs from it live on several occasions, (Bloodstock, Damnation, Cardiff), they certainly worked in the live arena. It was the first album to feature Ol Drake on vocals, something he made clear was a work in progress.
Well, the first thing to report, is that Ol’s vocals are vastly improved. Plenty of melody now surges through his delivery, with a confidence that wasn’t apparent on Hell Unleashed. And that may be in part down to the much slower, heavier approach that the band have taken on The Unknown. The tempo is substantially reduced, giving him space to work, and it generally does just that.
There’s a darkness to The Unknown, with the lyrical content tackling serious subjects such as loss, depression, parenthood, and even living with dementia. Such topics can’t be taken lightly, and it’s to the band’s credit that they have pushed themselves in this area once more. But there is an elephant in the room, and it’s one that can’t be ignored. That elephant is Metallica, for there is an unmistakable resonance to the behemoth metallers and large chunks of The Unknown. Now, the band have always swerved close to Ulrich & Co in sound and Matt Drake was closer to Hetfield in vocal style. But having got that out of the way, my advice is to accept that Evile will always drink in their influences and enjoy what is a very solid and fine album.
The title track opens the album, and it’s one that didn’t receive huge plaudits in thrash circles when it was first released. Time has allowed familiarity to ease the confusion, and it’s a solid opener. It’s followed by a duo of similar paced tracks in “The Mask We Wear” and the crushing Monolith that echoes the Skull era Evile. All three follow a similar tempo, and this makes the first listen to The Unknown a bit of a challenge; it’s just a bit repetitive. But the big song comes next, and “When Mortal Coils Shed” is going to be a divisive bugger. A huge, seven-minute brooder, it’s one that sees possibly Drake’s best performance on the whole album, but do we want Evile doing gentle? Well, that is their choice, and it’s a brave one indeed. Repeated plays have me warming to it, and I think it’s one of the best and most complex songs that Evile have ever released. Will its deep emotions win over the doubters though?
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And after four songs of slower pace, it’s a sudden blast of ferocity that sees Evile remind you, just in case you’d forgotten, that they can still drive this machine at top speed. “Sleepless Eyes” is a foot to the floor thrasher, and it comes as quite a shock to be honest. Such is the tempo in the first third of The Unknown, it’s almost a treat and a reminder that when Evile do that big, booted stomp, they do it bloody well. Searing lead work bursts out of the speakers whilst the reliable battery that Ben Carter, the only ever-present in the line-up, hammers away with unrelenting power. The intensity in the middle third changes, with “Out of Sight” following “Sleepless Eyes”. It’s probably the track that many will identify as closest to Metallica’s sound, with Drake’s delivery startling close to James Hetfield here. And that’s probably a compliment on how hard Drake has worked, for few vocalists are as good as Papa Het.
Hitting the last third of the album and the thrash continues to flow. “At Mirror’s Speech” brings a different sound, still heavier than a bag of anvils, but with a melody and change of direction that is pleasingly different.
The final three songs are big, muscular riff fests. They don’t reinvent the wheel, but what they do is demonstrate the quality of the production on offer here. It’s huge! And with that, the songs that may not leave an instant mark on the memory on those first few plays, suddenly come to life. “Beginning of the End” is chunky, slower than some on the album, and displays a change in sound that some Evile fans will welcome, and some will struggle with. “Balance of Time” round things off neatly.
In essence, The Unknown sounds like a band who have incorporated their old school values into their current sound and are content with one decent, heavy as hell album.
Bottom line here: If you want Enter the Grave, then play Enter the Grave. This is Evile 2023. Nearly two decades into their career. And despite some early reservations, this is an album that grows with each play. Give it time, let it breath, and enjoy one of the UK’s best thrash bands hitting their peak.
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The Unknown is out on July 14th
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