EVILE
The Unknown
NAPALM
Resilient thrashers venture into unmapped terrain
2021’S HELL UNLEASHED album saw Huddersfield’s hardy quartet overcome another hurdle in their tempestuous career, with returning lead guitarist Ol Drake replacing his brother Matt on vocal duties. After demonstrating that they could keep pace with their thrash revival peers, with some of their most venomous numbers to date, Evile approach their 20th anniversary with a striking change of pace on the suitably monikered The Unknown. While the snap of Sleepless Eyes, the gang vocals and nefarious march of Out Of Sight and defiance of closer Balance Of Time see them drawing on their wizened experience to craft formidable Bay Area-influenced anthems, those tracks are the exception to the rule on album number six.
From the opening title track onwards, The Unknown largely replaces speed with a more measured, patient assault, suiting the deeply personal subjects such as depression, loss and fatherhood. Inevitably, positive and negative Black Album comparisons will abound when a thrash band decelerates. But when the results are as formidable as the riff on the aptly titled Monolith and sinister The Mask We Wear – complete with a bit of Kirk Hammett wah for good measure – then it’s a worthy association. Elsewhere, the hardcore stomp on At Mirror’s Speech and Beginning Of The End shows that the abandonment of lightning tempos doesn’t dull the impact.
After stepping up to the mic on Hell Unleashed, Ol Drake must be commended for taking another leap into new territory with his singing. While his anguished howls on the first few tracks may be the change that takes the longest to adjust to, his sombre, clean vocals hit home more often than not. Most notably, he distinguishes himself as treacherous power ballad territory is successfully explored with When Mortal Coils Shed, building to a rousing conclusion. Proving again that slowing down doesn’t equate to selling out, The Unknown is a stirring evolution.
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FOR FANS OF: Metallica, Machine Head, Testament
ADAM BRENNAN
IMPERISHABLE
Come, Sweet Death
HAMMERHEART
Swedeath metal debutants sprinkle some gold dust on the formula
These Swedish death metallers are primed for violence. On their debut album there’s the early Dismember worship, of course, but also melodic sensibilities à la At The Gates and some NWOBHM flourishes too. Venomous features divebombs galore, The Perennial Desire fuses buzzsaw guitars with punishing speed, but it’s on Fangs and Teeth Of The Hydra that metal melodicism shines in its entwining leads. Imperishable keeps its well-trodden formula fresh through those inclusions, adding an abiding sense of fun; they love early death metal and just want to share that gory obsession with the world – loudly.
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FOR FANS OF: Entombed, At The Gates, Lik
WILL MARSHALL
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD
PetroDragonic Apocalypse
KGLW
Australia’s prolific genre-hoppers head back to their roots
Having explored a vast breadth of music over 20-plus albums, these quizzically popular Aussies now find themselves answering the call of their roots: heavy/thrash metal with socially relevant lyrics disguised as basementdwelling D&D gibberish. Delving into their ‘grip it and rip it’ creative approach, the songs here
