Evile: In Dreams Of Terror
“I distinctly remember playing gigs where people would come up to us, looking unimpressed and ask why we were thrash? It’s dead, it died a long time ago. Then, thrash kind of got popular again and those same guys would say we were great!” Ol Drake tells us, as he reminisces on the early days of EVILE. There’s a smile on his face and he is remarkably humble, but it’s easy to overlook how vital his band were in 2007.
The Huddersfield four-piece have been standard bearers for UK thrash since bursting onto the scene with Enter The Grave, their classic debut album. Back then, they were heralded as the bright hopes of the so-called ‘re-thrash’ movement, which saw the genre return to metal’s mainstream after years in the underground. Alongside fellow newcomers like SUICIDAL ANGELS and GAMA BOMB, and revitalised old-timers like EXODUS and ONSLAUGHT, they brought rapid fire riffs and delirious headbanging back into the global spotlight. However, despite glowing reviews and enthusiastic fans, post-millennial thrash never scaled the heights it did during its eighties peak.
Since then, EVILE have eased into their role as respected veterans and despite multiple setbacks, have never really gone away. They’re not the biggest band in the English metal scene, but they are well loved. They have a dedicated, loyal fanbase who’ve stuck by them through more than their fair share of tragedy and bad luck and are eagerly awaiting their upcoming sixth album.
But even the most die-hard EVILE fan is likely to pause when they first hear The Unknown. It’s noticeably slower and groovier than their previous work and while it’s still heavy, it’s a stomper, not a charger. After the straight-up violence of their 2021 comeback Hell Unleashed, it’s a bit of a shock to the system when you first play it. But as Ol tells it, this was very much a deliberate decision.
“It’s an exploration into what EVILE can do beyond the typical thrash. It’s not really a concept album but there’s lots of ups and downs, light and shade,” he says. “Because Hell Unleashed was so fast, my goal with this one was not to do the same thing again. Let’s do the polar opposite, instead of ninety percent relentless, fast tempo tracks and ten percent groove, let’s flip it on its head. So, we explored all these other tempos, there’s still thrash on there but there’s even our first ballad in ten years.”
While this will certainly raise an eyebrow or two, it’s not completely out of the blue. EVILE have played with light and shade plenty of times. Tracks like Bathe In Blood and Bring Me The Head Of The Demon were always more methodical, but they were the exceptions rather than the rule. Newer cuts like The Mask We Wear aren’t outside their usual remit, and once that initial surprise wears off, it becomes clear that The Unknown has a lot of great songs on it. This is what happens when a band develops over time, experimenting with their sound and broadening their horizons.
Aside from the tempos, there’s also a dramatic shift in the lyrical topics. When EVILE first started out, they wrote songs about killer sharks, Rambo movies and armoured warfare. But as Ol explains, their usual inspirations didn’t seem appropriate this time around. “When it came to doing this one, the typical subjects like demons and war didn’t work. It was almost embarrassing singing that over slower songs and it felt wrong.”
Easing off the pedal altered the mood and brought the subject matter into sharp focus. Consequently, this is some of the most personal stuff they’ve ever written. “There’s more emphasis on the lyrics when you do slower songs and they take more of a centre stage. I just looked at myself instead. Everything from self-esteem to depression to losing someone close to you, there’s a lot of hard-hitting stuff on there.”
If this is setting off alarm bells in your thrash-addled brain though, don’t worry. EVILE might have different priorities nowadays, but they’re still very much a metal band. Their song writing process hasn’t changed, and as Ol puts it, they “read from the same bible.” The Unknown has a distinctive character, but it gets fast when it needs to.
About a third of the way in, Sleepless Eyes rockets things into the stratosphere. It’s a whip-fast, lightning strike of a song, dedicated to the thankless grind of working in hospitality, and it marks a turning point in the album. From here on, the pace picks up and they more closely resemble the EVILE of old.
But make no mistake, this is not the EVILE we once knew. They’ve grown older and wiser, and they’ve got more than one line-up change in their past. Most notably, original frontman Matt Drake (Ol’s brother) is no longer in the band, and this is Ol’s second record as the vocalist. The nerves he experienced stepping up to the mic on Hell Unleashed are all but gone though. His singing on The Unknown is more confident and he sounds way more comfortable with his expanded role.
“I got in touch with Melissa Cross (vocal coach, Zen Of Screaming) and she really helped me out, but I became obsessed with getting better at singing. After the shows I couldn’t talk, so I spent a lot of time making sure I wasn’t damaging anything. I’m still learning now, I practice in the car when driving to work.”
This willingness to learn and keep learning is one reason why EVILE have been a consistent presence in UK metal for over fifteen years. They’ve adapted and honed their skills, and while The Unknown may split opinion, it also demonstrates they’re not afraid to take risks. That’s one reason why even now, long after the thrash resurgence of the early 2000s, they’re still here when countless other groups have faded into obscurity. But the main reason they’ve endured is simple, they like being a band:
“EVILE is a hobby, it always has been. It only exists because we want it to. Work and family always take precedence. I wouldn’t say we survived, just that we always wanted to do it, so we kept going.”
The Unknown is out now via Napalm Records.
Like EVILE on Facebook.