The Unknown
Review Score: 7
Reviewed by: Billy Klare
UK thrasher’s Evile drop their sixth album “The Unknown” on Friday July 14, 2023 through Napalm Records. Evile are best known for their retro inspired thrash metal approach heavily influenced by the U.S. bay area thrash scene, especially Metallica. I’m a long-time fan and loved 2021’s “Hell Unleashed” album which was a full throttle thrash attack, easily their most vicious record to date. I expected something similar this time around but Evile had something else in mind with a shocking 180 degree turn.
I was four songs into “The Unknown” when I stopped to make sure it was the same UK thrash band I’ve listened to for the past twelve years. Long-time Evile fans should prepare for a significant shift in musical direction. The blistering thrash metal attack of “Hell Unleashed” is almost entirely gone as Evile shift to a slower, heavier, groovier and more melodic song writing approach.
Ol Drake delivers a very different vocal performance focusing on melodic clean singing leveraging a diverse range of emotions. The drums (Ben Carter) and bass (Joel Graham) have a dominate position in the mix helping drive the new heavier sound. The ferocious guitar solos of the past are replaced with slower emotive atmospheric guitar tones. The lyrical content is more mature covering topics about depression, personal loss, self-esteem and nightmares.
The album opens with the title track “The Unknown”, a slow dark atmospheric song with surprisingly clean melodic vocals (and the first single). The pace picks up on “The Mask We Wear” following a similar style to Metallica’s “Sad But True”. “Monolith” is a dark trance inducing track emphasizing the use of backing vocals. A power ballad “When Mortal Coils Shed” comes next in the vein of Metallica’s “The Unforgiven” & “Nothing Else Matters”. Evile finally taps into their thrash roots with “Sleepless Eyes” & “Out Of Sight” but with a less aggressive and more melodic approach relative to “Hell Unleashed”.
The tempo slows down once again on “At Mirror’s Speech”, another chugging heavy song reminiscent of later era Metallica but ends with a cool slow doom grind. The pace accelerates on “Reap What You Sow” and “Beginning Of The End” successfully combining heavy groove metal and clean melodic vocals (and lots of backing vocals). The album closes on a strong note with “Balance of Time” integrating the best components of the new sound and the older thrash style.
Listening to “The Unknown” was an interesting musical journey for me, the album was completely unpredictable with countless surprises. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the faster aggressive thrash side of Evile but I fully respect their decision to make a change. The new style won’t be for everyone and I definitely prefer the faster songs on the record. Evile always wore their musical influences on their sleeves and comparisons to Metallica’s “Black” album will be inevitable and fair in my opinion. Evile’s courageous musical change reminds me of another UK thrash band Xentrix and their “Kin” album released in 1992 which I only fully appreciated a decade later, perhaps “The Unknown” will follow a similar path for me. I suspect Evile will broaden their fan base and all metal fans should give this record a chance but the new style may be too much to absorb for die hard thrash fans.
Standout Tracks – “Beginning Of The End”, “Balance Of Time”, “Sleepless Eyes” and “Out Of Sight”
Track Listing
- The Unknown
- The Mask We Wear
- Monolith
- When Mortal Coils Shed
- Sleepless Eyes
- Out Of Sight
- At Mirror’s Speech
- Reap What You Sow
- Beginning Of The End
- Balance Of Time
Line-Up
Ol Drake – Vocals & Lead Guitar
Adam Smith – Rhythm Guitar
Joel Graham – Bass
Ben Carter – Drums