Year: 2020
Total Time: 38:35
Label: Steamhammer
One band I remember from my youth with nostalgia is Evildead. At that time, all our metal information was based exclusively on magazines, which we reverently bought and squeezed out every drop of information, every article and record review, every photo and live report. It so happened that, one summer, such an “imported” magazine fell into my hands. With the English I knew at the time, I leafed through and greedily absorbed what I could understand. On one page of this magazine, I saw the ad for the new – then – “The Underworld”. The description – please forgive me if it is not exact, it has been almost 30 years since then – was “like a machine gun on a hot summer night”. I knew then that I wanted that album. I had to make it mine. And, unfortunately, I did not. Depended on the pocket money I was getting, I could not afford what I wanted, so I had to play it safe. I had to cover a lot of ground until I could move on to the experimentation phase.
We change scene, a few years ahead and piracy has entered our homes. Pinned in
front of a computer screen from dawn till dusk, I would download from Limewire
and eMule everything my hard drive could accommodate and the modem speed
endure. It was then that I devoted an eternity to finding what I could not buy.
And find I did. And I dived head first into it. I understood the above
description. My ears were filled with guitars and metal.
When I heard that Evidead would release a new album, I was thrilled. I made a
pre-order, an attractive bundle with a t-shirt, something that my teenager
would have a wet dream on. I waited impatiently for the delivery driver to come
for a month. And finally, at the end of October, in the midst of my
self-isolation due to the pandemic, I had it in my hands! The cover depicts the
familiar guy with the bulky dead eye, a trademark of the band! And the memories
return! I am suddenly 14 years old again, reading that metal magazine! Maybe
2020 is not so bad after all!
The album contains thrash, raw and direct. Those are the good points. Let’s see
what went wrong.
Phil Flores’ vocals do not have the same dynamic they had 30 years ago. I do not know if he recorded them on a bad day or if his performance has declined over the years, but he sounds completely flat. A colourless, expressionless performance from beginning to end. The production of the album is also a bit strange and, while it is loud, it lacks energy. As if they deliberately tried to drop the tones. I would prefer an old-fashioned, face-melting production. The compositions, although not bad, are not very original. One would expect that after 30 years of inactivity they would be up to their eyeballs in ideas and riffs. But it seems that the ideas sat in the drawer a bit longer than needed.
In conclusion, the album is not bad. It’s just not good. I think some zombies that are locked in the cellar (you know what I mean…), should stay in the cellar sometimes. Especially if they do not have teeth to bite.
Rating: 4.5/10
Editor: Theodoros Apergis
Related Link: EVILDEAD – Facebook Page
