Evile - Thrash Till Death

[circus_brimstone]

By Jason Jordan

Who is Evile and why should we care?

Ol: Evile are an ‘80’s-styled thrash metal band from the UK. We have influences from Testament, Exodus, Slayer and Metallica (to name a few) and how we incorporate our influences into the music should really interest fans of the old school! We write what we love, and that’s THRASH! So thrash fans should enjoy.
Matt: Evile are me, Matt Drake on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ol Drake on lead guitar, Mike Alexander on bass, and Ben Carter on drums. We’re writing music that you won’t have heard for a while, think ‘80’s Metallica meets Slayer meets Testament meets Exodus and there’s your reason to care. Luckily I avoided Steve Souzas’s vocals as an influence though.
Ben: Evile are the next big metal to come from the UK, following a similar line of the ‘80’s NWOBHM, but with blistering speed and guitar virtuosity.
Mike: What Ol said. Ha ha ha.

Isn’t there a pair of brothers in the four-piece?

Ol: Yup, me and Matt. He’s 24 and I’m 21.
Matt: Yup, me and Ol. I’m 3 years older than him, yet he looks 10 years older than me.
Ben: Yep.
Mike: Yep.

Where is the band located?

Ol: We’re all located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in the UK, except for Mike who’s a bit farther out from Huddersfield.

In what city have you played the most, and where is your favorite place to play (city and/or venue)?

Ol: Probably Wakefield at the Snooty Fox. It’s an excellent venue with a great atmosphere, and the crowd gets right in your face and thrashes out. We got a good reaction from the guys over there.
Matt: Snooty Fox, Wakefield. We always go down well there even though we haven’t been going that long, and it’s home to Malcolm, the coolest and keenest sound guy in the world.
Ben: The Gas Club in Huddersfield. We always have a big crowd of people wanting to listen to decent music, and it’s a cool stage to play on.
Mike: Wakefield at the Snooty Fox.

Evile began as a Metallica cover band. What do you think about the current state of them?

Ol: I’ve always loved Metallica, even Load and Reload. But St. Anger is just abysmal to me, but that’s not to say I think any less of them. I’ve always looked up to Lars, and I thought a lot more of them after seeing the SKoM [Some Kind of Monster] movie (although the part with Mustaine is the best).
Matt: They’re my favourite band of all time! James is probably my god. If I were forced to worship someone at gunpoint, it would be James. I had high hopes for Metallica after hearing the 2 new songs on S&M, then I heard St. Anger, and Lars’s biscuit-tin, two-piece tom drum kit and I was ashamed. They’re just not Metallica anymore, but watching the SKoM film makes you appreciate the effort they put into it, but they’re still just not Metallica anymore.
Ben: They’ve gone downhill for me. I think in the past 3 or 4 years they’ve lost their sense of direction.
Mike: Rubbish. They’re not the band that I grew up listening to.

Slayer’s Reign in Blood or Metallica’s Master of Puppets?

Ol: Master of Puppets all the god damn way. One of the greatest albums ever recorded.
Matt: You’ve made me choose between my two favourite bands! Cheers! I’d say Puppets though I love the all-out thrash of Reign. But Puppets just has more variety to it, and I love that more. Who can argue with songs like “Battery” and “Orion”?
Ben: A while ago I’d have said Master, but now it has to be Reign in Blood.
Mike: Master. Just for the fact it was a GREAT album. Reign was good, but it wasn't GREAT.

If you all had to agree upon the greatest metal album of all time, which record would you select?

Ol: We actually had this convo a while ago, and we just couldn’t agree. I’d always say Sepultura’s Beneath the Remains, but then I’d probably change my mind to Neverland by Annihilator, or Arise by Sep.
Matt: You'd never get us to agree on that, ever. Personally I’d say …And Justice for All, and I reckon Ben will agree with me! Mike will probably strike me though.
Ben: As Ol said, we couldn’t agree. …And Justice for All!
Mike: For me, it’s Impact is Imminent by Exodus.

Don’t you guys have an EP out, or something?

Ol: Yes, yes we do. It’s called All Hallows Eve and it has 6 tracks: “Killer from the Deep,” “Dawn of Destruction,” “Prophecy,” “The Living Dead,” “All Hallows Eve,” and “Torment.”
Matt: It was recorded over a period of 3 days (minus mixing and mastering) by a guy called Alan Smith, who does the recording for the band Prophecy. He knows his stuff as you’d never tell the EP was recorded in 3 days. I think we helped Alan rediscover the ‘80’s thrash child inside himself. The artwork was done by an artist from New Jersey, US called Lee Gaskins, and it rocks!
Ben: Yup.
Mike: Yup.

How’s the press been for All Hallows Eve EP?

Ol: It’s been very cool. We’ve had good feedback from quite a few sites like metalreview.com and power-metal.co.uk to name two. Jeff Waters of Annihilator even rates the CD!
Matt: We’ve had good things and bad things said about the EP, but the bad things people say help you to keep doing stuff better, and it’s good to have that firing you up.
Ben: It’s been very good, what we’ve had. Very few criticisms and lots of thumbs up.
Mike: It’s been both good and bad. The bad ones we have got, we can see the things they’re getting at, and we can learn from it.

Does the remainder of the album kick as much ass as “Killer from the Deep”?

Ol: It’s varied really. “KftD” is just, heads-down thrash. “Dawn of Destruction” is an ‘80’s-styled thrasher with a bit of Testament-influenced melody. “Prophecy” is a mid-paced headbanging beast. “Living Dead” is a chugging motherfucker. “All Hallows Eve” is just…metal. “Torment” is a guitar instrumental I did as a, kind of, tribute to Alex Skolnick. Worth a check out if you’re into the old school!
Matt: I kinda had a plan for the EP, which was to hit ‘em hard, hit ‘em fast straight away, and people are still thinking how cool that was. Hit ‘em with something fast but with new parts thrown in, and a bit of melody here and there. Keep it interesting. I wanted to keep the pace going yet seriously make peoples’ heads bang! Which “The Living Dead” takes care of, and then finish it off by dazzling people with Ol’s solo in “All Hallows Eve.” Whether that plan has worked yet, I’m not sure.
Ben: It kicks MORE ass, and it’s faster!
Mike: No. Our newer stuff is 10 times better than the stuff on the EP.

Where can people get a hold of the release?

Ol: Either at gigs, or online at www.evile.co.uk in the Media section. For international orders, contact me (Ol) through the site for shipping rates.

Which song, of the material you’ve recorded thus far, do you think is your best?

Ol: Off of the EP, I’d say “Killer from the Deep,” but a song we’ve written and haven’t recorded is my favorite of all. It’s called “Enter the Grave.” In “EtG” I threw in some thrash and injected it with a bit of death metal (i.e. Obituary). I love some brutality in thrash, and not just speed.
Matt: I hope I don’t sound bigheaded here because I wrote it, but my favourite is “The Living Dead.” It’s a massive headbanger! And it’s about zombies!
Ben: “All Hallows Eve,” cause Ol’s solo kicks ass and the drumming really drives it to the end. Love playing it!
Mike: What Ol said again. Ha ha ha.

Have you ever heard the band Lethal? If so, what do you think of their music?

Ol: I haven’t heard of them. Did I do wrong? I get spanked now don’t I?
Matt: They don’t ring a bell, but I can imagine Mel Gibson and Danny Glover on stage in spandex. Am I close?
Ben: I’ve never heard of them. Sorry.
Mike: Never heard of them.

You get to resurrect one metal persona. Who would it be?

Ol: Dime Fucking Bag, RIP. Or Chuck Schuldiner, RIP.
Matt: I’m going to have to be a complete Metallifan here and say Cliff Burton. From what I’ve read, he lived for music, which rocks, and who else could mix bellbottom pants and metal?
Ben: Cliff Burton.
Mike: Dimebag.

I suspect you’ll be setting up an official forum with us here at UltimateMetal?

Ol: Ha ha, well we have a forum on our site, but who knows what the future holds! UM kicks ASS!
Matt: Sure, but we’re not ultimate enough yet.

You love us long time?

Ol: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh me so horrrrrrrrrrny.
Ben: Saki saki 10 dolla!
Mike: Eat the peanuts outta my shit!
Matt: Why’s everyone quoting Top Gun?

UltimateMetal's Review of Evile - All Hallows Eve EP
Official Evile Website

 

[Weapon X]

Awesome interview.

Evile are fucking killer. Prophecy has some of my favorite Solo's on it. Very spacey type solo's freaking kick ass. Living Dead is the most Kick Ass song on this EP.

Can't wait till I hear their next album:hotjump:

 

[Weapon X]

 

[EvileOL]

Cheers for this Jason! You Rule!

OL

 

[zmetallica]

Ol is cool. I talk with him on MSN. great band, great music.
i also play the band often on metal faction radio (link in sig)

everyone go check ou this band now!

 

[lt_smash]

yea, these guys are killer.

 

[SlamminAlvin]

Hell yeah. Evile \M/ - I played a track from them on my radio show, about an hour ago. "Thrasher" from 2007's enter the grave. Killer track, on a killer record, from a killer band.

Excellent post, OP.

\M/

 

[MetaLeader]

fuckin love prophecy. does anybody know of any decent up and coming bands? i've been searching and searching and nowadays everything sounds like a mish mash of rip off shit. there's one band i stumbled across, They're called Driven, check out their page and see what ya think, definetely aggressive and onto somethin these guys. apparently they're releasing an EP this spring! www.facebook.com/drivenuk

 

[Ollietrix]

Loved these guys live. Now, my band Karhu are hoping to play with them on November the 3rd as it would be a killer night all round. Really hope its able to come to fruition, would be a sic mix in my opinion! see what you think www.thekarhugroove.com .

By the way, Karhu will be at the Beermageddon festival on the 24th, 25th and 26th of August 2012, be there or miss out, that simple! www.beermageddon.co.uk

 

[Sniper345]

No one cares about metal in Louisiana, except a select few bands(Crowbar, Eyehategod, Down) This band Mara has been creating quite a buzz in the Baton Rouge area. They have shared the stage with bands such as Jeff Loomis, The Contortionist, and will be playing with Scale the Summit in New Orleans in September. They have a full length coming out at the end of this year. This is their link. The could really use support.

http://www.facebook.com/THEMARABAND