Evile – The Unknown | Album Review

British thrash legends Evile are back for album number six, The Unknown, to prove they’re more than just a thrash band and can experiment while still staying true.

While their last output, Hell Unleashed, in 2021 was unbridled thrash metal, Evile have taken a step back and pondered their sound. Mixing it up with more heavy metal influences than straight up thrash. Title track ‘The Unknown’ starts us of on this journey with a slower pace than what fans are used to dealing with. The riffs are still killer but the tempos are slower, brooding, malicious – yet still heavy. Ol Drakes vocals are much more melodic on the album throughout and compliments the album very well. The slower tempos continue through ‘Monolith’, complete with band vocals on the chorus, to make it more aggressive even with the speed still slowed. With the band working more as a cohesive unit than on other offerings, and guitarist Adam Smith having more freedom on the writing side of the instrumentation and lyrical portions, it feels less like a thrash album for the first half of the album. But that’s the band lulling you in. 

It’s not until ‘Sleepless Eyes’ where we get our first glimpse of anything thrash. The breakneck speed riffs are back and drummer Ben Carter keeping pace as the band traverses through the guitar speed stylings we all know and love. Even with Ol Drakes vocals still being more melodic, it’s still the band at peak performance. The exact same can be said for ‘Out Of Sight’. But after that the album once again goes back to the slower melodic side. It must be said that When ‘Mortal Coils Shed; continues its pace for the seven-minute run time, it gets repetitive, but then ‘Sleepless Eyes’ wakes you.  

Of course, the band are experimenting here and showing us what they’re capable of and it’s gutsy doing this so far into their career. The hulking riffs Drake & Smith concoct are still present, the rumbling bass of Joel Graham still lingers behind the echoing drums from Carter, but in actuality, it’s not what you’d expect, but my god is it brilliant. But the ending track ‘Balance Of Time’ sends you packing with more thrash ferocity including a beautiful solo from Adam Smith that wails through the speakers as the band hit hard and fast. The ending sequence is almost tear jerking as the album fades into nothingness.

When you spin The Unknown, don’t expect a balls to the wall thrash album. Come here expecting Evile to blow you away, because they will. Even at their slowest they still blow most thrash bands out of the water. The delivery was perfect, and Evile have confirmed their place in the halls of British heavy metal. And with a forthcoming UK tour later this year, you bet your ass the band will be on top performance as they lay these tracks down live and break necks in the process.