Well, the Evile sound is more or less right where I left it in 2013, and aping Lars & Co is still the name of the game. But for reasons unknown to me, they’re now drawing on the band’s later eras for inspiration. The opening title track is a brooding mid-tempo number with riffs and motifs that scream Black Album. It walks that dangerous line between influenced by and ripping off, but at its core is a decent song with slick guitar work and enough pop to get your attention. Sadly, it’s also the album’s high water mark. “The Mask We Wear” is like the Load/Reload days reborn with riffs I swear I heard Metallica do a million times every season between 1996 and 2023.2 The problem is, this feels like a third-rate copy of a legendary band’s lean years, so what’s the point really? “Monolith” can’t even achieve third-rate status, with a morbidly flat collection of stock riffs and tired Hetfield-isms on the mic. Lengthy power ballad “When Mortal Coils Shed” is like an alternate version of “Nothing Else Matters” and it will remind you so much of that well-known property at times that it becomes challenging to take it seriously.
It isn’t until fifth track “Sleepless Eyes” that this “thrash” band actually provides some thrash, and while it’s nice to get an uptick in energy after 21 minutes of mopey, mid-tempo chuggery, it’s non-essential speed that fails to leave a lasting impression. Sadly, the rest of The Unknown isn’t much different. Stock riffs and re-recycled Hetfield/Hammet ideas percolate everywhere and the only thing that shakes up the tedium is an occasional outburst of Machine Head-adjacent groove and vitriol (notice I didn’t say these actually help). There’s no song here that offers anything I need to hear again and pretty much every track reminds me of things their chief influencer did long ago and much better. At 47 minutes mostly occupied by mid-tempo chug and dither, The Unknown is not an especially interesting listen, and by the fourth track my eyes start to glaze over and droplets of sleep drool take form.
Ol Drake and relatively new axe Adam Smith are very competent guitarists and they deliver very slick noodling and energetic soloing. But the seemingly inescapable determination to recreate endless variations of someone else’s work product makes much of what they do feel unserious and rather pointless. Do we need another version of Load or Reload? I know I don’t, and too much of their riffing rings as way too familiar. Drake continues to mimic the vocal styling of James Hetfield, but he’s no James and his delivery is more grating and far less enjoyable. The band is talented and could do pretty much anything they want, but they keep doing what someone else already did.
It seems strange that Evile would double down so hard on the Metallica homage schtick again after 2021s Hell Unleashed, which was a solid, urgent thrash album with a much more unique sound. Almost 20 years into the career of Evile and they seem most comfortable delivering lukewarm and Justice for St Load nuggets at a time when even San Fransisco’s fortunate sons can’t pull off self-worship particularly well. Unless you’re longing for Refauxload, you can safely let The Unknown remain unknown to you. If you truly need this kind of music, there are 72 Seasons of the real deal out there waiting for you.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Napalm
Websites: evile.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/evileuk
Releases Worldwide: July 14th, 2023
