Evil Army
Self Titled
5.8
The debut album from Evil Army is quite a retro throwback, planted firmly in the mid-eighties proto thrash crossover era, back when hardcore and metal were just starting to rejoin. Back when tunes were dominated more by an all out hardcore/speed attack than the mid paced grooves of later thrash bands. So don’t expect anything technical here beyond fast as hell crossover hardcore but, boy is it a fun listen.
Think of the fast and angry Motorhead influenced punk of Discharge and G.B.H., only faster, mixed with the metallic punk leanings of early Tankard, before all the thrash gallops. In other words, tons of lightning fast palm mutes followed by just as fast three chord hardcore, not a single scrap of any actual singing beyond shouted vocals and little variation from that pattern from start to finish. And that’s where this album comes up a little short.
Like a lot of the early hardcore bands, Evil Army dresses up many of the songs with a different intro but before long it's back to basically the song you heard right before it and, with thirteen of them, the formula wears pretty thin by the end. Personally, I could have done with a bit more thrash vibe ala a few more gallops here and there and maybe a song or two that wasn’t at lightning speed, something fellow retro crossover act Toxic Holocaust is guilty of as well. They do make some good attempts to add some flair, notably with some pretty vintage early Metallica like solos that are surprisingly sophisticated given the relatively basic material they sprout from, but these are usually delivered at warp speed as well so they do little to break up the relentless pace of this record. Personal gripes about the lack of variety aside, it is refreshing to hear a start to finish barn burner, blissfully free of any lame industrial intros, movie dubs, or pretentious acoustic/piano interludes. It’s just raw, fast and angry from the second it starts to the second it ends.
With this debut, Evil Army has delivered a simple yet visceral eighties crossover themed record that literally rocks from start to finish, something that eludes so many bands these days. Sure it’s not going to win any awards for technicality, songwriting etc., hence the scores above, but this is sure to bring a smile to any beer swilling, jean jacket wearing, circle pitting cretin of yore (or even the young guys, like Evil Army, playing this stuff these days!).
