On November 26th, Swedish Black-Thrashers ETERNAL EVIL unleash their debut album via Redefining Darkness Records. Let’s get right into it!
Teutonic style riffing and blasting drums launch us right in without a wasted second while the barbaric vocals quickly ensue with maniacal force. Immediately the immense and obvious nods to German Thrash Metal and early Black Metal become clear with a remorseless and speeding fury to their ancient craft. Ironically, while playing such a traditional and archaic style of Metal, the members are actually rather young. However this is not under review, it is an interesting detail, especially when the tight and focal delivery of their music seems incredibly well-matured. The sheer fury of their playing is unmistakably the pursuit of the classic ways with unbridled passion that speaks for itself and is thankfully supported by some killer songwriting and serious playing.
Aside from the legends of Germany, these maniacs clearly take some cues from the Brazilian vein of death-thrashing mayhem, which sees primitive and bludgeoning rhythms meet seething leads with a suitably unmelodic way of approaching the solos. As you can see front and centre in the band photo (below), amidst a sea of bullet belts and studs, is a proudly displayed Hallows Eve shirt, so it should be pretty obvious that this band have some killer influences. The reason I bring their influences up, is due to the proudly and openly regressive nature of the music. These young Swedes are not afraid to cut away the need to progress in favour of invoking their Metal gods, something that deserves respect in world full of fickle minds with short attention spans, the youth has not let the old ways die.
Right, lets get back to what matters most, the sound. With a convincing production that lets the grit of the guitar and rumbling bass contort into a demonic entity, hoofed with powerful drumming and rabid vocals, the energy and manic delivery of this music equal each other to execute only the most savage and true ideas the band could concoct. Punching in at a healthy 40 minutes (or 42 for the CD version), this record has room to breathe without becoming dull or dragging which is massively important for a Thrash Metal album. Think about it; “Show No Mercy”, “Endless Pain”, “Tales Of Terror”, “I.N.R.I”, “Bloody Vengeance”, “In The Sign Of Evil” and “Sentence Of Death”, non of these have a long playing time yet in such short spells conjure a malicious Metal might unmatched by any. Eternal Evil stay true to this pattern and make sure the whole album flows with a barbaric lava of pure aggressive thrashing fury. Never a dull moment!
A feral debut of pure blackened, speeding, thrashing carnage that pays its dues to the old school, bleeding Heavy Metal passion and firing on all cylinders from start to end. If you are looking for a diverse and complexity-laden record, this is not it. But if you seek a diabolical cut of pure old school violence, you have found it. What is not to love?
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