Evile

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Evile
Evile supporting Megadeth in Madrid, 2008
Evile supporting Megadeth in Madrid, 2008
Background information
Origin Huddersfield, UK
Genre(s) Thrash metal
Years active 2004–present
Label(s) Earache Records
Website www.evile.co.uk
Members
Matt Drake
Ol Drake
Mike Alexander
Ben Carter

Evile are a thrash metal band from Huddersfield, United Kingdom.

Their debut album, "Enter the Grave", was produced by Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and was released worldwide in 2007 by Earache Records.

The band's first reviews included a hail by Kerrang! as "Carrying the genre's whole 'revival' on their shoulders."[1]

The band still reside in Huddersfield, England and are working towards the release of their second official release.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-Evile: 2000–2004

In the year 2000, old school friends Matt Drake and Ben Carter got together over their love for thrash metal and heavy metal and founded a cover band (primarily playing Metallica classics) named Metal Militia.[2] Lacking any real sense of a band, the two members asked Matt's brother, Ol (Oliver), to join as lead guitarist. After a short search for a bass player, London-born bassist Mike Alexander contacted the group after seeing an advert in a local guitar store asking for a bassist influenced by bands such as Metallica, Sepultura and Testament. The line-up was then completed.

The band's first show, in Halifax, saw an audience member getting a brick thrown at their face by local's to the area of the venue (The Ukranian Club).[3]

[edit] Birth of Evile: 2004–2006

As of 2004 the band decided to cease playing covers and dedicated their time to writing their own material. After recording two self-released EPs, All Hallows Eve (2004) and Hell Demo (2006), supporting Exodus and a short European tour in 2006, the band soon signed to Earache Records.

The record deal came about due to Earache receiving the band's Hell Demo plus label boss, Digby Pearson, witnessing a set of theirs at Derby Festival Bloodstock Open Air in 2006. Digby, impressed with what he saw, would then contact the band to enquire whether the band would be interested in signing to Earache or not. After some discussion the band agreed to sign.[4]

[edit] Enter the Grave: 2007-present

A considerable time before the album's recording, Frontman Matt Drake contacted Flemming Rasmussen through the Sweet Silence Studios website (after searching his name on Google) to enquire whether or not he'd like to hear some Evile material. Flemming responded positively, which prompted Matt to send some Evile mp3s via e-mail. Flemming supposedly never responded in regards to the tracks, which caused Matt to presume Flemming "Hated Them".[5] When it came time to choose a producer for the Debut, Evile's label (Earache Records) contacted Flemming to request his skills. He swiftly accepted.[5]

In 2007, Evile recorded their debut album Enter the Grave at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen (producer to bands such as Metallica, Morbid Angel, Blind Guardian, and Artillery) with assistant engineer Anders H Mortensen.

The album would reach #33 in the UK Rock Album Charts. Kerrang would also award the album with 4 Ks out of 5 and dub them to be "Carrying the genre's whole 'revival' on their shoulders"[1]. The album was generally received very positively by fans and received some highly rated reviews including Terrorizer Magazine 9/10[6], Metal Revolution 100/100[7] and Classic Rock Magazine dubbing the album 38th best album of 2007.[8]

The band would continue to play many shows, including shows with bands such as Machine Head, Sabbat, Sanctity, Gama Bomb, Severe Torture and Desecration.

On December 11th 2007, at the Kentish Town Forum, London, Evile would take part in (and win[9]) Metal Hammer's Get in the Ring 2, where 4 bands (Evile, Engel, Viking Skull and Goat the Head) would perform their 30 minute set inside of a boxing ring for the public to pick their favourite via SMS texts. The show was compered by Oderus Urungus of Gwar and the judges included Ville Valo of HIM. Valo commented the band were "really tight and rhythmic" [9] but claimed it wasn't his "cup of tea". The show was aired on Rockworld TV on SKY Channel 368 throughout January and February, which, after Evile's win, included an hour long show dedicated to their GITR2 live set.[10]

By February of 2008, Evile would take part in "Big 4" band Megadeth's European 'Tour of Duty' as their main support, which also included the UK leg of Gigantour opening for American deathcore band Job for a Cowboy as well as Megadeth. It is believed that the band were received warmly by the Megadeth crowd throughout the dates.[11] On the final date of the tour (11th March 2008) at the Hugennottenhalle in Frankfurt, the band briefly joined Megadeth on stage to sing the classic Peace Sells.

March 2008 also saw the track "Thrasher" featuring on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 video game Rock Band as downloadable content as a part of the "Earache Thrash Pack." The Track is considered to be one of the most difficult on the game for Guitar and Bass Guitar in any rhythm game.[12]

In April of 2008, the band embarked on a European tour alongside thrash band Exodus. During the tour, Evile allowed a 14 year old fan to join them on stage to perform 'Enter the Grave'[13]. On a few occasions throughout the tour, Evile would take part in backing vocal duties on "The Toxic Waltz" with Exodus, which would be followed by the members of Exodus handing their instruments to members of Evile to help close the set.[14].

The band are set to perform at France's Hellfest festival in June, Derby's Bloodstock Open Air festival in August.

[edit] Musical Influences

Evile's style is mostly influenced by classic thrash metal, citing bands such as Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer, Exodus, Testament and Annihilator. The band also state an influence from the old death metal genre, stating Obituary are an influence.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Demos/EPs

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Hoare, James (2007-08-01), “Reign in Hudds - Irony-Free Thrashers Reignite A Scene”, Kerrang!: p. 48, <http://www.earache.com/archive/evile/Kerrang_Aug07_ETG.jpg> 
  2. ^ Evile - Metal Storm. Metal Storm profile. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
  3. ^ Evile MTUK Interview. Metal Team UK. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  4. ^ Evile Metal Mayhem Interview. Metal Mayhem. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  5. ^ a b Lucem Fero Evile Interview. Lucem Fero. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  6. ^ Enter the Grave Terrorizer Review. Terrorizer Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  7. ^ Enter the Grave Metal Revolution Review. Metal Revolution. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  8. ^ Classic Rock 2007 Albums. Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  9. ^ a b Evile Win Get in the Ring 2. Rockworld.tv. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  10. ^ Get in the Ring 2 Evile. Official Evile Forum. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  11. ^ Gerrard, Steve (2008-02-22). Gigantour UK Review. Birmingham Live!. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  12. ^ List of Rockband Songs - Difficulty Tiers Included. Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  13. ^ EVILE Joined By 14-Year-Old Fan In Sheffield; Video Available. Blabbermouth.net (2008-04-13). Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  14. ^ Ol Drake Comments on Exodus Tour. Official Evile Forum. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.

[edit] External links

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