Evildead - The Underworld (1991)

Annihilation of Civilization was hardly a breakout suffusion over the thrash-starved masses of the late 80s, but it gleaned enough press and attention that the band had earned a rightful mention along the same West Coast surge that vaulted Exodus and Forbidden fairly high into the underground consciousness. For their sophomore, still through Steamhammer, Evildead would evoke a more practiced, surgical and technical veneer to their compositions that was adjoined to higher production values and cleaner tones. Imagine Forbidden's Twisted Into Form with a less impressive, less melodic vocalist at the fore. Unfortunately, though there are some diamonds in the rough here, taking the form of a few individual riffs I found superior to the debut, the album seems to grow progressively less exciting the deeper you go...

Shit begins with a creepy intro, "Comshell 5" that blends some feedback, ambiance and horrific vocal samples into a promising smoothie, then betrayed by the all too standard, mid paced gait of "Global Warming". As you can tell from this title, Evildead were fully in check with the big ticket issues of the late 80s/early 90s, so it's no surprise that they take on the environment, crime, the situation in and surrounding Iraq ("Welcome to Kuwait"), and even a pre-emptive jab at bastards like yours truly ("Critic/Cynic"). But as for the song itself, its easily forgotten beyond the decent lead. "Branded" brings about the thicker bass tone of the album; this and "Welcome to Kuwait" compensate for the rather mundane riffs with some tight fills and increased energy levels, which escalate even further through "Critic/Cynic" and "The 'Hood", utilizing a similar momentum to Vio-Lence on their superior sophomore Oppressing the Masses. There's a cover of the Scorpions' "He's a Woman/She's a Man", which is simply not as confident or fun as the Texan Helstar rendition, and then a trio of solid but ineffective thrashers which don't deviate from the first half of the album.

Of course, some points are given to Evildead for staying pretty true to their motives. We would not be hearing a lame groove-metal mutation out of this act like a Skinlab or Machine Head (fueled by members of Defiance and Vio-Lence, respectively) and the band instead decided to hang up the towel when it was clear there was no future (recently reforming). The Underworld is not lacking for effort, and certainly not mechanical execution; think of it as a tighter, polished interpretation of their debut. But what it does lack is inspiration. The songs here simply don't gel that well at all. None of them scream out for a replay. The debut itself was not exactly a stunner, but it at least had a voracious and driving quality about it that made it pleasing to experience, whereas this successor seems to drown in its own architecture, never offending but also never distending the reach of Evildead to the genre's diminishing audience of the day.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Evildead - Annihilation of Civilization (1989)

California thrash was already very near capacity by the time the Evildead rolled out their debut album, several of its pioneers having achieved enormous international success. Whereas overseas, bands like Coroner, Kreator and Mekong Delta were expanding the very notion of what the genre could accomplish, the West Coast artists, which, aside from a few New York area standouts would represent almost our entire thrash vanguard, and they seemed to dwell on little more than amplify the aggression level of their primed predecessors. Such is the case for Annihilation of Civilization, a lethal and competent enough effort that suffers simply from having already been handled better by artists like Exodus, Testament, Vio-Lence and Forbidden.

Don't get me wrong, this is not at all a bad release, and in fact it remains my favorite from Juan Garcia's 2nd most prominent project (after Agent Steel, of course). Authentic, savage guitar work is driven to the point of collision through a number of dynamics, greatly expanding upon the teasers from the prior Rise Above EP. They tend to mix up the speed sequences with mid paced, writhing riffs ala "Living Good", "Future Shock" or "Parricide", but this album works best when its meting out high amounts of testicular fuel via "Unauthorized Exploitation" or "Gone Shooting", each of which would have sounded right at home on Eternal Nightmare with Sean Killian singing. Often, they'll just blow the mold entirely and batter the listener with sheer, blustered force as in "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again (aka B.O.H.I.C.A.)" and opener "The Awakening".

Combined, the contents present a fully functional third string thrash band that can easily sate the cravings of those who pine for the artists I name dropped above, but rarely if ever do the individual riffs stand out as monoliths of memorable writing. I also must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Flores' vocals here. He's enforced by shouting backups and has often sauces them with a respectable sneer, but otherwise it's your stock shouting reminiscent of crossover bands like D.R.I. or early Suicidal Tendencies. I've always appreciated a bit more character to my thrash front men, and this guy simply was not an Araya, Baloff or Hetfield. That said, despite the thin and crisp production of the guitars, and the lack of any particular 'cult classics' that I'd want to experience repeatedly through the decades, this is not a half bad headbanging if you're one to invest in the Bay Area's spectrum of 80s hostility.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (we're only destroying ourselves)

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Evildead - Live...from the Depths of the Underworld (1992)

I'm not going to take a guess at why a band like Evildead would rate a live album after only two studio full-lengths, neither of which was all that impressive. Alas, the Californians were not the first case of such puzzlement and not the last. To their credit, though, they really make the best of it here with a solid mix of dense, thrashing guitars and bitter Phil Flores barking. This was all recorded in '92, the same year it was released as part of their Steamhammer deal, and it's never a bad thing to experience a performance of this style, a meaty fist plunged into the corpulent jowls of changing times. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that The Underworld material recorded in this set is superior sounding on stage than the studio.

There are nine tracks in total, eight of which we've heard from the studio full-lengths, one more ("Darkness") which was new to us. Surprisingly, the band have decided not to incorporate their Black Flag or Scorpions covers into the selection here. You figure they'd be live staples, popular with a less demanding audience. But no, these are all originals here, and they sound properly punishing. They include the intros to both albums, "Comshell 5" opening the proceedings, and then in an interesting twist, the "F.C.I." intro being used to herald "Welcome to Kuwait" from the sophomore, rather than it's normal slot preceding "The Awakening" on the debut. Otherwise, Live...from the Depths of the Underworld is culled fairly evenly from both Annihilation of Civilization and The Underworld. We've got "Gone Shooting", "Parracide" and the title track from the former, and "Global Warning", "The 'Hood" and also the title track of the latter.

My preference is definitely for "Annihilation of Civilization" and "Gone Shooting", which crush with the density of the later 80s Exodus stuff, but even tracks I did not care for so much from the second album are punctual and heart pounding here. The unreleased track, "Darkness" is comparable to The Underworld in style, straight hammering mid paced West Coast thrash, but aside from the cool chorus (a tribute to the film franchise that inspired the band's moniker) it's not all that great. I wouldn't call this a mandatory purchase unless you're incredibly enamored of the band's studio manifestations. It's not nearly on the level of Destruction's Live Without Sense, a crime of taste to live without, but it's certainly not a cock up by any means, and gives the appropriate impression that Evildead were no slouches on the stage.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/

Evildead - Rise Above EP (1988)

In the US in the 80s, it was a fairly common practice for a metal act to release a short-form EP as a teaser, but a little unusual to revolve that around a cover track. This is exactly what the Los Angeles riot police Evildead did with Rise Above. Granted, this was a product of guitarist Juan Garcia, who had formed this straight thrashing squad in lieu of Agent Steel's separation after Unstoppable Force, hardly a newcomer to the field. You won't feel the same sense of hyper and howling anxiety here that you felt with John Cyriis in the wings, as Evildead pursue a more street savvy, darkened style akin to a Rigor Mortis, Testament or Gammacide, but they still rip out some quick licks and furious Bay Area -style violence.

The issue here is really that the two original songs are vastly superior to the band's cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above". I'm not incredibly opposed to the selection, as it makes a lot of sense for a California thrash band to cover a legendary hardcore band from the same shore, but despite the Anthrax-like punch and steady gang shouts, you can file it under the fun but forgettable pile along with "Got the Time" or "Antisocial". The plucky clean guitars and excess lead thrown into the bridge do little for the song. Far better are the stylistic samplers of what the band will deliver on their following Annihilation of Civilization album. "Sloe-Death" is the better of the two, with brutal, tearing guitar work and the melodic, descending mutes around 1:30; Phil Flores shouting along like a hybrid of Tom Araya and Excel's Dan Clements. His vocals have a bit more bite on "Run Again", and I liked the opening rhythms and leads, but not so much the crossover velocity burst in the vein of D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, and Excel (though they toss another great lead and melody in there).

There's also an entire, if brief track devoted to a Suicidal Tendencies riff cover (from "Institutionalized"), which is utterly worthless. All told, the Rise Above EP has very little value, unless you can acquire it as bonus tracks on the reissue of Annihilation of Civilization. However, the original tracks show quite a lot of promise that the band would manage to fine tune into that full-length debut. In particular, Juan Garcia and Albert Gonzalez do a great job of composing some searing, vicious guitar work, though the chorus sequences are not quite up to par with a lot of the Californian speed and thrash that was incredibly hot at the time (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, etc.).

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10] (we are tired of your abuse)

http://www.evildeadofficial.com/