Evil
The Revenge Of Iron And Thunder
[Drakkar]


I had heard much of this blastbeat-driven Brazilian NS band long before I picked up this tape/official demo, what with the huge amount of controversy concerning the Brazilian NS circle and their musical and ideological value. Seeing this at a rather low price, I was compelled to pick it up, and only met with a hefty bit of disappointment.

What we have on our hands is some very monochromatic and unengaging hack n’ slash black metal, much like Marduk et al, and as such lacking in any musical merit to these ears. When it comes to blast beat fuelled black metal, Sarcophagus, Thornspawn, Sacramentary Abolishment , Warlust and such outfits manage to manipulate blast beats to their whim while injecting a considerable amount of variation, songwriting depth and quirks to snare the listener’s attention, but it seems as though the individual behind Evil is not intent on this. This is unrelenting, fierce, harsh and hateful, but also haphazardly monotonous and incredibly mindless.

The sound is very upfront and barbaric, but the thin and grainy nature of it renders it incredibly difficult to discern the riffs from one another. Instead, the riffs coagulate to form a malicious wall of sound, gasping for space with the lightning speed pings of the mechanised snare drum. Guitars are distorted to the nth degree, buzzing and humming incessantly with the screechy vocal spew. For one or two tracks, this does indeed sound more remarkable than it reads, but the novelty wears off quickly as Evil refuses to throw enough hooks, variation and depth to captivate this listener. One can tell that the passion and ingenue is there in abundance, but as a musical product this falls short by quite a long shot.

As a Brazilian band, perhaps they should’ve thrown in some passages as reverence to the ancient masters Expulser, Mutilator and Chakal? That would’ve made it an infinitely more enthralling listen to these ears, hehe.

I’m not about to debate that this is indeed a marvellously hateful release, and it is passionately nihilistic and abrasive. However, it has, after repeated listens, failed to warrant my attention. The material I have on the split with Moonblood is slighty more interesting, so if you’re looking to purchase any Evil I’d suggest that you pick that up first. With a litany of better Brazilian black metal bands on show, (Murder Rape, Dorsal Atlantica, Goatpenis) it’s safe to say that you can give this a miss.

[5.5]


© 2000 equimanthorn