EVIL INVADERS - Pulses of Pleasure (Album Review)

Every now and then an album comes out of the blue and surprises you. I wasn't expecting much when I came across the new Evil Invaders album, I wasn't expecting anything really, and it floored me. I tend to focus on stoner rock and doom metal when it comes to new music and Evil Invaders isn't that. They're a throwback band, rooted in the mid-80's era of freewheelin' thrash. It was a time when genre boundaries were being erected, but were small enough to look over to the other side, when metal was just metal, not specific sub-types. It was a time when bands were carving out their own niche and creating their own legend. This Belgian quartet comes from that iconoclastic mold-breaking state of mind.

The first thing you're likely to notice is the rubber burning riffery of the opening measures of "Fast, Loud n Rude" (see video below). The song works like the introductory abstract to a thesis paper. "On this album, this is what you should expect" and the outline is executed to perfection. Evil Invaders are often categorized as Speed Metal, but as I mentioned earlier, it's so much more than that. There is technical excellence and breakneck speeds on display but what remains is the feel, the mood of the album. It's a stiff finger in the face of any self-proclaimed authority that would impose any kind of limitation on the band.

The second thing you're likely to notice about this band are the crazy vocals of axe-wielding frontman Joe. There's nothing understated about this band. Every performance is a tour de force, every act is death-defying and that spirit is embodied in those vocals. They sit on the high end and take flights of fancy nearly every line of every verse. Far from being annoying or showy, Joe is the musical soul brother of those early metal vocalists. The overall throwback style also places Evil Invaders genetically as the faster, more obnoxious (in a great way!) cousins of New York leather-bound metallers Natur and London's Amulet among a host of others. But few if any get that mid-80's metal spirit dead on ... while progressing it, the way Evil Invaders do.

After a self-released a demo appeared in 2009 ('D-emokill') and having recorded a self-titled E.P. for Empire Records back in 2013, this is the band's first full-length album. It will be released by Napalm Records on various dates in different territories over the next couple of days and weeks. Here's your timetable courtesy of the label:

G/A/S/Europe/AUS: 27.02.2015
UK/NO/FR/DK/IT: 02.03.2015
SE/ESP: 04.03.2015
USA/CAN: 10.03.2015

You can pick up the album on CD or vinyl (3 options) at this location.

Rating: «««« / 5

Evil Invaders facebook page

SARDONIS - Split with Drums Are For Parades

SardoniS is one of the best instrumental bands out there, I've been a fan for a little while now. They describe themselves as a "two man battalion playing instrumental mayhem" and that shows through on this record. Near as I can tell this LP is one of a series of split albums called The Abyss Stares Back released by Hypertension Records. But don't quote me on that. I haven't heard the other side of this split and I got these three songs through SardoniS's bandcamp page. I'd like to hear the Drums Are For Parades side but I haven't managed to track it down just yet. This side of the record finds SardoniS freebooting high tempos through devil-may-care experimentation. I listen to these three songs and I can't help but think "these guys are swashbuckling". I'm struck by the confidence of the band as they breeze through some fairly tight spots. I'm hearing a band having fun. They remain a high point in heavy instrumental music and I'll continue to support what they do for a long time to come.