Ten years have passed for Against Evil.
On this occasion, Siri Sri (bass/vocals), M Sravan Chakravarthi (guitar/vocals), Shasank Venkat (guitar), and Noble John (drums) unveil Give ‘Em Hell, their third album, via Doc Gator Records.
We kick off with the catchy Lock ‘N Load, an effective introduction that leads into the solid Give ‘Em Hell, the first composition that reassures us of the band’s Old School inspirations while distilling a driving sound. Leads and backing vocals take it in turns to flesh out the rhythm before Full Speed Ahead takes over, giving the bass a more prominent place in the groovy, cutting riffs to create a motivating basis. Although Warriors starts with a certain gentleness, the track proves extremely unifying thanks to its jerky approach, feeding the contrast between its different influences, then the band speeds up and gives pride of place to its Thrash roots on Stay Dead! of which moshpart is unquestionably one of the heaviest on the album. The tempo slows down with Lights Out, a relatively simple but heady track which sometimes leaves the rhythm section alone with the vocals, but the guitars soon return to accompany us to create one of the band’s future must-haves, then it’s with Hellfire that the four Indians get us headbanging by speeding up again. It goes without saying that fans will be singing the chorus in unison, and then they’ll go wild with Creature of Night and its bloody harmonies, which fit in perfectly with the slightly more gloomy atmosphere. The album already comes to an end with Killing Machine, which is just one last opportunity for the quartet to get our skulls stirring, savouring the metallic, belligerent riffs rooted in the 80s.
Sometimes the old ways are best, and Against Evil understands this. Although Give ‘Em Hell is a little short, it offers effective Old School compositions that borrow from the roots of Heavy Metal, with a hint of sharp Thrash to spice things up.
85/100