EVILE

THE FADING

For many people here tonight, this will be their first gig of the new decade, so it would be fair to assume that they have arrived expecting a lot from not only the headlining act Evile, their fold completed by new bassist Joel Graham after the tragic loss of Mike Alexander in late 2009 - but also from support acts Warbringer and The Fading. Kicking off the night of thrash mayhem is The Fading, who are here on their first ever tour and considering their quality when playing live, you really wouldn’t be able to tell that was the case. Their superb mix of harmony and brutality works well, with Ilia Badrov’s vocals making their mix of genres really flow successfully. Sadly their talent does seem to pass by a large quantity of this avid thrash crowd completely unnoticed. The material played tonight from their debut album ‘In Sin We’ll Find Salvation’ showcases the band’s technical skills brilliantly. Shaked Furman’s drumming is intense and is a real foundation on which guitarists Arie Aranovich and Paul Mityianine build their riffs upon. Overall it was a mixed bag of reactions for the Israeli newcomers, but they seem to definitely be one to look out for in the future.

DATE:

VENUE:

Sunday 17th January 2010

Cathouse in Glasgow, UK

WARBRINGER

Warbringer are a band well accustomed to touring, and it shows when they play live. Their skill level has only grown with every show and material from both ‘War Without End’ and ‘Waking Into Nightmares’ have a new strength live. John Kevill looks like a madman, stalking the stage wild eyed and wielding the microphone as if it could do some real damage. The pits kick off in style with bodies being flung mercilessly around the floor whilst front man Kevill makes himself very accustomed to the front row; those of you who have seen Warbringer before will know that the singer has a little habit of finding his way into the crowd and pits at most shows. John Laux is flying off licks every which way as Adam Carrol (previous Warbringer tub thumper) runs side to side keeping the crowd at bay. As an obvious highlight of the set, you just have to love ‘Living In A Whirlwind’, that is well and truly a thrash hit. Warbringer have got the Glasgow crowd ready for Evile, they have got them ready to thrash.

WARBRINGER; THE FADING

Reviews by Siobhan Hogarty

EVILE

Evile don’t take to the stage in their usual manner of an intro song, they simply walk onto stage and front man Matt Drake steps to the microphone to say a few words. He thanks the attendees for their support through the harsh times the band have faced in the past month or two following the passing of Mike Alexander - to whom the crowd show their respect merely by a rapture of applause. He also takes this time to introduce new four stringer Joel Graham, who looks somewhat nervous up on stage to begin with, but he appears calmer following the fantastic response he receives from the adoring crowd. The set kicks off with the title track from the newest thrash offering ‘Infected Nations’; it sounds amazing live, there’s just so much depth in that one song. Given the fact Joel has been faced with the task of learning 2 albums worth of material in a short space of time, he’s rocking every single minute of it. Fan favourites such as ‘Thrasher’ and ‘Killer From The Deep’ see the circle pits rage and crowd surfers take to the air. You know a gig has turned into a tiny sweat box of complete chaos when there are off duty security guards from the venue stage diving, that’s right, it just got crazy in the Cathouse. Evile slam through more new material - ‘Time No More’ is a great track from the new album which displays singer Matt Drakes superb vocal range and it just works incredibly well in a live situation. ‘Bathe In Blood’ comes along to crack the necks of every person in the room as Ol Drake and Joel Graham constantly switch position and just hit every note to perfection. Every person in the room has their fists in the air and chants along for more when the set comes to a close. The smile present on Matt Drake’s face shows that he loves every minute of performing live and the crowd simply lap it up. Another near perfect performance from one of thrash’s rising stars. this band are set for big things and they deserve every single minute of it.