EVILE

CIRCLE OF TYRANTS

After Evile set up their competition for local bands to support them on their short haul UK tour, a plethora of small thrash-by-numbers bands applied, and won on people power… that and all of their friends voting, but it works. The opening slot for tonight’s show in Glasgow has been bestowed upon Circle Of Tyrants, who do a pretty decent job in getting the crowd warmed up.

DATE:

VENUE:

Friday 11th February 2011

Cathouse in Glasgow, UK

Reviews by Siobhan Hogarty

ELIMINATION; MUTANT; CIRCLE OF TYRANTS

MUTANT

UK rising thrash stars Mutant are up next, good friends of the Evile boys, and for those who haven’t seen or heard of Mutant, you’re missing out. Somewhat geeky, ridiculously fast and stupidly funny, these are probably the best ways to describe this 4-piece act. Guitarist and vocalist Tom manages to command the crowd perfectly, his interaction is fantastic. Songs such as ‘The Rauncher’ see the guitar pace quicken as Josh’s drumming intensifies and the crowd throw back as good as they get – bodies fly through the air and the pit rages on the small floor space of the Cathouse. Heads bang and smiles flash as ‘Turbo Hyper Ultra Mega Power’ rips into action. Mutant can and will be big in the UK thrash scene, if not in the metal scene as a whole. A pretty perfect opening act for Evile, and yet another great performance by the London 4-piece, long may it continue.

ELIMINATION

Next up are Elimination, and all the momentum built up by Mutant seems to evaporate instantaneously. Maybe it is their slower paced rhythms or their slightly gruffer vocals, it just seems they are lacking something the crowd is baying for tonight. It’s not to say that they aren’t a good live band. They hit out song after song with their brand of straight to the bone, NWOBHM influenced metal, and singer Neil Stevens is very upfront with the crowd in order to get some participation - and metal prevails, the crowd are eventually won over by their galloping, thunderous metal tunes. Hands are raised, fists pump and bodies fly in typical Cathouse fashion, leaving the security scrambling around the pit area to catch them all. Elimination put on a show that seems to just run by the rules, which might not have been helped by the slightly disappointing crowd reaction, but hopefully a band to watch for in the future.

EVILE

Evile are a band hitting new heights continually with every feat, fresh from a mammoth US tour, they keep gaining confidence and skills, and this is definitely evident in tonight’s show. Rambo influenced thrash-tastic feast ‘First Blood’ kicks the night off in true Evile style as the bodies begin to fly and the crowd whips itself into a frenzy. ‘Plague To End All Plagues’ has Matt Drake’s vocal work fighting through to show the diversity he has, before ‘Metamorphosis’ comes along to bring it all to a perfect mix of mellow and manic. Fan favourites such as ‘Thrasher’ and ‘Infected Nations’ are also fired out tonight in order to get the crowd going crazy although, if I’m honest, I’m pretty sure it’s just natural for the crowd by now. New material is being tested out tonight - the lovingly renamed ‘Glasgow Shot-Put Shepard’s Pie’ by the baying crowd after Matt tells that it was initially named ‘Bitch’ – goes down an absolute treat. With a ferociously fast intro riff seemingly flowing into the epic chorus (that we are now accustomed to, very similar in style to the work featured on ‘Infected Nations’) before hitting full force back into neck breaking speed guitar work whilst Ben Carter nearly loses his arms pounding the skins at the back of the stage. It seems Evile’s newest album will be their best to date if the song quality remains the same. Having its UK live debut on this tour is ‘My Parasite’ and it sounds absolutely huge live; it just seems to fill the air tonight and punch every single attendee in the face...mammoth. Final song ‘Killer From The Deep’ has the Cathouse floor erupt with movement, an unspoken memorial to Mike Alexander as the boys tear the stage apart, a very apt ending to the night. Every single person in the room is sweating, exhausted and in danger of losing their voice, but each is the same, smiling ear to ear. This tour just seems to be reminding people yet again why Evile are one of the best bands to hit the thrash scene, if not the metal genre as a whole, in the past 10 years. Long may Huddersfield’s heroes of metal reign.