Finally also available on 12"LP, strictly limited to 100 copies. The debut album of this promising Slovak horde offers 6 tracks of intense but melodic Black Metal lyrically based on the novel “Bride of the Pastures/Forests” written by Frantisek Svantner. LP comes with the A4 insert with lyrics written in Slovak and translated to English. Cover painting by David Glomba (Teitan Arts).
Strictly limited to 100 hand-numbered copies. Contains A4 insert with translated lyrics.
Title translation: "The Legend Of Tameless Elements"
In terms of Slovakian metal, I am just a wretched Mallcore Kid. I only know three bands, the intercultural Death Karma, the eccentric Malokarpatan and, of course, Evil. "The Legend Of Tameless Elements", to use the English translation of the album's name, offers five regular songs after a comparatively senseless intro. Lo and behold, the aura of these tunes is perfectly aligned with the atmosphere of the artwork. This means that Evil have composed a handful of spooky tracks. Yet this gloomy, slightly mysterious mood is not at the expense of vehemence or velocity. Evil present some high-speed parts whose Norwegian parents were born in the early nineties of the last century. However, due to the excessive configuration (five tracks with a playtime of 38 minutes) of their compositions, Evil would have been badly advised to focus exclusively on velocity. With that said, let us dive deeper into the cosmos of Evil.
First of all, the album shines with a dense production. This kind of sound strengthens the effect of the songs. Foggy landscapes, dark forests and a cloudy horizon come to my mind. Their riffs make me think of these pictures. Evil have a knack for minimalist yet striking riffs. Without sounding primitive or lame, they have an almost meditative effect from time to time. Evil are immune against ambient or suicidal black metal, yet they do not fear to integrate some melancholic parts. Nevertheless, this album heralds the splendour of more or less harsh black metal. The sinister guitar tones at the beginning of "Pasovanie s démonmi" open the door to one of the best tunes of the album. An intense, rapid sequence follows, passionate vocals melt together with raging guitars and the drummer heads for total destruction as well. Too bad that an abrupt break with rather inconspicuous guitars stops this attack. However, the next track speeds up again. Its mercilessly fast guitar lines convey the feeling of cruelty, but mid-paced intermezzos also add value to the track due to their profound melody. In a nutshell, "Z vlka a ženy zrodený" is definitely recommendable for every fan of (slightly) unorthodox black metal, although it is a minute too long in view of its uninspired ending.
Yet generally speaking, the music of Evil is more original than their name. I admit that anything else would have been a catastrophe. But Evil work seriously and avoid any form of disaster. Their coherent work will not revolutionize the darkest of all metal genres, but it joins the ranks of very solid albums that enlarge the supporting pillars of black metal. And one thing is for sure; the band does not deliver something completely new, but it is looking for its own way. There is no specific influence, the Slovakians are no copycats - they just make good use of the tried and tested stylistic devices. While knowing how to put the single fragments together, they have created a more or less smoothly flowing, compact full-length. Even experts of the Slovakian scene should give them a chance. Greetings from the Mallcore Kid.
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