Evile

UK thrash metal brigade Evile were touted as the Atlas of the genre with their debut effort. One magazine went so far as to claim they were "holding up the entire resurgence on their own." If that's the case, there must be a kink in the muscles somewhere. While Infected Nations is a solid piece of thrash-influenced thrash (as redundant as that sounds), it's not exactly a mind-melting affair. The majority of songs plug along at what feels like half-time tempos with occasional blasts of hyperactivity, while the typical chug riffs are less than engaging, resulting in a listening experience that is rather dismissive, in a Prong having sordid relations with White Zombie kind of way. Unlike a sophomore effort, it's in-line with what most of the bigger initial thrash bands resorted to by their fourth or fifth albums: a by-the-book encounter weak on inspired riffing but heavy on those easily identifiable elements that define the genre. This is passable but far from essential.