EVILE (Eng.)
– Hello and first of all, thanks for taking the time. How is everything doing right now with EVILE?
Great thanks, just come of a short UK/Ireland tour with Kreator and Xentrix which was great, got chance to play a couple of new songs on that tour, and all went really well.
– You will soon release your new album, «Skull». What are your expectations on it? And how is its feedback being so far?
So far, so good. Feedback has been very positive from those who have heard the album. Expectations, none, ha! We just enjoy doing what we do, record an album, do as many shows as possible on the back of it until it’s time to do it all again.
– After giving the album some spins I could say is a more straight the point album if we compare it to your previous «Five Serpent’s Teeth». Was this how you envisioned the album since the beginning or do you just let things flow?
The only thing we said to each other while touring ‘Serpents’, before song-writing had really started was that we wanted the next album to have more speed, more aggressive feel to it, when songs were actually started on, that was the only thing we did keep in mind, after that it is a case of what works best for ‘the song’, and ensuring each track is clearly it’s own.
– You have usually been compared to METALLICA so, how do you feel about it? Have they been an influence for EVILE? Anyway you are always solidifying your sound a bit more, for instance your riffs are pretty singular. Is this, somehow, a way to say you are just EVILE?
It doesn’t bother us at all, and yes, we hear it lots..and lots… There are much worse bands that could we could be compared to! Evile are unashamedly influenced by Metallica, but many many other bands too, so we don’t sit around when working on stuff and think, ‘what would Metallica do’, we just do what we do, what feels right, and I think there is an ‘Evile sound’ now that has been developed across all four albums.
– Going back to your new opus, it’s a pretty aggressive effort still keeping your melody and harmonies. How important is melody for the band? As you have always got a really good equilibrium between melody and brutality.
We like ‘songs’, we are all fans of classic rock, prog, all things metal, even some pop stuff, etc, etc, and it is important to us that we have ‘songs’ that you can sing-a-long with, it’s the bit of a song that sticks in peoples brains, so mixing that with full on riffage makes sense to us.
– Moreover this time around I notice a heavier sound, even with certain Death Metal nuances. Is this actually like this or is it just my perception?
Certainly is a strong Death Metal vibe in Skull, again because we listen to it, the likes of Entombed, Morbid Angel, Carcass and Death are frequently played by us and referenced. We are music junkies, fans, and discuss music all the time. For us, It’s about not closing in on ourselves and restricting what we do, because we are a ‘thrash band’, and nothing more, it’s got to keep us interested, and enjoyable, so we throw things into songs that we like.
– Anyway in general I could say with «Skull» you are going back to your thrashier roots. When it comes to the songwriting process, do you ever look back to earlier albums?
Sure, we play a range of stuff from all our albums live, so those older songs never just get left in the past, and each album thus far does have it’s own vibe, Grave- the fast thrash fun one, Nations, the proggy dark one, Serpents- The melodic technical one, Skull seems to be the album that really gathers all the previous album feels into one.
– I ask so because it’s obvious you are always looking forward and evolving. Is something you strive for to surpass your own standards? Is there always room for improvement?
Yes, no doubt about it!! It’s all about doing stuff that excites us, not ‘going through the motions’ because we can. Always looking to improve on things.
– For the production you have, once more, worked with Russ Russell. After several years working with him, is the process getting easier?
It’s never been difficult, for it to get easier, that’s why we work with Russ. The studio can be a time restricting environment, in that you have this window of time to get your tracks down, but Russ can magically expand time by simply being an honest, hardworking bloody nice guy, he certainly takes off the pressure and works long days to ensure he gets the best work done.
– On the other hand, the cover artwork was crafted by the veteran Eliran Kantor but, could you please tell us what did you want to express with the cover?
Well the first thing you’ll notice is there is no Skull on the cover ha! That because you won’t get anything ‘literal’ from us, we don’t work that way, and Matt certainly incorporates a hidden meaning in his lyrics, metaphorical for the most part. ‘Skull’ comes from a dream that Ol had about a place at the end of space, a void which separates the edge of the universe from whatever comes next.. With that to go on, Eliran then came up with his concept of said place.
– All this about «Skull» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Fucking Heavy Metal.
– Next June you will start touring the UK but, besides this, what are some of your near-future plans?
Gig, gig and gig, that’s what we like to do, take the new songs on the road, and play as many places as we can.
– That has been everyting from my side, thank you once more for taking your time. If you now want to add any last words; feel free to do it.
Skull comes out May 27th, buy it, borrow it, steal it, and enjoy it. Thanks for any interest you have in Evile…good or bad!
