In the current climate of disarray within the music industry there are comparatively few labels that you can trust implicitly with the quality of their releases. One label, however, wins out time and time again. With their dedication to metal unshakable and their quality control never compromised, the mighty Inferno Records (“in metal we trust – in hell we’ll BURN!”), are a constant source of inspiration to metal fans the world over and this latest release from NYC underdogs Prime Evil is no exception.
The band’s story is all too familiar: popular with the underground circuit in the 1980s Prime Evil bubbled away under the surface of the mainstream releasing three well-received demos and a 7” EP before disbanding. However, despite the band having vanished, they were far from forgotten and the band’s career was resurrected when, in 2002, Battlezone records issued ‘Unearthed’, a compilation gathering together all of Prime Evil’s recorded work. It took some time, but, buoyed by the response, Prime Evil reformed in 2011 and now are ready to bring their well-honed and malicious metal to a wider audience with ‘Evilution’, a three-track EP produced by the band themselves and adorned with the sort of artwork that reeks of a life-long love of Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Exodus.
First track ‘Crucifixion aftermath’ tells you all you need to know about Prime Evil. A pummelling barrage of percussion provides the juddering backdrop for Mike Usifer’s searing guitars and churning bass and Andy Eichorn’s hell-torn screams. It’s devastatingly heavy, of course, and immensely powerful in a raw, untamed way. This is the music of the bloody pub fight rather than the strictly controlled boxing ring, the punches the band throw slimed in blood and sweat and the music enough to leave you dizzy and breathless, brutalised by its sheer untrammelled rage. ‘Barbarick Rites’ is similarly obscene, recalling the propulsive fury of Autopsy with its crushing waves of guitar offering no quarter to the easily intimidated. Final track ‘Evilution Decree’ cements the importance of the band’s return and the unholy need the metal scene has for a full-length album from these purveyors of sonic brutality. A neat mix of Fear Factory, Obituary and Autopsy it is as brutal, as toxic and as utterly exciting as you could want from an extreme metal act and there is no doubt at all that given the right backing Prime Evil are poised to stake their claim on the metal scene.
Available as a digi-pack CD or cassette from the mighty Inferno records, you may well burn in hell for indulging in Prime Evil’s sickness, but with music of this ferocious quality, the scarifying flames for all eternity will be but a small price to pay. This EP’s already been in our player for several days and will undoubtedly stay there – it’s time to burn!
Check out Prime Evil here.
And the mighty Inferno Records here.
