PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
For some people Sunday is a day of rest – the Sabbath if you will. A time to go to mass and light a few candles and throw a wink up to God so that nobody ever finds out about that one time…we all have that one time. Well, Sunday 21 October was a similar situation except we were in a different, dirtier sanctuary; worshiping gods of a different kind but still most of them had Jesus hair so it’s fine! The Pint was host to Evile, Wolf and Animator for an evening of some smack in the face metal (or beer if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time).
First up were thrashers Animator from Waterford. It was a fantastic way to kick off the night of metal. Considering they were the first band they had a great crowd and they knew how to please them. It’s clear from their set that their influences lean more towards the Pantera and Testament strain of Thrash metal. With their shrieking solos and a heavy tone, these guys are one of the top thrash bands in Ireland at the moment. The drums are a quintessential part of the package (obviously – it’s a band) but this is even more true of thrash bands. Animator’s Drummer has some great capabilities behind his kit, speedy double bass kicks and good fills makes for happy thrashers. These guys are releasing their first album soon so keep your eyes and ears open.
Next were Scandinavian Metallers, Wolf. It was time for some old school metal and if Wolf can’t bring you back to the days of Judas Priest and Sabbath then I’m afraid nobody can. Seemingly they have a great following in Ireland because when it came time for them to play; everyone was packed tighter than sardines in a tin! This four piece have been around for awhile and it’s good to see a band reminiscent of the early days in metal. However, it has to be said that at times it is a bit too similar to those bands like Priest and Maiden and it lacks enough of a twist to make them hugely different to them and it has been done before and can’t be beaten. Having said all that, they still had a great set and did their job of getting us ready for Evile.
I’ve often pondered what it would be like to have Slayer come to my house. I think I would have to hide all the photos of me on my communion day and invert any crucifixes we have in the house for fear of Kerry King seeing them and feeding me to his snakes. After Evile’s impressive set on Sunday, I can safely say (whisper) ‘SLAYER, eat your heart out’ and Evile, ‘Come on over!’
From the experience on Sunday, it’s easy to see why these guys have been credited by some as reviving the thrash genre and they are certainly top of the food chain when it comes to thrash metal bands in general. I’ll set the scene. From the second Evile were on stage they were unrelenting in their performance and the crowd went Dave Mustaine bat s**t crazy – that’s madder than a bag of spiders crazy! Crowd surfers and moshers were a constant during the set; I turned around at the wrong time to admire the crowd surfers and got a full beer in the face. The upside being free beer, the downside being…NOTHING AT ALL!
Ol Drake is a serious shredder and pairing that with beefy riffs and the heaviness being reinforced by Joel Graham’s bass and you’re going to need to buy a sling for your neck. Ben Carter is like a titan behind his kit and demonstrates great stamina and precision, he could probably give all the tech death drummers a run for their money. As a front man, Matt Drake has an abundance of charisma. He compares to the likes of Tom Araya and James Hetfield but is definitely not a carbon copy of the two.
One thing is clear with Evile, there is nothing pretentious about them and they certainly aren’t about labels, they’re all about the music and their fans. So the crowd were sweatier than Rosie O’Donnell’s armpit and the next day in work I had to spin around slowly in my chair like a bond villain whenever anyone called my name because I couldn’t actually move my neck a sure sign of a fantastic gig!
