EVIL ARMY. A name so redundant that apart from some obscure 80's band from Poland nobody ever thought of using it. Well, now we've got this three-piece from Memphis, Tennessee led by one Rob Evil (!) whose mix of hardcore and thrash metal is as old school as they come. This album consists of 12 tracks (not counting the intro) in 24 minutes, the tempo never goes down and every song is about war and/or violence. Think DRI, SOD, WHIPLASH and early METALLICA and you'll get the picture. It's weird but in a time when the sound of (thrash) metal is largely defined by overproduced hypes like TRIVIUM or LAMB OF GOD the pure return-to-basics sound of EVIL ARMY sounds oddly refreshing to me. No leads, triggered drums or fancy vocal effects on this record. Heck, judging from the cover photo these guys even lack the trendy goatees and tattoos that seem to have become part of the uniform of contemporary US metal. Which is good! With EVIL ARMY what you see is what you get: pure unadulterated musical violence! I wish they'd still make 'em like this more often. May they never be discovered and become famous.

- Van Hoften

OFFICIAL SITE: www.myspace.com/evilarmy

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