Review Summary: Evile mixes things up but doesn’t play up to their natural strengths
Having re-established themselves with 2021’s Hell Unleashed, Evile’s sixth album follows it up with a decidedly different direction. In contrast to its predecessor’s borderline death-thrash, The Unknown plays like the hypothetical stopgap between The Black Album and Load with potent Alice In Chains influence informing the sludgy overcast. It’s not too far out of left field as past outings like Infected Nations and Five Serpent’s Teeth certainly had their share of chunky rhythms and melodic passages.
Unfortunately, there’s a certain spark missing that makes for a faltering execution. Songs like “The Mask We Wear” and “Monolith” serve up some promising groove riff sets in the vein of “Sad But True” or “Horrorscope” but ultimately come off flat without anything else to bounce off them. The more melodic tracks don’t pan out much better as the opening title track doesn’t quite capitalize on its atmospheric promise while the vocals just aren’t powerful enough to carry the power ballad temple on “When Mortal Coils Shed.”
There’s potential relief to be found in the back half’s bringing in some heavier elements, but these also tend to come up short. “Sleepless Eyes” and “Balance of Time” hearken back to old school thrash while “Out of Sight” has an almost punk brevity, but the actual writing doesn’t leave much of an impact. The same could be said for “At Mirror’s Speech” and “Beginning of the End” dipping into Pantera ground but ultimately going in one ear and out the other.
As neat as it is to see Evile mix things up with The Unknown, it just doesn’t play much to the group’s natural strengths. I find myself wondering how this would’ve sounded with a proper lead singer at the helm; it’s easy to imagine these riffs with a little more pep and involved lines from a charismatic motormouth ala John Bush on top of them. Taken for what it is, the production and musicianship are solid enough and I’d hardly call it a disaster. Hopefully the band is able to find more ways to grow without revealing their shortcomings.
