My "Skull" review

Darkofeden · May 19, 2013

Since none of you won the contest I didn't bother posting who won on the forums.
Anyways here's my thoughts on the new Evile album.
tl dr; buy it

Since 2011s Five Serpents Teeth Ive been waiting to see if their next album would be able to top the greatness achieved on it. Welcome to Skull.

Underworld

The first track, included as incentive to pre-order the album on iTunes, begins with eerie sounds till the guitars and drums punch right in, seems like theyre spending no time dicking around on this album (I also just noticed this is the first time the first track of their albums wasnt the title track.) From the first verse the overwhelming familiar feelings returns and reminds you that thisll be a classic Evile track. The switch from chorus to verses is fast and a bit odd at first, but it grows on you. The albums first solos are one of the best ones on the album. Even just few minutes in you can already get a sense of where the whole album is headed, in terms of the overall feeling and musicianship, which is impressive.

Seeing as this song really had to grow on you first, I couldnt really wrap my head around it the first listen through. The odd switches from chorus to verse really threw me off at first listen. The song really feels like its lacking that one extra boost it really needs to become a stand-out song. But, eventually the track grows on you and youll like it as is. Some incredibly redeeming qualities on this track are; the riff driving the chorus, the lead up to the solo and of course, the solo itself. I have a feeling that whats bothering me so much about why this track doesnt stand out that far from the others is that it doesnt seem to take any steps to prove its just as great as the other songs. Not a bad song, but certainly not the best. In the live setting the song will, and seems to be going over well, something thats also important to think about.

Skull

This track greets you with pounding drums and a little bit of over dubbed guitar wah. Skull awaits your soul Matts shouting starts off the fast riffage in the track. So far the pace of album seems to be leaning torwards the faster side. Until the chorus hits, the song has the same exact feel that Underworld had. Thankfully, the riffs behind the chorus and the lead up to the verses are astounding. Two minutes in, the track slows and show cases a near breakdown riff that reminds you at how great Ols riff writing abilities are. Step to the edge/ begin your trial leads into even more harmonies, something this album is absolutely chock full of. After near endless harmonies, the speed of the song returns and Matt starts rattling off vocals faster than ever before, leading into a blistering solo. The SKULL shout along section should be a blast in a live setting (shout out to Evilcarlos for providing extra backing vocals!) Once more the Skull awaits your soul line is shouted and leads to rest of the track. The way this track is set up but also has a slight death metal vibe, something that I honestly enjoy. Evile heading down the path of Death thrash is something I would be skeptical of, but the slight death metal influence in this is the perfect amount and really helps the album evolve from their last album, Five Serpents Teeth.

Skull really provides that extra bump that Underworld was missing. The incredibly impressive riffs, and the smooth transitions make the track really stand out from the rest. Evile seems to be attempting to take advantage of a gift they have, which is a mid-song riff breakdown, this one being one of my favorites in the album. A second riff to give a mention is the incredibly fast riff leading into another finger blistering solo. Skull ends up being the most played one for me purely because how the song flows. The greater death metal influence on this album helps this track stand out as well. Listening to Ol do harmony after harmony is one of my favorite aspects about the band, but in this track its almost too much. Even after multiple listens I cant really say with certainty this is my absolute favorite track, but with how this song is set up executed it just might be.

The Naked Sun

Heres the first track that really begins with a completely different feeling. Right away I have to mention how great Bens playing is on this album. Welcome to judgment simple riffs move this song along, the ride cymbal in the chorus is a nice touch. After the usual verse/chorus run-throughs, were presented with a simpler solo. A lot about this song seems really simple. The solo ends with a Eddie Van Halen-esque tapping section, and a brutal riff with an added growl over it (a nice touch.) After this is my favorite part of the song, the use of multi-layering Matts vocals to add an extra vocal harmony (nearly sounding like a choir composed of just Matt.) Right when you think the song is done, an acoustic outro comes out of the woodwork. The section naturally fits onto the rest of the song and provides an excellent segue into the next song.

Matts vocals have really taken a huge step in quality since Infected Nation and even from Five Serpents Teeth. His clean/extra vocal harmony section in this song really shows what wonderful pipes Matt has worked on achieving in all this time. Even with two songs already hitting over the 6 minute mark (their last album only had one track reaching this) you really dont notice it. The songs feel well balanced enough and contain enough riffs and different sections and things to keep you interested that the length is something you just dont notice. The acoustic section on this track is one of the best outros on this album.

Head Of The Demon

Beginning this song with the evil sounding bass already makes this song a stand out, even from 30 seconds in. The verse/chorus transitions here are of usual Evile fashion, but also have something to them that makes them refreshingly new. The riff on the chorus will more than likely be caught in your head for some time. Even more acoustic guitar is built into the middle of the track, with a smooth transition leading into it. After that is a demonic over-dub that will definitely scare people on a first listen. The over-dubs on this album are a welcome touch, and something I hope they work upon for the next album. Even more tapping and higher clean vocals awaits listeners at the end of this track, and then the song ends as quickly as it began.

Head Of The Demon is easily a contender for best song on the album. With just the tapping section, evil bass opening, and demonic over dub alone. How theyre able to keep the same Evile feel with every new song and keep it surprisingly fresh is unknown to me, but its a great sign that later albums will continue to feel just as fresh. Being 4 tracks into the 9 in the regular edition of Skull, the album as a whole is already impressive, and can only go up from here. The amount of acoustics hidden in the tracks so far is great, adding a much needed small touch to really bring out the best of the new songs without sounding forced, or awkward.

Tomb

Opening with just acoustic guitar, one would automatically assume this was just a ballad. Looking further under the surface of Tomb, you begin to see it really isnt a ballad, more of a multi-layered story with a satisfying ending. The song itself is just guitars and drums until about a minute in when the vocals kick in. Matts softer vocals add to the song and drive it further along. Nearly three minutes in, it shifts into the heavier side of the song. Should I answer when the tomb is calling out my name? The verses used until the multitude of harmonies that eventually lead to more acoustic work and a solo are stupendous and satisfying. With just a minute of the track left, it switches to a very menacing feel. Its good to see Evile taking a risk of having a song this long, last seeing a song this long on Infected Nation and it being their fourth longest song overall.

"Tomb is without a doubt one of the strongest and most unique tracks on the album. The multiple layers on this song has those who felt more acoustics were necessary after hearing In Memoriam but also felt it needed to be balanced with heavy and crushing riffs. The verses leading into the acoustics 3/4ths through the song are an absolute highlight, and feel full of emotion and depth. Up until this point I was still a little bit worried this album wouldnt be able to top the work they did with Five Serpents Teeth but after this track the worry has gone away. After hearing this I get the feeling that with this album theyve finally been able to pour every part of their being into the music and make the songs that they want to make, and being able to take risks that theyve wanted to for a while now. Tomb feels like one big risk, and they absolutely nailed it here.

Words Of The Dead

The riff that opens this song really surprised me at first listen. Immediately you have to take notice again how great the backing vocals are in this album, and how great theyve always been. Blind/ blind/ blind leads into the chorus containing most the song name in it. The riffs in this song are fast tempoed and very in your face. The song is the second shortest song, and with how satisfying the song is you dont notice it that much. Half way through, the riffage stops for just a second and a bass interlude is heard. Immediately after that youre hit with a solo that demands you thrash out to it. The Summon/ Awaken from slumber section is the highlight of the track for me. Seriously, the backing vocals on this album are stellar. Leading into a demonic over-bearing overdub the song goes back into the chorus and after repeating the song title a few times the song is over.

This one, in my mind, would have made for a great single as well as Underworld. The song mixes a bit of cleaner vocals and life destroying riffs in a balanced fashion, that makes the song that much better. Words Of The Dead is probably the heaviest song as a whole without compromising any of its heaviness for acoustics or endless harmonies. The before solo and after solo riffs on this are face crushingly brutal, begging to be heard over and over again. This will definitely become some fans favorite song and possibly the most replayed, instantly.

Outsider

Imagine Thrasher had an older and much more mature brother, and thats what the beginning of Outsider sounds like. What would have been the more mature side to Thrasher kicks in afterwords. Outsider is the shortest track on the album, and its something you dont even feel when listening to it. Most of the track uses the same two or so riffs, making sure to use them full potential. Halfway through (how many times have I used that phrase so far?) overdubbed vocals are mixed into the song, shifting the feeling of the song. Matt yells Outsider one last time and that seems to summon Ol and rip into a quick but earth pounding solo. The shortest song, but also the busiest.

This song and Underworld are probably the only two songs I dont enjoy as much as the other. Its not even the short length (Im a big fan of stupidly long songs) its the repetitive use of the same riffs over and over during its short length. I was a huge fan of Cult from the last album being built around one riff, but in this song using the same ones doesnt seem to work quite as well the second time around. The hip slamming solo on this does bring a small redemption, but only a small redemption since its so short.

What You Become

Youre greeted right off the bat to an infectious groove. Can you take what I want to give? with this groove, yes I can. After hearing how using the same riffs over and over again in Outsider didnt work, it was good to see it work this time around. The song chugs along into a wah pedal filled solo, including even more tapping. It may tread over the same sections over and over again, the strength behind the groove easily makes up for that. The broken record effect on Matts effect on close your eyes line near the end comes out of left field. Matts inner two year old self kicks in near the end when the line What you become is mine is repeated over another tapping solo section.

Not sure how many times I can say this, but the groove in this makes the song perfect. The amount of tapping and harmonies on this album is an interesting idea. The last album contained only one section with tapping, that being the solo in Eternal Empire.Another thing to note is that I think this is the first song so far to NOT include a breakdown-ish section in the middle of the song. Im not sure if it was planned, but nearly every track has a section where halfway through it either slows down, or breaks into another riff in a near breakdown-ish fashion. Of course, they never fully reach a breakdown, because the idea of adding breakdowns to songs to make it brutal is in insanely idiotic practice.

New Truths Old Lies

The creepiest intro acoustics Ive ever heard welcome you into the song, making one feel like theyve stumbled into the wrong side of town. After 30 seconds, the crunching guitar tone kicks you and brings your forward. The riffs in this chug along over the typical verse/chorus formula. And for the final time, half way through the song turns into a level of Sonic The Hedgehog, throwing an elbow shattering fast riff at you. Eventually, you go rocketing into a dive bomb solo, that ends quickly as it began. And we slow back down, it leads to more harmonies and back into the lead riff. New Truths Old Lies then leads to one riff being played over and over as the song slowly drones out and before you know it the album ends just as it begun.

The acoustics on the beginning of this are my favorite acoustics ever done so far. Something I wish they had done was incorporate that section into song again, or build the entire song around. As a finisher song, it does hit most of the bells and whistles a finishing song should. The elbow shattering fast riffs in the middle really hit the sweet spot for me, launching the song high on my list of favorite songs from Evile. The simple chorus used here does feel a bit too simple for me, but the approach of keeping things simpler as a whole with Skull appears to work well.

The entirety of Skull has a completely different feeling to it than the previous Five Serpents Teeth. Going back through the last album and going through this one it becomes very clear that theyre different in many ways. The simpler approach with Skull and the longer songs work for this time around. As a whole, it feels more similar to their first album Enter The Grave than any other album, just with added maturity to the songs and complexity. Here, it really seems like theyve spent most of the album focusing on things they know work well, and running dangerously close to over-using certain things. For instance, the mid-song slow downs appeared in nearly every track. Despite this, it clearly is a strong step forward from Five Serpents Teeth and a very strong step in the right direction with experimenting with their core sound.

9/10
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Keenan · May 19, 2013

Nobody on here won the contest? Damn. Nice review though. It makes me even more excited to get my hands on a copy.

D.Ingram · May 21, 2013

Track-by-track review, tl;dr. I'll get on it later when I have more free time

Darkofeden · May 21, 2013

thrasherdave said: ↑

Track-by-track review, tl;dr. I'll get on it later when I have more free time
Click to expand...

That's why I included my own tl; dr "buy it"

Seriously, I can't wait for you guys to be able to experience "Tomb" with me. It's been caught in my head since I first heard it.

Metallifan88 · May 21, 2013

I want this NOW!

D.Ingram · May 22, 2013

Read Good stuff, not a fan of track-by-trak reviews usually but this was a good 'un. Bravo! *claps*

evilematt · May 23, 2013

here's my review:

Shit sandwich.

D.Ingram · May 23, 2013

My video review didn't make it since the editor pointed out that I just made silly noises for ten and a half minutes. Also, because I don't have it yet.

Darkofeden · May 25, 2013

evilematt said: ↑

here's my review:

Shit sandwich.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes Glad to see your feedback.

D.Ingram said: ↑

Read Good stuff, not a fan of track-by-trak reviews usually but this was a good 'un. Bravo! *claps*
Click to expand...

D.Ingram said: ↑

My video review didn't make it since the editor pointed out that I just made silly noises for ten and a half minutes. Also, because I don't have it yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! Glad you liked it.

"When that one thing in that song happens it's good..."

Kaspr · May 26, 2013

Hurry up postage; me want Skull. Skull is good.

Harley D · Jun 16, 2013

A bit late posting here, but here is mine over at We Love Metal:

http://www.welovemetal.com/newsite/wordpress/?p=8343

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My "Skull" review

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My "Skull" review

Darkofeden 12 Kermit the Frogs in a Denny's parking lot

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Darkofeden 12 Kermit the Frogs in a Denny's parking lot

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Darkofeden 12 Kermit the Frogs in a Denny's parking lot

Kaspr Bow down to the thrasher!

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