After two decades of absence, New York City's primeval death/thrash horde Prime Evil make a comeback. They formed in 1986, and after three demos and a 7" EP, disappeared from the scene somewhere around 1992. This legacy was unearthed in 2002, when a compilation was released by King Fowley of Deceased on his label Battlezone Records. At last, now in 2012, it is time for some new music from Prime Evil. Well, with a bit over 8 minutes of it...

Surely, three short-ish songs aren't a lot to judge about from, but the band and their label Infernö Records are confident, that with this EP alone, Prime evil will conquer the world. I've never heard Prime Evil in the past, but by judging this EP, I feel I've missed something interesting. Anyways, better late than never, eh? Guitarist Mike Usifer and vocalist Andy Eichorn and both original members, and the drum programming was made by Dave Powers, but nowadays the band have a full five member line-up.

If there is a band to which I could compare Prime Evil to, then I must admit that on 'Evilution' the band sound very close to Malevolent Creation. Two first songs have a feel of very early 1990s. 'Crucifixion Aftermath' is a fast song with awesome energy, blasphemous riffing and angry shout/grunt/scream vocals. It's not full-on blast, but shows the band's compositional skills, as the song plunges into a slower part in midway. Insane guitar soloing fits in perfectly. 'Barbarick Rites' is a mid-paced song featuring more of evil atmospheres and suitable tempo changes. 'Evilution Decree' takes a turn towards more groove-oriented rhythms, but still maintains the brutality, even though the diabolic vibes are practically gone. Its main riff is something like a rock riff turned into death metal. The songs are shortish, and therefore to-the-point in their style.

The production is quite raw, but not lacking in heaviness. The guitar has a lovely recoil in it, and a really warm, striking tone. The bass handles its territory well, adding a lot of lower end to the sound. The drums are programmed, as mentioned. They are still something else than basic, and the samples utilized are fitting. 'Evilution' is available in digipak and cassette formats (however, I only got the CD and cover artwork for reviewing).

Good three death/thrash metal songs here, but it's still a short release. The band seem to be in an attack mode, so it would be appropriate time for more music from them.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
12/30/2012 20:50