Let's shoot down the first presumption: The covers include pictures on Junkers bombers, but Polish band Evil Machine aren't a National Socialist one. If one does not know about Nazis' Invasion of Poland in World War II, and how they killed and executed countless civilians, then one might have wrong presumptions, for sure.

Evil Machine (EM from now on) was formed in 2004 and 'War in Heaven' is their debut release. The band features members of Dead Infection, Pyorrhoea and Abused Majesty, among others, but this does not sound like a mixture of grindcore and up-to-date black and death metal. The musical style is totally about 1980s extreme metal, including death, black and thrash metal in the mixture. It reads on the booklet: "Gods of eternal inspiration: Hellhammer & Celtic Frost" and it's absolutely clear when listening to the album. As the band covers Venom ('Die Hard') and Onslaught ('Onslaught (Power from Hell)'), they are other obvious sources of inspiration. Well, together with many, many 1980s extreme metal bands from around the world...

So, EM are a band plundering tombs and denim vest pockets. For some reason or another, they've managed to collect a nice quantity of goodies from regularly visited booty, unlike many others who came before them. In other words: EM have been able to make this no-frills mixture work. At their best, the riffs ooze of evilness, as does 'Diabeł's fine lead guitar work. The music is not about technicality, but is potently performed. Al the band's songs contain at least a single catchy element in them, and often many, many more. The tempo is often mid-paced, even though it occasionally goes as far as blasting and sinks into slower, doomier crawl.

Raven-like vocals echo like no tomorrow, as does the whole damn thing. It all sounds like the band was playing in a cavernous tomb or on a big stage outdoors without any spectators. Yeah, the production sounds live, but the album was actually recorded during many sessions between 2006-2011. Christ Agony's Cezar does a fine visitation on 'Diabeł', amplifying the song's sinister, Satanic ambiance. Easily recognizable and always grand voice of Vader's Peter can be heard on the Onslaught cover. The artwork isn't uniform and I don't like partly faded lyrics. The album is also available, next to a standard jewelcase version, as a super jewelcase in slip case edition with the same track listing.

Not too original, but a fun album to listen to, 'War in Heaven' serves as a working slab of putrid stuff with a lot of life in it. It's both reverent towards the legends and still entertaining on its own. Those who dwell in the past, scrutinise this.

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
07/17/2014 18:57