Evile

For the village in Azerbaijan, see Əvilə.

Evile are a thrash metal band from Huddersfield, United Kingdom.

Their debut album, "Enter the Grave," was produced by Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and was released worldwide in 2007 by Earache Records.

The band's first reviews included a hail by Kerrang! as "Carrying the genre's whole 'revival' on their shoulders."

The band still reside in Huddersfield, England. It has been confirmed Flemming Rasmussen will work on their second release, and the band are 'heavily into writing' new material.

The band recently announced that the new album has been slated for a mid-2009 release.

History

Pre-Evile: 2000–2004

In 2000, former school friends Matt Drake and Ben Carter came together over a mutual love for thrash metal and heavy metal and formed a cover band (primarily playing Metallica classics) named Metal Militia. Matt's brother, Ol Drake, joined as the lead guitarist, and after London-born bassist Mike Alexander responded to the band's advert in a local guitar store looking for a bassist influenced by bands such as Metallica, Sepultura and Testament, the lineup was complete.

At the band's first live show, at the Ukranian Club in Halifax, an audience member had a brick thrown at their face by area locals.

Birth of Evile: 2004–2006

In 2004, the band ceased playing covers and dedicated their time to writing original material. Soon after, they independently recorded and released two EPs in limited quantities (250-500 units): All Hallows Eve (2004) and Hell Demo (2006). Evile toured extensively throughout the UK (2004-2006) and Netherlands (2006), played as the support act for Exodus and eventually signed to Earache Records. Though Earache had received the band's Hell Demo, it was after label head Digby Pearson witnessed Evile's set at Bloodstock Open Air in 2006 that he contacted the band and signed them to the label.

Enter the Grave: 2007-present

Prior to the album's recording, Matt Drake contacted producer Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica, Morbid Angel, Blind Guardian, Artillery) by doing a search for his name on Google and enquired as to whether or not he'd like to hear Evile's material. Flemming responded positively, prompting Matt to send him some Evile mp3s via e-mail. Supposedly, Flemming never commented on the mp3s, causing Matt to presume that he "hated them", but when Earache Records contacted Flemming to request his skills as producer for Evile's debut, he swiftly accepted the offer.

In 2007, Evile recorded their debut album, Enter the Grave, at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen and assistant engineer Anders H Mortensen. The album reached #33 on the UK rock album charts, and Kerrang! magazine awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars while dubbing Evile as "Carrying the genre's whole 'revival' on their shoulders". Generally, the album was received positively and received some highly rated reviews, including those from Terrorizer Magazine (9/10), Metal Revolution (100/100) and Classic Rock (magazine) (the 38th best album of 2007).

The band played many shows with bands such as Machine Head, Sabbat, Sanctity, Gama Bomb, Severe Torture and Desecration.

On December 11, 2007, Evile participated in and won Metal Hammer's Get in the Ring 2, at the Kentish Town Forum, London. Four bands (Evile, Engel, Viking Skull and Goat the Head) performed thirty-minute sets inside a boxing ring and the public selected their favorite via SMS texts. The show was compered by Oderus Urungus of Gwar and the judges included Ville Valo of HIM. Valo commented that Evile were "really tight and rhythmic" but they weren't his "cup of tea." The competition was rebroadcast on Rockworld TV on SKY Channel 368 throughout January and February 2008 and included an hour-long supplement dedicated to Evile's GITR2 set.

In February and March 2008, Evile supported Megadeth on the European leg of their Tour of Duty and the UK leg of their Gigantour, opening for American deathcore band Job for a Cowboy. The band was received warmly throughout the respective tours, and on the final date, they briefly joined Megadeth on stage at the Hugennottenhalle in Frankfurt to sing the classic Peace Sells.

In March 2008, Evile's track "Thrasher" was featured on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 video game Rock Band as downloadable content (part of the "Earache Thrash Pack"). The song is considered one of the most difficult for guitar and bass guitar in any rhythm game.

In April 2008, the band embarked on a European tour alongside thrash band Exodus. During the tour, they allowed a 14-year-old fan to join them on stage to perform "Enter the Grave", and on a few occasions they joined Exodus in backing vocals on "The Toxic Waltz," which was followed by the members of Exodus handing their instruments over to Evile to close the set..

In May 2008, the band invited fans to design their own 'Evile Shirt'. A competition that allowed fans to submit as many entries as they desire. The rules also comically included entrants must 'Live on Earth'. The winner (Gary Hall from Liverpool) would win Evile memorabilia, signed items and a shirt including their own design. The shirt would also be sold on an upcoming Evile tour.

Along with Airbourne, Engel, Baroness and Suicide Silence, Evile was nominated in the Best Debut category at the 2008 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards.

The band recently announced they will be support to black metal band Satyricon on their upcoming European tour in November and December 2008.

October 08 saw the release of Evile's first official Music Video. The video was for their track "Thrasher" and was directed by Dan Fernbach (who directed bands such as Bullet For My Valentine).

October 08 will also see the re-release of Evile's Enter the Grave via Earache Records. Included in the package will be a lengthy DVD, Evile guitar pick (with 3 alternate designs), A woven patch and 3 bonus tracks.

Pronunciation

According to lead guitarist, Ol, the correct pronunciation of Evile is "eeh-vile."

Musical Influences

Evile's sound is primarily influenced by classic thrash metal, citing bands such as Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer, Exodus, Testament and Annihilator, though they are also influenced by death metal bands like Obituary and Death.