Evile Guitarist Ol Drake Posts Instructional Guitar Video for "Time No More" // Evile Plays NYC on Oct. 10th

UK thrash metal band Evile are eagerly anticipating their next major North American tour which starts next week in Tulsa, OK. To pass the time (and to make sure that fans air guitar correctly at all of the shows), guitarist, Ol Drake has made an instructional video that teaches viewers how to play the Infected Nations track, "Time No More." Ol teaches the song riff-by-riff at varying speeds to give fans a truly in-depth experience with learning the material.



Evile vocalist and guitarist Matt Drake recently commented on the band's impending North American tour:

"For the second time this year, Evile are proud to be able to say we're coming across the pond to play some more shows throughout America and Canada. Last time we were there for two months, this time we're staying for three, playing at loads of places we never went to last time, but also revisiting many places we played at with the mighty Overkill and Kreator earlier in the year. We just can't get enough of it!

This time we're joining up with Overkill, Forbidden, Early Man, Gama Bomb and Bonded By Blood for many different tours, also some headline shows of our own, so if you saw us play last time, make sure you come and see us again and bring everyone you know for some metal madness!"

Upcoming Evile Tour Date:

w/Early Man and Bonded By Blood
Sept. 30 - Marquee - Tulsa OK
Oct. 01 - Walter's - Houston TX
Oct. 02 - White Rabbit - San Antonio TX
Oct. 03 - Emo's - Austin TX
Oct. 04 - Ridglea Theater - Ft Worth TX
Oct. 05 - The Muse- Nashville TN
Oct. 06 - Budda's Place - Newport News VA
Oct. 07 - Sonar - Baltimore MD
Oct. 08 - Championship Bar and Grill - Trenton NJ
Oct. 09 - Rocko's Rock Club - Manchester NH
Oct. 10 - Europa - Brooklyn NY
Oct. 12 - Sneaky Dee's - Toronto ON
Oct. 13 - Broadway Joe's - Buffalo NY
Oct. 16 - Mad Planet - Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 17 - Reggie's Rock Club - Chicago il
Oct. 18 - The Riot Room - Kansas City MO
Oct. 19 - Larimer Lounge - Denver CO
Oct. 20 - Club Vegas - Salt lake City UT
Oct. 22 - Dante's - Portland OR
Oct. 23 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon (w/Gama Bomb)

w/Overkill, Forbidden, Gama Bomb and Bonded By Blood
Oct. 24 - Vancouver, BC - Red Room*
Oct. 27 - Regina SK - Exchange*
Oct. 28 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Royal Albert Arms*
Oct. 29 - Thunder Bay, ON - Crocks*
Oct. 30 - St. Cloud, MN - The Rox Tavern*** (w/Abigail Williams)
Oct. 31 - Indianapolis, IN - The Dojo*
Nov. 01 - London, ON - Music Hall*
Nov. 02 - Buffalo, NY - Broadway Joe's*
Nov. 03 - Trenton, NJ - Championship Bar and Grill*
Nov. 04 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx ***
Nov. 05 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall**
Nov. 06 - Farmingdale, NY - Crazy Donkey**
Nov. 07 - Providence, RI - Club Hell**
Nov. 08 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar**
Nov. 09 - Virginia Beach, VA - Gil's**
Nov. 10 - Charlotte, NC - Amos'**
Nov. 11 - Raleigh, NC - Volume 11**
Nov. 12 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans**
Nov. 13 - Orlando, FL - Club Firestone**
Nov. 14 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room**
Nov. 15 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade**
Nov. 16 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's**
Nov. 17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall**
Nov. 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel Nightclub**
Nov. 19 - Manchester, NH - Rocko's**
Nov. 20 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom**
Nov. 21 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks***
Nov. 22 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electriques***
Nov. 23 - Toronto, ON - MOD Club***
Nov. 24 - Detroit, MI - Blondies***
Nov. 25 - Nashville, TN - The Muse***
Nov. 26 - Louisville, KY - Phoenix Hill Tavern***
Nov. 27 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's***
Nov. 28 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave***
Nov. 29 - St Paul, MN - Station 4***
Dec. 01 - San Antonio, TX - Scout Bar***
Dec. 02 - Austin, TX - Emo's***
Dec. 03 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar***
Dec. 04 - Ft Worth, TX - Trees***
Dec. 05 - Amarillo, TX - The War Legion Underground*
Dec. 06 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock***
Dec. 07 - Mesa, AZ - U.B.'s***
Dec. 08 - West Hollyood , CA - Whiskey a Go Go***
Dec. 09 - Ramona, CA - Ramona Mainstage***
Dec. 10 - Sparks, NV - New Oasis***
Dec. 11 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge***
Dec. 12 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction*
Dec. 13 - las Vegas, NV - Cheyenne Saloon*

*w/GAMA BOMB and BONDED BY BLOOD
**Killfest II w/OVERKILL, FORBIDDEN, GAMA BOMB and BONDED BY BLOOD
***w/FORBIDDEN, GAMA BOMB and BONDED BY BLOOD

Evile's 2009 album, Infected Nations, is due to be re-released on October 12th as a limited edition redux version. This special version of the album includes a bonus disc with fifteen extra tracks, including the band's popular cover of Pantera's "Cemetery Gates", as well as eight songs recorded live in the studio with new bassist Joel Graham and six songs recorded live at Hammerfest in 2009. Earache Records is currently taking pre-orders through their web store.

Links:
Evile

Bonded By Blood: "Exiled to Earth" Press Interview with Vocalist Jose Barrales, Earache Records, NYC July '10

Earlier this month, I had a opportunity to catch up with Jose Barrales, vocalist for the Pomona, CA thrash band Bonded by Blood. The band's second album for Earache Records, Exiled to Earth, is due out August 10th. This time around, the band recorded with producer Ralph Patlan (Megadeth, UFO and White Wizzard) and the end results are a heavier and tighter sound.

I talked with Jose about the new release (and the limited edition signed comic strip that comes with the disc if you order through Townsend Records), the evolution of the band since the "Four Pints of Blood" demo and their upcoming tours with Exodus, Overkill, Evile and Early Man.



Bonded by Blood are on the road from August through the end of the year and local shows are August 28th at Gramercy Theater with Exodus and October 10th at Europa with Early Man and Evile. The show at the Gramercy Theater also has Malevolent Creation and Holy Grail on the bill and tickets are $20. Details about the show at Europa aren't posted yet.

Here are the tour dates for the run of shows with Exodus, Malevolent Creation and Holy Grail:

08/16/10 Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
08/17/10 Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC - CANADA
08/18/10 Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
08/20/10 The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
08/21/10 Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
08/23/10 Reggie's Rock Club - Chicago, IL
08/24/10 The Mod Club - Toronto, ON - CANADA
08/25/10 Foufounes Electriques - Montreal, QC - CANADA
08/27/10 The Palladium - Worcester, MA
08/28/10 The Gramercy Theater - New York, NY
08/29/10 Polaris - Philadelphia, PA
08/31/10 Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA
09/01/10 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
09/02/10 Phoenix Hill Tavern - Louisville, KY
09/03/10 The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
09/04/10 The Social - Orlando, FL
09/05/10 Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
09/07/10 The Door - Dallas, TX
09/08/10 Emo's - Austin, TX
09/12/10 The Avalon - Santa Clara, CA

Links:
Bonded By Blood

Evile - Interview with Ol Drake and Mike Alexander, Earache Records, NYC 8-20-09 (Thrash)

I had the opportunity to talk with with Ol Drake (guitar) and Mike Alexander (bass) when they were in town last month to promote Evile's forthcoming disc Infected Nation.



The new disc (along with a limited edition colored vinyl edition) comes out on September 21st on Earache Records. The band just released the first video from this release which is for the title track "Infected Nation".



Evile is touring around Europe for the rest of the year with Amon Amarth and US tour dates will hopefully follow sometime early next year.

Here are the current tour dates;

Sept. 25, 2009, 8:00PM, INFECTED NATIONS Release Show - o2 Bar Academy, London
Sept. 29, 2009, 7:00PM, Headline Show + DRONE - Bastard Club, Osnabrück
Sept. 30, 2009, 7:00PM, Headline Show + DRONE - Ballroom, Hamburg
Oct. 02, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Tavastia, Helsinki
Oct. 03, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Rytmikorjaamo, Seinajoki
Oct. 04, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Teatria, Oulu
Oct. 06, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Gamla Tingshuset, Ostersund
Oct. 07, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Kulturhuset, Orebro
Oct. 08, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Union Scene, Drammen
Oct. 09, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Byscenen, Haugesund
Oct. 10, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - USF Verftet, Bergen
Oct. 11, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - John Dee, Oslo
Oct. 13, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Trädgårn, Goteburg
Oct. 14, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Train, Arhus
Oct. 15, 2009, 8:00PM, w/ AMON AMARTH + ENTOMBED - Vega, Copenhagen

Links:
Evile's MySpace Profile
Earache Records

Thrashing Like A Maniac CD Review - An Earache Records Compilation

Let me start by giving a big shout-out to Earache for bringing thrash back to the forefront of the metal scene. This CD is subtitled "16 Ripping Cuts of New School Thrash" and that pretty much sums up the disc. Sixteen bands from around the world play old-school thrash in the style of 80's Bay Area thrashers like Megadeth, Exodus, Forbidden (Evil) and Testament.

One (of the many) things that I respect about Earache is that this compilation just doesn't cover bands on its label but includes tracks from bands like Dekapitator (Relapse), Fueled By Fire (Metal Blade) and Warbringer (Century Media). The Earache artists run the gauntlet from well-known acts like Municipal Waste to new signees Gama Bomb (Ireland) and Bonded By Blood (Los Angeles). There are also a couple of tracks that are unique to this release.

The CD/LP comes with a exclusive 24 page Thrash fanzine, ‘Speed Merchants’, featuring interviews with all the acts on the compilation. There is also a limited edition (200 copies) orange vinyl edition of "Thrashing Like a Maniac" that is available through Earache's UK Webstore for 14.99 pounds. The way the dollar is going - this may soon be $45.00 (US) but if you are in the UK or Europe, grab this one while you still can.

Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, this is a high-energy compilation that should hold up well to repeated listening.

Links:
Earache Records US Webstore

Evile - Enter The Grave CD Review

I just started compiling my Top 10 list of 2007 CDs and this CD will likely make the list. Evile plays old school thrash in the style of early Metallica, Slayer and Exodus and this is an insanely strong debut CD.

The band generated quite a following within the metal scene with their two independently released demos ("All Hallows Eve" and "Hell") along with some high profile UK festival gigs last year. The band signed to Earache late last year and Enter The Grave was released this past September.

Metal Mayhem UK interviewed singer Matt Drake and Drake describes Evile's sound as follows "If you're fed up with the state of current day metal, and no bands are producing great songs that you're going to remember in 20 years time anymore, then you might like us, expect metal cultivated from its roots, where the songs have character all of their own, and each band sounded like themselves, not anyone else. Oh yeah and we play thrash fucking metal, heavy fast epic blistering fucking metal."

If you check out the live video of the CD title track, "Enter the Grave" (filmed at the Virgin Store in Manchester in August), you will quickly get a feel for the 10 tracks on this disc. Simply put - this is a return to the raw, balls-out Bay-Area style 80's metal.



The band's strong playing and Drake's singing is complemented by top-notch production by Flemming Rassmussen (producer of Metallica's Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning) The band doesn't shake off the 80's thrash label but actively embraces it.

This is an excellent debut release by a band whose career should take off explosively.

Links:
Evile's MySpace Page
Evile's Website
Earache Records