REVIEW: EVIL SURVIVES – Metal Vengeance

 

EVIL SURVIVES – Metal Vengeance (2008)

Heavy Artillery Records

There is nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the early years of Iron Maiden. The problem begins when those influences become so dominant that they leave very little room for an individual musical identity. This is essentially the issue with Metal Vengeance, the debut album from EVIL SURVIVES.

The band clearly looks toward the classic era of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, with the first two Iron Maiden albums serving as the most obvious reference point. The riffs, melodies, arrangements and overall atmosphere repeatedly recall that particular period, to the extent that the album often sounds more like an exercise in recreating a familiar formula than an attempt to develop it further. Calling such a sound NWOBHM-influenced is understandable, although in this case the Maiden connection is considerably more prominent than the broader characteristics of the movement.

Musically, EVIL SURVIVES are competent and the performances are solid, but Metal Vengeance does not offer enough individuality to distinguish the band from the number of contemporary acts working within a similar traditional Heavy Metal framework. The songs follow recognizable patterns and rely heavily on established ideas, resulting in an album that is easy to identify stylistically but less easy to remember for its own musical character.

The vocals contribute to this impression. The singer employs a fairly consistent approach throughout the record, without the rougher edge and distinctive personality associated with Paul Di’Anno's classic performances. The comparison is inevitable given the musical direction of the album, but it also highlights one of its main limitations: reproducing the surface elements of an influential sound is considerably easier than capturing the character that made the original music distinctive.

That does not mean that Metal Vengeance is poorly played or that the band lacks an understanding of traditional Heavy Metal. On the contrary, EVIL SURVIVES clearly know the style they want to perform. The question is how much of themselves they manage to add to it. For listeners looking for another band operating in the same territory as ENFORCER and similar modern traditional Heavy Metal acts, the album may have some appeal. Those expecting a more individual interpretation of the genre may find it less convincing.

There are, after all, bands that take their classic influences and reshape them into something recognizably their own. WOLF and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, for example, have demonstrated how elements of older Heavy Metal can be incorporated into a contemporary sound without simply reproducing their sources.

Metal Vengeance therefore remains an album primarily for listeners who enjoy this particular brand of retro Heavy Metal and have no problem with its strong Iron Maiden orientation. For others, it may serve more as a reminder of how difficult it is to transform influences into a genuinely personal musical identity.

Nick Parastatidis