Classic, traditional metal with high octane riffs, a steady supply of hooks, and those undeniable shout it out loud choruses continue to be the parallel elements that keep a band like Against Evil striving for glory. The third album Give ‘Em Hell sees the quartet deliver another nine-track fist to the face product, the combination of melodic hard rock to heavy, power, or speed metal influences keep the focus razor sharp. These musicians place great stock in carefully developing arrangements unique to each other that allow specific harmony characteristics to shine – from stellar guitar interplay during the lead breaks or mead-hall / battle cry-like unison voices – which could in the long run make this platter the strongest outing to date for the band.
Teutonic volley guitar passages with deeper mid-range vocals puts “Stay Dead!” into prime-time Rage territory – drummer Noble John hitting all the right energetic fills with finesse while the natural double kick steadiness should get hearts (plus fists) pumping at accelerated heights. On the flip side, when the group chooses to lay into a serious groove-oriented effort with “Lights Out”, the playful swagger between the bass and pinch harmonics allows Siri Sri to display more of his personality vocally, the atmosphere laying between classic Leatherwolf and early Sinner. You can also expect plenty of synchronized rhythms and Accept-like chorus work to take the title cut to those hordes that clamor for a headbanging charge that sounds much more electric in front of thousands at a festival. The lead guitar work from Shasank Venkat continually mesmerizes – the man certainly studies at the altar of greats like George Lynch, Vivian Campbell, or bands such as Enforcer, Striker, and Hammerfall when you hear his skilled spotlight work on “Full Speed Ahead” as well as closer “Killing Machine”.
Much like the recent Kryptos effort that’s ‘all killer/no filler’, Against Evil waste no time in this power packed record as Give ‘Em Hell gets the job done in a rather economical 32 minutes. While it’s hard to eclipse the classics of this genre, there’s plenty of room for the current crop of musicians to create their own steady supply of quality anthems for the new generation to treasure.