Evil Drive
The Land of the Dead
Type: CD
Company: Mighty Music
Release: 2016
Genre: Heavy/Extreme
Reviewer: Greg Watson
Published: 7/25/2016
Finnish newcomers Evil Drive emerge from 'The Land of the Dead' and are out for blood with an infusion of styles. Frontwoman Viktoria Viren has a snarl and aggression that is not to be underestimated. Songs like "World Cleaners", "Screaming Soul" and "Killer Is Following You" showcase her growl and snarls to perfection while "No Way in the Lie" shows her ability to deliver solid clean vocals and express deeper emotions with her vocal delivery. Guitarists Ville Wiren and Niko Huusari provide a very diverse style of playing ranging from heavy death metal to thrash to traditional metal to beautiful melodic pieces. Equally impressive are the talents of drummer Juha Beck and bassist Marko Syrjala who provide some really incredible rhythm performances throughout the album and shine just as bright as their band mates. The most amazing thing about 'The Land of the Dead' is the extreme diversity which is present throughout the album. Trying to label the band's sound is like trying to solve the world's toughest quadratic equation. It can be done but by the time you potentially figure it out, you've wasted your time. Seeing a band that is able to transcend the boundaries of metal labels is both refreshing and impressive given that so many bands are so easily categorized and consequently pigeonholed. Having no real genre to be thrown in to, Evil Drive creates the ability to appeal to a broad spectrum of metal listeners worldwide and are sure to garner hordes of new fans once 'The Land of the Dead' is released. I am totally blown away and impressed with the sound and style that Evil Drive possesses and eagerly look forward to the future of this band as I feel it is a very bright one and hope that they find the success that they truly deserve.
About this Writer:Greg Watson // Greg Watson has been hooked on the loud and heavy sounds since the summer of 1994 when he first heard the opening notes of "Operation: Mindcrime" by Queensryche. Since then his tastes have expanded and grown like the ever evolving heavy metal tree of genres. He has been an active member of Maximum Metal off and on for 10 years. In his spare time, Greg enjoys deciding the fate of his loyal subjects in the realm of Skyrim and secretly playing air keyboard to "Separate Ways" by Journey when no one is watching. He currently resides in Roanoke, VA with his wife and his metal wannabe beagle.
