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Evil Invaders - Pulses Of Pleasure
Released by: Napalm Records
Released on: March 10th, 2015.
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This Belgian thrash act, who have presumably taken their moniker from Razor's 1985 album of the same name, unleash their debut album on Napalm Records with 2015's Pulses Of Pleasure. This follows an EP released in 2013 on Empire Records. So what do we have here besides some awesome cover art? Nine tracks of thrash-tastic throwback metal performed by Sam Lemmens on guitar, Senne Jacobs on drums, Max Mayhem on bass and the ubiquitous 'Joe' on guitar and vocals.
Look at these guys…
…you can totally judge a book by its cover here. Evil Invaders sound just like the dirty, thrashy, eighties era metalheads that they look like in that admittedly very posed promotional photo supplied with the MP3s sent by Napalm Records for review. But is that a bad thing? Hell no.
Fast, Loud N Rude starts the album off quickly, at a high volume and impolitely. Hissing vocals that channel Chronos and Tom Araya at the same time are balanced wonderfully by the crunching guitars and constant pounding of the rhythm section. In an era where throwbacks to the eighties heyday of thrash metal seem to becoming more and more commonplace, it's nice to launch into an album with a track like this and hear it done RIGHT. The title track is up next, with Joe's yelping vocals starting things off - but once the rest of the band kicks in and backs him up, we go from erratic yelping to full on speed metal complete with the fast guitar licks and the blasting drum and bass behind it. The first song segues into this one almost seamlessly - they almost work together as one ten minute track.
Eclipse Of The Mind changes up the tempo a bit more but once again delivers a vintage thrash metal sound played fast and tight. Some weird effects on the vocals give it some interesting, spooky moments and there's a scream here about forty-five seconds in that would give Rob Halford chills. Siren starts off with some more melodic guitar playing which sets the mood nicely before the riffing builds and then morphs into shredding. Again, we get an amazing, truly epic 'metal scream' from Joe, who yelps and howls his way through the song in a high pitched falsetto you will not soon forget.
Stairway To Insanity sees Joe hitting King Diamond-esque notes with the rest of the band backing him with an almost Iron Maiden type of rhythmic playing style. It's a great track, probably the best one on a remarkably solid album. Shot To Paradise continues the trend set by the tracks that came before it - thrash/speed metal played right, with the band channeling some obvious influences but creating their own sound while doing so. If you're not into the album by this point, turn it off and go get a manicure, because it's obviously not for you. Death to false metal? This is not false metal. Do not kill it.
As the album moves towards the finish line, track seven, Venom, has the catchiest chorus on the album and that chorus works really well alongside some more very tight twin guitar attacks. These guys aren't slowing down for anything, and again, Joe's insane vocals really stand out here. Blinded (Intro) gives us a somber, mellow musical introduction that lasts about two minutes. Remember when I said they're not slowing down for anything? They slow down for this. BUT… once that two minute intro finishes, we get punched in the dick and/or coochie with the albums' closer, Master Of Illusion. At almost six minutes in length it's the longest track on the record. What Blinded builds launches into this track seamlessly, starting off with more Maiden style guitar work and some super slick soloing before Joe's yelping comes into the mix again. Some gang vocals in the latter half come out of nowhere but work well while the lengthy guitar solo/instrumental bit allows Joe to finish things off with one last barrage of vocal insanity culminating with the exact type of howl you'd expect an album like this to finish with.
These guys wear their influences plainly and clearly on their ragged, dirty, denim sleeves, but that's not a bad thing at all. Evil Invaders manage to effectively channel all of those classic metal bands that so clearly influenced them but at the same time they create their own sound. There's a lot of passion behind the playing here, you get the impression these guys are doing what they love because they love to do it, and that enthusiasm for the material somehow magically translates into an equally magical listening experience. This is just fucking FUN and anyone with an appreciation for thrash, speed metal or heavy metal in general should definitely give it a shot.
