THE EVIL ~ SEVEN ACTS TO APOCALYPSE .... review

As we have stated on these pages before Desert Psychlist likes to review albums and EP's in the month of their release but every now and then we find something we've missed, usually something released on the last day of the month, that we feel is too good to be ignored and so on these occasions we break that rule. This is the case with Brazilian doomsters The Evil's new album "Seven Acts To Apocalypse", the album landed on the last day of March and for some reason or another flew under our radar and that of many others which is a strange state of affairs given the bands self-titled debut, "The Evil", was so warmly embraced by all who heard it. The band, Miss Aileen  (vocals), Theophylactus (bass), Iossif (guitar) and Saengar (drums/percussions), hail from Minas Gerais, Brazil and jam a groove that is rooted in doom but incorporates into that groove elements of classical music and opera, however do not go lumping The Evil in with those symphonic metal bands like Nightwish and Epica, these guys are a different animal entirely.

Swirling wind effects and low droning bass introduce opening track "Envy" which is then is joined by a dank slurred Sabbathian guitar refrain and the soaring vocals of Miss Aileen, her vocal alternating between straight edged clean and gritty and soaring and operatic with the odd spoken narrative thrown in for atmospheric effect, it's doom folks but its doom with a classical edge. "Pride" follows and it seems that guitarist Iossif may be a bit of an Alice In Chains fan as he once again tints his refrains with a Cantrell- like slur. The vocals here are a superb mix of  ethereal croons and operatic vocal pyrotechnics with the latter dynamic really hitting its stride in the songs final quarter. As you may of already noticed the track titles reference mans seven deadly sins and so we have "Greed" next, a song that sees Theophylactus, Iossif and Saengar laying down a low slow chugging circular doom groove over which Miss Aileen waxes lyrical of mans obsession with having more in tones both gritty and soaring. "Sloth" follows and boasts a slightly more strident and metallic tempo with the vocals still alternating between straight and operatic but with a few unexpected vocal curveballs thrown in for added interest. "Lust" tampers down the operatics slightly and sees Miss Aileen exploring the more rockier range of her vocal spectrum over a backdrop of dank doom expertly delivered by her fellow band members. "Voracity" is up next, a low slow and heavy tome that features one of the best vocals on the album, vocals that begin macabre clean and menacing and build up to operatic and classical as the song progresses, well that is until the song reaches its three quarter mark and the band erupt into an up-tempo stoner/proto-doom groove with Miss Aileen's vocals taking on a similar gnarly dynamic. Last track "Wrath" finds Saengar supplying a barrage of thunderous rhythm for Iossif and Theophylactus to jam dark angular riffs over, Miss Aileen filling in all the available spaces around and in-between with her, by now, familiar mix of clean ethereal and classical flavoured vocal outpourings, its impressive stuff.

There are times throughout "Seven Acts To Apocalypse" when you could be fooled into thinking that you are listening to a doom version of Carl Orff's infamous cantata "Carmina Burana" backed by musicians from Black Sabbath, Sleep and Conan, such is the grandeur of the vocal performances and the dankness of the doomic grooves present beneath those vocals. Of course there will be those that find The Evil's blending of doom and opera totally atrocious and going against the true essence of doom but then isn't doom all about telling stories to an atmospheric musical soundtrack and are not those the same elements that can found in all the great opera's? We'll let you make your minds up on that one.

Check it out ..... 

© 2023 Frazer Jones